Réunion

Réunion

*La Réunion* (French)
*La Rényon* (Réunion Creole French)
Réunion La Réunion (French); La Rényon (Réunion Creole French);
Overseas department, region of France and outermost region of the European Union
	Coat of arms
	Motto(s): Florebo quocumque ferar; (Latin for 'I will flourish wherever I am brought')
	Anthem: La Marseillaise (national); ("The Marseillaise") P'tite fleur aimée (regional) ;
	Coordinates: 21°06′52″S 55°31′57″E / 21.11444°S 55.53250°E
Country	France
Prefecture	Saint-Denis
Departments	1
Government
• President of Regional Council	Huguette Bello (PLR)
• President of Departmental Council	Cyrille Melchior (LR)
Area
• Total	2,511 km2 (970 sq mi)
• Rank	15th region
Population (January 2025)
• Total	896,175
• Density	360/km2 (920/sq mi)
Demonym	Réunionese
GDP (in 2023)
• Total	€23.2 billion
• Per capita	€26,300
Time zone	UTC+04:00 (RET)
ISO 3166 code	RE; FR-974;
Languages	French; Réunion Creole
Currency	Euro (€) (EUR)
Website	Prefecture; Regional Council; Departmental Council;

Réunion (/riːˈjuːnjən/; French: [la ʁe.ynjɔ̃] ^ⓘ; Reunionese Creole: La Rényon; known as Île Bourbon before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately 679 kilometres (367 nautical miles) east of the island of Madagascar and 175 kilometres (94 nmi) southwest of the island of Mauritius. As of January 2025, it had a population of 896,175.^[1] Its capital and largest city is Saint-Denis.

Réunion was uninhabited until French immigrants and colonial subjects settled the island in the 17th century. Its tropical climate led to the development of a plantation economy focused primarily on sugar; slaves from East Africa were imported as fieldworkers, followed by Malays, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Indians as indentured laborers. Today, the greatest proportion of the population is of mixed descent, while the predominant language is Réunion Creole, though French remains the sole official language.

Since 1946, Réunion has been governed as a French region and thus has a similar status to its counterparts in Metropolitan France. Consequently, it is one of the outermost regions of the European Union and part of the eurozone;^[3] it is, along with the French overseas department of Mayotte, one of the two eurozone areas in the Southern Hemisphere. Owing to its strategic location, France maintains a large military presence on the island.

^ ^a ^b "Estimation de population par région, sexe et grande classe d'âge – Années 1975 à 2025" (in French). Retrieved 2 February 2025.
^ CEROM (5 October 2024). "Comptes économiques rapides de La Réunion 2023" (in French). Retrieved 12 December 2024.
^ Réunion is pictured on all Euro banknotes, on the back at the bottom of each note, right of the Greek ΕΥΡΩ (EURO) next to the denomination.
^ "Scoop : Le drapeau réunionnais ne s'appelle pas "lo mavéli" !". guide-reunion.fr (in French). 9 October 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2023.

[pop-1] "Estimation de population par région, sexe et grande classe d'âge – Années 1975 à 2025" (in French). Retrieved 2 February 2025.

[2] CEROM (5 October 2024). "Comptes économiques rapides de La Réunion 2023" (in French). Retrieved 12 December 2024.

[3] Réunion is pictured on all Euro banknotes, on the back at the bottom of each note, right of the Greek ΕΥΡΩ (EURO) next to the denomination.

[4] "Scoop : Le drapeau réunionnais ne s'appelle pas "lo mavéli" !". guide-reunion.fr (in French). 9 October 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2023.

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