1.
2.
[syn: reunion, reunification]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Reunion \Re*un"ion\, n. [Pref. re- + union: cf. F. r['e]union.]
1. A second union; union formed anew after separation,
secession, or discord; as, a reunion of parts or particles
of matter; a reunion of parties or sects.
[1913 Webster]
2. An assembling of persons who have been separated, as of a
family, or the members of a disbanded regiment; an
assembly so composed.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
reunion
n 1: a party of former associates who have come together again
2: the act of coming together again; "monetary unification
precipitated the reunification of the German state in October
1990" [syn: reunion, reunification]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
18 Moby Thesaurus words for "reunion":
affair, at home, gathering, get-together, levee, making up,
matinee, rapprochement, reception, reconcilement, reconciliation,
salon, sociable, social, social affair, social gathering, soiree,
wake
CIA World Factbook 2002:
Reunion
Introduction Reunion
--------------------
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.
Geography Reunion
-----------------
Location: Southern Africa, island in the
Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar
Geographic coordinates: 21 06 S, 55 36 E
Map references: World
Area: total: 2,512 sq km
water: 10 sq km
land: 2,502 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Rhode Island
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 207 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: tropical, but temperature moderates
with elevation; cool and dry from
May to November, hot and rainy from
November to April
Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous;
fertile lowlands along coast
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges
3,069 m
Natural resources: fish, arable land, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 13.2%
permanent crops: 2%
other: 84.8% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 120 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: periodic, devastating cyclones
(December to April); Piton de la
Fournaise on the southeastern coast
is an active volcano
Environment - current issues: NA
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
People Reunion
--------------
Population: 743,981 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 31.7% (male 120,864;
female 115,251)
15-64 years: 62.5% (male 228,864;
female 235,991)
65 years and over: 5.8% (male
17,459; female 25,552) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.52% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 20.7 births/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Death rate: 5.51 deaths/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Sex ratio: 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 (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 8.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2002
est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.18 years
female: 76.74 years (2002 est.)
male: 69.78 years
Total fertility rate: 2.55 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA%
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ NA
AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Reunionese (singular and
plural)
adjective: Reunionese
Ethnic groups: French, African, Malagasy, Chinese,
Pakistani, Indian
Religions: Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim,
Buddhist (1995)
Languages: French (official), Creole widely
used
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read
and write
total population: 79%
male: 76%
female: 80% (1982 est.)
Government Reunion
------------------
Country name: conventional long form: Department
of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion
local short form: Ile de la Reunion
local long form: none
former: Bourbon Island
Dependency status: overseas department of France
Government type: NA
Capital: Saint-Denis
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
Independence: none (overseas department of France)
National holiday: Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)
Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French
Constitution)
Legal system: French law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Jacques
CHIRAC of France (since 17 May
1995), represented by Prefect
Gonthier FRIEDERICI (since 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
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
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 NA March 1998 (next to be held
NA 2004); Regional Council - last
held 15 March 1998 (next to be held
NA 2004)
election results: General Council -
percent of vote by party - NA%;
seats by party - various right-wing
candidates 27, PCR 10, PS 10, other
left-wing candidates 2; Regional
Council - percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - PCR 7, UDF 8,
PS 6, RPR 4, various right-wing
candidates 15, various left-wing
candidates 5
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
- NA
Judicial branch: Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel
Political parties and leaders: 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]
Political pressure groups and NA
leaders:
International organization FZ, InOC, WFTU
participation:
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (overseas department of France)
Diplomatic representation from the none (overseas department of France)
US:
Flag description: the flag of France is used
Economy Reunion
---------------
Economy - 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
amounts to more than 40% 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.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $3.4
billion (1998 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3.8% (1998 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $4,800
(1998 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: NA%
percentage share: highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Labor force: 261,000 (1995)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 8%, industry 19%,
services 73% (1990)
Unemployment rate: 42.8% (1998)
Budget: revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital
expenditures of $NA
Industries: sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft
items, flower oil extraction
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production: 1.09 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 55.05%
hydro: 44.95%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 1.014 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco,
tropical fruits, vegetables, corn
Exports: $214 million (f.o.b., 1997)
Exports - commodities: sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%,
perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%,
(1993)
Exports - partners: France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4%
(1994)
Imports: $2.5 billion (c.i.f., 1997)
Imports - commodities: manufactured goods, food, beverages,
tobacco, machinery and
transportation equipment, raw
materials, and petroleum products
Imports - partners: France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%,
Italy 3% (1994)
Debt - external: $NA
Economic aid - recipient: $NA; note - substantial annual
subsidies from France
Currency: euro (EUR); French franc (FRF)
Currency code: EUR; FRF
Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 1.1324
(January 2002), 1.1175 (2001),
1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French
francs per US dollar - 5.8995
(1998), 5.8367 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Reunion
----------------------
Telephones - main lines in use: 268,500 (1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 197,000 (September 2000)
Telephone system: general assessment: adequate system;
principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open wire and
microwave radio relay network
international: radiotelephone
communication to Comoros, France,
Madagascar; new microwave route to
Mauritius; satellite earth station -
1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001)
Radios: 173,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters)
(2001)
Televisions: 127,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .re
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)
Internet users: 10,000 (1999)
Transportation Reunion
----------------------
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 2,724 km
paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of
four-lane road)
note: 370 km of road are maintained
by national authorities, 754 km by
departmental authorities and 1,600
km by local authorities (1994)
unpaved: 1,424 km
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: Le Port, Pointe des Galets
Merchant marine: total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
totaling 28,264 GRT/44,885 DWT
note: includes a foreign-owned ship
registered here as a flag of
convenience: France 1 (2002 est.)
ships by type: chemical tanker 1
Airports: 2 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2001)
Military Reunion
----------------
Military branches: no regular indigenous military
forces; French forces (including
Army, Navy, Air Force, and
Gendarmerie)
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 194,485 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military males age 15-49: 99,251 (2002 est.)
service:
Military manpower - reaching males: 6,243 (2002 est.)
military age annually:
Military - note: defense is the responsibility of
France
Transnational Issues Reunion
----------------------------
Disputes - international: none