Isle of Man (2006) | Reunion (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | none; there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 24 local authorities each with its own elections | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 17.3% (male 6,669/female 6,350)
15-64 years: 65.7% (male 24,884/female 24,678) 65 years and over: 17% (male 5,197/female 7,663) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 30.9% (male 121,050; female 115,440)
15-64 years: 63.1% (male 238,553; female 245,236) 65 years and over: 6% (male 18,626; female 27,248) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cereals, vegetables; cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn |
Airports | 1 (2006) | 2 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 572 sq km
land: 572 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than three times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
Background | Part of the Norwegian Kingdom of the Hebrides until the 13th century when it was ceded to Scotland, the isle came under the British crown in 1765. Current concerns include reviving the almost extinct Manx Gaelic language. Isle of Man is a British crown dependency, but is not part of the UK. | 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. |
Birth rate | 11.05 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 19.69 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $485 million
expenditures: $463 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.) |
revenues: $1.26 billion
expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1998) |
Capital | name: Douglas
geographic coordinates: 54 09 N, 4 28 W time difference: UTC 0 (five hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Saint-Denis |
Climate | temperate; cool summers and mild winters; overcast about one-third of the time | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April |
Coastline | 160 km | 207 km |
Constitution | unwritten; note - The Isle of Man Constitution Act of 1961 does not embody the unwritten Manx Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Isle of Man |
conventional long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
Currency | - | euro (EUR) |
Death rate | 11.19 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 5.48 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | NA |
Dependency status | British crown dependency | overseas department of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (British crown dependency) | none (overseas department of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (British crown dependency) | none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France (2001 est.) |
Economy - overview | Offshore banking, manufacturing, and tourism are key sectors of the economy. The government offers incentives to high-technology companies and financial institutions to locate on the island; this has paid off in expanding employment opportunities in high-income industries. As a result, agriculture and fishing, once the mainstays of the economy, have declined in their shares of GDP. Trade is mostly with the UK. The Isle of Man enjoys free access to EU markets. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 1.005 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | - | 1.08 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Irish Sea 0 m
highest point: Snaefell 621 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
Environment - current issues | waste disposal (both household and industrial); transboundary air pollution | NA |
Ethnic groups | Manx (Norse-Celtic descent), Briton | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian |
Exchange rates | Manx pounds per US dollar - 0.55 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001) | euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Lord of Mann Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor Sir Paul K. HADDACKS (since 17 October 2005)
head of government: Chief Minister Donald GELLING (since 14 December 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch for a five-year term; the chief minister is elected by the Tynwald; election last held 14 December 2004 (next to be held December 2006) election results: Donald GELLING elected chief minister by the Tynwald; note - Richard CORKILL resigned 2 December 2004 |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Dominique VIAN (since 16 August 2004)
head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
Exports | $NA | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | tweeds, herring, processed shellfish, beef, lamb | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) |
Exports - partners | UK (2004) | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | red with the Three Legs of Man emblem (Trinacria), in the center; the three legs are joined at the thigh and bent at the knee; in order to have the toes pointing clockwise on both sides of the flag, a two-sided emblem is used | the flag of France is used |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $4.348 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 13% services: 86% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.3% NA% | 2.5% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 54 15 N, 4 30 W | 21 06 S, 55 36 E |
Geography - note | one small islet, the Calf of Man, lies to the southwest, and is a bird sanctuary | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean |
Highways | - | total: 2,724 km
paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km (1994) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | $NA | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | timber, fertilizers, fish | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products |
Imports - partners | UK (2004) | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000) |
Independence | none (British crown dependency) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.2% (FY96/97) | NA |
Industries | financial services, light manufacturing, tourism | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction |
Infant mortality rate | total: 5.82 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.8 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 7.95 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.71 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.7% (2003 est.) | NA |
International organization participation | UPU | InOC, UPU, WFTU |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km | 120 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court of Justice (justices are appointed by the Lord Chancellor of England on the nomination of the lieutenant governor) | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 39,690 (2001) | 309,900 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture, forestry and fishing 3%, manufacturing 11%, construction 10%, transport and communication 8%, wholesale and retail distribution 11%, professional and scientific services 18%, public administration 6%, banking and finance 18%, tourism 2%, entertainment and catering 3%, miscellaneous services 10% | agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 9%
permanent crops: 0% other: 91% (permanent pastures, forests, mountain, and heathland) (2002) |
arable land: 13.6%
permanent crops: 1.2% other: 85.2% (2001) |
Languages | English, Manx Gaelic | French (official), Creole widely used |
Legal system | English common law and Manx statute | French law |
Legislative branch | bicameral Tynwald consists of the Legislative Council (an 11-member body composed of the President of Tynwald, the Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man, a nonvoting attorney general, and eight others named by the House of Keys) and the House of Keys (24 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Keys - last held 22 November 2001 (next to be held November 2006) election results: House of Keys - percent of vote by party - Man Labor Party 17.3%, Alliance for Progressive Government 14.6%; seats by party - Man Labor Party 2, Alliance for Progressive Government 3, independents 19 |
unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held NA 2010) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council (second round) - percent of vote by party - PCR 44.9%, UMP 32.8%, PS-Greens 22.3%; seats by party - PCR 27, UMP 11, PS-Greens 7 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.49 years
male: 75.14 years female: 82.02 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 73.69 years
male: 70.29 years female: 77.26 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Europe, island in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
Map references | Europe | World |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 305 ships (1000 GRT or over) 8,266,229 GRT/13,792,927 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 38, cargo 65, chemical tanker 53, container 16, liquefied gas 38, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 74, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 9, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 5 foreign-owned: 213 (Cyprus 1, Denmark 53, Estonia 2, France 2, Germany 56, Greece 45, Italy 5, Japan 4, Monaco 3, Netherlands 1, Norway 27, Singapore 7, Sweden 1, Turkey 3, US 3) registered in other countries: 9 (Antigua and Barbuda 2, Liberia 5, Marshall Islands 1, NZ 1) (2006) |
total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 28,264 GRT/44,885 DWT
by type: chemical tanker 1 foreign-owned: Sweden 1 registered in other countries: 1 |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | - | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 202,385 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 103,073 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 7,070 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Tynwald Day, 5 July | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Manxman (men), Manxwoman (women)
adjective: Manx |
noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
Natural hazards | NA | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano |
Natural resources | none | fish, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 5.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance for Progressive Government; Man Labor Party; Man Nationalist Party (branch of the British National Party)
note: most members sit as independents |
Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 75,441 (July 2006 est.) | 766,153 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.52% (2006 est.) | 1.42% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Le Port, Pointe des Galets |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Railways | total: 65 km
standard guage: 7 km 1.067-m guage (7 km electrified) narrow guage: 58 km 0.914-m guage (29 km electrified) note: primarily summer tourist attractions (2006) |
- |
Religions | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Society of Friends | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
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 (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 16 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: landline, telefax, mobile cellular telephone system international: fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, satellite earth station, submarine cable |
general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: country code - 262; radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 51,000 (1999) | 300,000 est (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 489,800 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (receives broadcasts from the UK and satellite) (1999) | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | hills in north and south bisected by central valley | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast |
Total fertility rate | 1.65 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 2.5 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0.6% (2004 est.) | 36% (1999 est.) |