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Réunion
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<p>Réunion is an island in the <a href="/facts/Indian_Ocean/Kv0crwKG">Indian Ocean</a> that is an <a href="/facts/Overseas_departments_and_regions_of_France/SosQ94H2">overseas department and region</a> of <a href="/facts/France/CxIeIKM3">France</a>. Part of the <a href="/facts/Mascarene_Islands/bMGYWQ9p">Mascarene Islands</a>, it is located approximately 679 km (422 mi) east of the island of <a href="/facts/Madagascar/ez12IAcY">Madagascar</a> and 175 km (109 mi) southwest of the island of <a href="/facts/Mauritius/lVUARna5">Mauritius</a>. As of January 2025, it had a population of 896,175. Its capital and largest city is <a href="/facts/Saint-Denis%2c_La_R%25C3%25A9union/TChrY0QH">Saint-Denis</a>. </p><p>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, <a href="/facts/Annamite/ub4crYVf">Vietnamese</a>, Chinese, and Indians as indentured laborers. Today, the greatest proportion of the population is of mixed descent, while the predominant language is <a href="/facts/R%25C3%25A9union_Creole/LVmN3IQk">Réunion Creole</a>, though French remains the sole official language. </p><p> Since 1946, Réunion has been governed as a <a href="/facts/Regions_of_France/ovVDJLnK">French region</a> and thus has a similar status to its counterparts in Metropolitan France. Consequently, it is one of the <a href="/facts/Special_member_state_territories_and_the_European_Union/IBtLk2a9">outermost regions</a> of the <a href="/facts/European_Union/6GYcR8qM">European Union</a> and part of the <a href="/facts/Eurozone/rK14yHsz">eurozone</a>; it is, along with the French overseas department of <a href="/facts/Mayotte/pyNqs696">Mayotte</a>, one of the two eurozone areas in the <a href="/facts/Southern_Hemisphere/QfJ4z9L5">Southern Hemisphere</a>. Owing to its strategic location, France maintains a large military presence. </p>