The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513.

From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix.

The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route.

From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Indians gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route.

Réunion became a département d'outre-mer (overseas department) of France on March 19, 1946.

Between March 15 and 16, 1952, Cilaos at the centre of Réunion received 1,869.9 mm (73.6 in) of rainfall. This is the greatest 24-hour precipitation total ever recorded on earth. The island also holds the record for most rainfall in 72 hours, 3,929 mm (154.7 in) at Commerson's Crater in March, 2007.

In 2005 and 2006 Réunion was hit by a crippling epidemic of chikungunya, a disease spread by mosquitoes.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 776,948 (July 2005 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 30.4% (male 120,698/female 115,108) 15-64 years: 63.6% (male 243,668/female 250,143) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 19,234/female 28,097) (2005 est.)

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Median age: total: 26.72 years male: 25.53 years female: 27.92 years (2005 est.)

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Population growth rate: 1.38% (2005 est.)

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Birth rate: 19.26 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

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Death rate: 5.48 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

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Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 7.78 deaths/1,000 live births male: 8.52 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.95 years male: 70.55 years female: 77.52 years (2005 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 2.47 children born/woman (2005 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA%

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

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Nationality: noun: Reunionese (singular and plural) adjective: Reunionese

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Ethnic groups: French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian

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Religions: Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995)

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Languages: French (official), Creole widely used

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Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.)

The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France.

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GDP: purchasing power parity - $4.57 billion (2004 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: 2.5% (2004 est.)

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GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $6,000 (2004 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 8% industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.)

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Population below poverty line: NA%

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

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Labor force: 309,900 (2000)

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Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000)

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Unemployment rate: 36% (1999 est.)

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Budget: revenues: $1.26 billion expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1998)

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Agriculture - products: sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn

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Industries: sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction

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Industrial production growth rate: NA%

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Electricity - production: 1.166 billion kWh (2002)

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Electricity - consumption: 1.084 billion kWh (2002)

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Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2002)

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Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2002)

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Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

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Oil - consumption: 18,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

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Oil - exports: NA

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Oil - imports: NA

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Exports: $214 million f.o.b. (1997)

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Exports - commodities: sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993)

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Exports - partners: France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2000)

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Imports: $2.5 billion c.i.f. (1997)

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Imports - commodities: manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products

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Imports - partners: France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000)

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Debt - external: $NA

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Economic aid - recipient: NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France (2001 est.)

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Currency: euro (EUR)

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Currency code: EUR

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Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999)

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Fiscal year: calendar year