Réunion

Official Name: Île De la Réunion

Geography 

Capital: Saint-Denis
Major Towns: Saint-Denis, Plaine des Palmistes, Cilaos, St-Pierre De La Reunion, St-Gilles-les-Bains
Location (geographical coordinates/latitude and longitude): 21 06 S, 55 36 E
Time Zone: GMT+04:00
Size (Land and Sea): 2,512 km²
Borders with Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, south west of Mauritius
Elevation extremes: Highest point: The Piton des Neiges volcano: 3070 metres
 
Politics  

Status: Overseas Department
Head of State: 
Prefect: Pierre-Henry Maccioni (2006)
Form of Government: One of the overseas départements of France, one of the twenty-six regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the Republic with the same status as those situated on the European mainland.
Currency: Euro
 
Industry 

Main industries: Sugar as main agricultural product and export; tourism; highly dependent on aid from continental France
Other industries: Rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction.
Natural resources: fish, arable land, hydropower
Agriculture: sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn
 
Population and People 

Population: 798,094 (2007 est.); 784000 (January 2006), 706,300 (March 1999)
Population density per sq mi: 827
Growth rate: 1.3% (2007 est.)
Birth rate: 18.9 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.55 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 7.5/1000
Religion: Roman Catholicism (86% of the population in 1995), Hinduism, Islam and Buddhism also represented.
Languages: French, Réunion Creole
Ethnic groups / Tribes: Whites (mainly French) (25%), Indian (including Tamil) (21%), Indo-Réunionnaise people (Gujarati and Tamil ), Vietnamese, African, Malagasy, Chinese,
Age structure: 0-14 years : 31.7% (male 120,864; female 115,251); 15-64 years: 62.5% (male 228,864; female 235,991); 65 years and over: 5.8% (male 17,459; female 25,552) (2002 est.)
Life expectancy: 73
Literacy: 78% (1982 est.)