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.

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $2.5 billion (1993
est.)

National product real growth rate: NA%

National product per capita: $3,900 (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Unemployment rate: 35% (February 1991)

Budget:
revenues: $358 million
expenditures: $914 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1986 est.)

Exports: $166 million (f.o.b., 1988)
commodities: sugar 75%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 4%,
lobster 3%, vanilla and tea 1%
partners: France, Mauritius, Bahrain, South Africa, Italy

Imports: $1.7 billion (c.i.f., 1988)
commodities: manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery
and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products
partners: France, Mauritius, Bahrain, South Africa, Italy

External debt: $NA

Industrial production: growth rate NA%; about 25% of GDP

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

Industries: sugar, rum, cigarettes, several small shops producing
handicraft items

Agriculture: accounts for 30% of labor force; dominant sector of
economy; cash crops - sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco; food crops -
tropical fruits, vegetables, corn; imports large share of food needs

Economic aid:
recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral
commitments (1970-89), $14.8 billion

Currency: 1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1 - 5.2943 (January 1995),
5.5520 (1994), 5.6632 (1993), 5.2938 (1992), 5.6421 (1991), 5.4453
(1990)

Fiscal year: calendar year

@Reunion:Transportation

Railroads: 0 km

Highways:
total: 2,800 km
pave