Reunion (2006) | Guernsey (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 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 | none (British crown dependency); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 10 parishes including Castel, Forest, Saint Andrew, Saint Martin, Saint Peter Port, Saint Pierre du Bois, Saint Sampson, Saint Saviour, Torteval, Vale |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 29.8% (male 120,147/female 114,589)
15-64 years: 64% (male 248,895/female 255,156) 65 years and over: 6.2% (male 19,847/female 28,950) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 14.8% (male 4,914/female 4,784)
15-64 years: 67.4% (male 21,897/female 22,298) 65 years and over: 17.8% (male 4,955/female 6,725) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn | tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit; Guernsey cattle |
Airports | 2 (2006) | 2 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
total: 78 sq km
land: 78 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and some other smaller islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Rhode Island | about one-half the size of Washington, DC |
Background | 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. | Guernsey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy, which held sway in both France and England. The islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II. Guernsey is a British crown dependency, but is not part of the UK. However, the UK Government is constitutionally responsible for its defense and international representation. |
Birth rate | 18.9 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 8.65 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $554.7 million
expenditures: $554.7 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
revenues: $563.6 million
expenditures: $530.9 million (2005) |
Capital | name: Saint-Denis
geographic coordinates: 20 52 S, 55 28 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Saint Peter Port
geographic coordinates: 49 27 N, 2 32 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April) | temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast |
Coastline | 207 km | 50 km |
Constitution | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice |
Country name | conventional long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey
conventional short form: Guernsey |
Death rate | 5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 10.07 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $NA |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | British crown dependency |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | none (British crown dependency) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | none (British crown dependency) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France (2001 est.) | $NA |
Economy - overview | 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 illustrated the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. | Financial services - banking, fund management, insurance - account for about 23% of employment and 32% of total income in this tiny, prosperous Channel Island economy. Tourism, manufacturing, and horticulture, mainly tomatoes and cut flowers, have been declining. Financial services, construction, retail, and the public sector have been growing. Light tax and death duties make Guernsey a popular tax haven. The evolving economic integration of the EU nations is changing the environment under which Guernsey operates. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.107 billion kWh (2003) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 1.19 billion kWh (2003) | NA kWh |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Sark 114 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | NA |
Ethnic groups | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian | UK and Norman-French descent with small percentages from other European countries |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) | Guernsey pounds per US dollar - 0.5418 (2006), 0.5493 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002)
note: the Guernsey pound is at par with the British pound |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Pierre-Henry MACCIONI (since 28 August 2006)
head of government: President of the General Council Nassimah DINDAR (since NA March 2004) 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 |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor Sir Fabian MALBON (since 28 October 2005)
head of government: Chief Minister Michael W. TORODE (since 5 March 2007) cabinet: Policy Council elected by the States of Deliberation elections: the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch; chief minister is elected by States of Deliberation election results: Laurie MORGAN elected chief minister, percent of vote of the States of Deliberation NA |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $NA |
Exports - commodities | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3% | tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables |
Exports - partners | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2004) | UK; note - regarded as internal trade (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | unofficial, local flag designed to emphasize solidarity among the people of Reunion; the field is divided vertically with three narrow stripes of blue, white, and red along the hoist edge representing the French national flag; the remainder of the field is divided diagonally into four triangles colored (clockwise from the hoist side) blue, golden yellow, red, and green; in the center, the apexes of the triangles are surmounted by a white disk; the only official flag is the national flag of France | white with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) extending to the edges of the flag and a yellow equal-armed cross of William the Conqueror superimposed on the Saint George cross |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 3%
industry: 10% services: 87% (2000) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2005 est.) | 3% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 06 S, 55 36 E | 49 28 N, 2 35 W |
Geography - note | 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 | large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $NA |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products | coal, gasoline, oil, machinery and equipment |
Imports - partners | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2004) | UK; note - regarded as internal trade (2006) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | none (British crown dependency) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction | tourism, banking |
Infant mortality rate | total: 7.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.37 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 4.59 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 3.4% (June 2006) |
International organization participation | InOC, UPU, WFTU | UPU |
Irrigated land | 120 sq km (2003) | NA |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel | Royal Court |
Labor force | 299,000 (2002) | 31,470 (March 2006) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 13%
industry: 12% services: 75% (2000) |
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Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 13.94%
permanent crops: 1.59% other: 84.47% (2005) |
arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% |
Languages | French (official), Creole widely used | English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts |
Legal system | French law | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply; justice is administered by the Royal Court |
Legislative branch | 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); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 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 in 2001 (next to be held in 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRC 1, UDF 1, UMP 1; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 3, PS 1, independent 1 |
unicameral States of Deliberation (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote for four years); note - Alderney and Sark have parliaments
elections: last held 21 April 2004 (next to be held in 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - all independents |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.18 years
male: 70.78 years female: 77.75 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 80.53 years
male: 77.53 years female: 83.64 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar | Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France |
Map references | World | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
Merchant marine | registered in other countries: 1 (Bahamas 1) (2006) | - |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) (2005) | - |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) |
Nationality | noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
Natural hazards | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano | NA |
Natural resources | fish, arable land, hydropower | cropland |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 3.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Elie HOARAU]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Michel VERGOZ]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP | none; all independents |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
Population | 787,584 (July 2006 est.) | 65,573 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.34% (2006 est.) | 0.239% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.027 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.982 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.737 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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 |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: 1 submarine cable |
Telephones - main lines in use | 300,000 (2001) | 45,100 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 579,200 (2004) | 43,800 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast | mostly level with low hills in southwest |
Total fertility rate | 2.45 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.4 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 31% (2002) | 0.9% (March 2006 est.) |