The challenge of expensive living
As an island, 80% of the products we consume are imported. So, in addition to the initial price, there are transport costs and entry taxes. Rents are among the highest in France, cars 30% more expensive and food 37% more expensive on average than in mainland France. The low-cost sector remains underdeveloped, whether in telephony, the Internet, air travel or discount supermarkets. To compensate, tax rates are slightly lower than in mainland France, but salaries are not, except for those of civil servants. The result is major social disparities and tensions that are expressed during social movements such as in 2009 or 2018 with the yellow vest crisis, and more recently in 2024, when Reunion suffered a record inflation rate (+3.1%). Against this backdrop, and particularly since 2020 and the Covid-19 crisis, the trend has been towards the development of short circuits, local production and consumption, as the island is blessed with fertile soil.
The issue of unemployment
The Covid-19 crisis hit Reunion's economy hard, with a sharp drop in tourism in particular. Financial aid schemes were deployed to support companies in difficulty and prevent the local economy from collapsing. Training and retraining programs were also set up to combat unemployment and help jobseekers back into the workforce. Against all odds, and thanks to these stimulus measures, while the unemployment rate in 2018 stood at 24%, Réunion will see a significant rise in employment in 2021, the highest in ten years, thanks in particular to the development of micro-businesses and apprenticeships, encouraging work-study jobs. The unemployment rate will then fall to 18% of the working population, stabilizing at 19% in 2023. A historically low level. While almost 45.9% of young people in Reunion (15-29 year-olds neither in employment, education or training) were affected by unemployment in 2020, this figure fell to 24% in 2023.
Growing ecological awareness
Like mainland France, Réunion Island is gradually going green. And with good reason: ecology is a crucial issue when living on an island, whether in terms of waste management, resource sharing and limited space, or products released into the ocean. The people of Reunion are sensitive to the beautiful nature that surrounds them, and initiatives to promote local production and short supply chains have multiplied, but they are still essentially of associative or citizen origin. Key initiatives include the creation of a marine reserve, a national park and a Ramsar zone, as well as "nights without lights", a month during which local authorities switch off public lighting to avoid disturbing young petrels learning to fly, beach litter-picking outings, and the switch to cardboard and bamboo plates and cutlery at almost all public events. While "handmade" products are much more firmly rooted on the island than in mainland France, ecology is, as everywhere else, a matter of priorities, and is not yet one of those of the most disadvantaged populations. In working-class neighborhoods, for example, it's not uncommon to see children's parks covered in garbage at the end of the weekend, or a boneless car next to a washing machine in a parking lot. Finally, there's the question of automobile pollution and the deep-rooted idea that anyone who has reached or is about to reach adulthood must own their own car to survive on Reunion Island, hence the legendary traffic jams on the coastal road. And yet the public transport network, while not in the hearts of Réunion's inhabitants, is present and functional.
Towards energy autonomy
Where there's an environment, there's also renewable energy. Almost a third of the island's electricity is generated by burning bagasse, a residue from sugarcane production. A proportion is also generated by dams, thermal power stations and solar panels, which have become increasingly popular in recent years on warehouse roofs and supermarket parking lots. A few wind turbines have also appeared, with blades that can be dismantled in the event of a cyclone. Réunion is also one of France's best-equipped départements in terms of solar water heaters, which seems logical given the sunshine, but the rate of installation is still behind that of Germany! Although Réunion produced 100% of its electricity from renewable sources in the 1980s, the explosion in consumption has meant that the share of oil and coal has risen again. Nonetheless, Réunion remains an island that relies heavily on renewable energy, so much so that it plans to return to 100% renewable energy as part of a vast political project called Gerri. This acronym, which stands for " Green Energy Revolution: Reunion Island ", is a program launched by the State, the region and the department, with the aim of making Réunion an ecological model in terms of energy production and consumption by 2030. Within or outside this framework, there is no shortage of innovative projects: wave power, geothermal energy... A fine dream for 2030, but many of these projects remain in this state, for lack of funding or political commitment. In concrete terms, the new 210 MW heavy fuel oil power plant at Le Port was inaugurated in 2013, while Gerri was disbanded the same year, following revelations of high salaries and a lack of concrete action.
A growing population in a limited space
One of the island's main development challenges is demographic growth. The population could exceed 1 million by 2037 (according to Insee). However, this will not prevent the overall aging of the island's population. By then, additional housing will have to be built, with an even greater number of vehicles on the island, while preserving space for agriculture and natural areas, given that existing housing and employment are already largely insufficient. A real headache. The short-term "solution", far from ideal, remains emigration. For a long time, young, well-educated Réunionese have been encouraged to go and work in mainland France: nearly 200,000 Réunionese are currently living in mainland France. In the long term, it is essentially a question of densifying the existing habitat by constructing ever taller buildings, while avoiding the nibbling of land by residential areas, and provided that suitable public transport is provided at the same time.
Tourism reinvented
Since the shark crisis of 2011 and its strong media impact, tourism on Reunion Island has had to reinvent itself. Many nautical activities have come to a halt: surfing, optimist sailing, pedal boating, towed buoys, etc., leading to a paralysis of once-vibrant seaside resorts like Boucan-Canot and Saint-Gilles-les-Bains, which are not fortunate enough to be protected by a lagoon. In return, Réunion has turned inland, diversifying its land-based activities: canyoning, hiking, caving, trail running, paragliding, rafting, museums and guided tours. In just a few years, the island has successfully gone from being a lazy destination to a sporting and cultural one. Of course, the sea is still very much present, and scuba diving and dolphin and whale watching are still very popular, but the rugged peaks have stolen the show. In 2021, the challenge for the tourism world is no longer to consolidate supply, but above all to boost demand. The year 2022 will be marked by a sharp increase in external tourist numbers, with 495,473 tourists visiting Réunion, almost double the number in 2021, compared with 601,346 visitors in 2019 (91.8% of whom were leisure tourists). In the first half of 2023, external tourist numbers show a strong rebound (+30.1% compared to the first half of 2022), which is confirmed in 2024 with a 0.2% increase in the first half. 79% of tourists come from France. European visitors (Germans, Belgians and Swiss account for 61.5% of European tourists) and visitors from the Indian Ocean region (Mauritius, Mayotte) are on the rise.
Agriculture between infusion and self-sufficiency
Sugar cane is one of the island's main resources (nearly 2 million tonnes a year, 2,800 farms and 14,000 jobs linked to the cane, sugar, rum and energy production sectors). The sector accounts for 50% of food exports, i.e. a third of Reunion's total exports. The island is Europe's leading producer. But much more than that, with 58% of cultivated land, sugar cane has shaped Réunion's personality, shaped its landscapes and played a key role in the island's history and culture. However, sugar quotas, which favored sugar production in the French overseas departments, came to an end in 2017, and this very costly sector now survives only thanks to state subsidies. Conversely, the development of the domestic agri-food market is one of the island's greatest economic success stories. The livestock sector produces pigs, cows and poultry, which has preserved jobs in the Hauts, supporting some 4,000 families. Other agricultural production reduces dependence on imports. Reunion benefits from a multiplicity of microclimates (given the island's tropical latitude and mountainous terrain), making it one of the most diversified agricultural regions in the world in such a small area. The land is ideal for growing pineapples, vanilla and sugar cane, as well as potatoes, lentils and dairy cattle. Did you know that wine, cheese and even foie gras are produced in the tropics? As a result, local production covers 70% of the domestic market for fresh local produce (fruit, vegetables and animal products). Reunion's agriculture is also the second largest source of renewable energy, after hydroelectric power, thanks to the bagasse produced from sugar cane.
