Food, health, communication and leisure are more expensive in Reunion than in France. Prices which continue to increase from year to year, the high cost of living is a reality in the overseas territories, Reunion Island included. What are the reasons? How are prices formed? How to live despite everything? Meeting 1st opens the debate.
Prices 9% higher in Reunion than in France. In the department, the high cost of living is a daily reality, which is increasing over the years. Food, goods, services, many sectors are concerned.
In Reunion, however, prices remain lower than elsewhere in Overseas. In 2022, the price gap with France amounts to 10% in Mayotte, and is between 14% and 16% in Guadeloupe, Martinique and Guyana.
A reality that many overseas people denounce, notably by taking to the streets, as evidenced by the latest mobilizations overseas and in Paris.
Food costs much more in Reunion than in France, + 37%. The metropolitan food basket costs 46% more in Reunion, the local basket is 28% more expensive in the department than if it were purchased in France.
Health services (+9%), communication (+25%) and leisure (14%) are also more expensive, indicates INSEE in a study published in July 2023. On the other hand, transport (-4 %), housing-related costs (-6%), such as electricity and water, and clothing (-3%) cost less.
The price gap between France and Reunion is increasing over the years. From 6% in 2010, it rose to 7% in 2015 and 9% in 2022. Food prices were 24% higher in 2010, compared to 37% in 2022.
The high inflation of recent years has not helped. Here too a price difference is noted. According to INSEE, between March 2023 and March 2024, the consumer price index increases more in Reunion, by 4%, than at the national level, by 2.3%.
In 2021, Réunion had 871,200 inhabitants, 36% of whom lived below the metropolitan poverty line. This is more than at the national level (15%), or than in Martinique (27%) and Guadeloupe (34.5%), and less than in Guyana (53%) and Mayotte (77%). . Half of Reunion Islanders have a standard of living below 1,420 euros per month.
In 2023, 66,000 Reunion Islanders were unemployed, or 19% of the active population, compared to 7.3% nationally, 10.8% in Martinique, 14% in Guyana, 18.6% in Guadeloupe and 37% in Mayotte. .
In 2007, the OPMR, the Observatory of prices, margins and income, was created. Its mission is to study the cost of living in the department and the purchasing power of Reunion Islanders. In 2019, 50 Reunion Islanders chosen at random joined this independent organization, responsible for deciphering price formation in Reunion Island.
A job made difficult, in particular because of certain economic actors. Last October, the OPMR highlighted the complexity and opacity in the mass distribution sector. The Observatory then made five proposals during a progress update on ongoing work on transparency.
Sea grant, distance, cost of raw materials or even monopolies, the mechanisms at play are multiple. Meeting 1era suggests that you take stock of the situation and examine its causes.
Throughout the week, find the large format reports from the Réunion la 1ère editorial team broadcast every evening in the television news. The opportunity to take an interest in the evolution of the consumption habits of Reunion Islanders, or even the daily lives of retirees and students. How do they make ends meet? What tips or alternatives do they find in the face of the high cost of living?
Thursday, November 21, follow the Sobatkoz devoted to the issue of the high cost of living in Reunion, presented by Jean-Marc Collienne and Gaëlle Malet.
