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Economy
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Economic overview: The economy has traditionally been based on
agriculture. 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 recently amounted 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 indigenous 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.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $2.9 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 2.7% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $4,300 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: 242,169 (1993)
by occupation: agriculture 30%, industry 21%, services 49% (1981)

Unemployment rate: 35% (February 1991)

Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA

Industries: sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity:
capacity: 180,000 kW
production: 1 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 1,454 kWh (1993)

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

Exports: $174 million (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities: sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%,
lobster 3%, (1993)
partners: France, Mauritius, Bahrain, South Africa, Italy, Madagascar

Imports: $2.08 billion (c.i.f., 1993)
commodities: manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery
and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products
partners: France, Mauritius, Bahrain, South Africa, Italy, Madagascar

External debt: $NA

Economic aid:
recipient: substantial annual subsidies from France

Currency: 1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1 - 5.0056 (January
1996), 4.9915 (1995), 5.5520 (1994), 5.6632 (1993), 5.2938 (1992),
5.6421 (1