Every year on average between 2015 and 2019, one resident in Reunion Island in ten moves, estimates INSEE in a study made public at the end of February. Two thirds of moves are made within the same microregion of the island. Other migrations are shared equally between those of “medium distance” towards another microregion of the island, and those of “long distance” outside the island. As elsewhere in France, young people under 30 are the most mobile and contribute the most to long-distance mobility towards the metropolis. Departures to France are slightly more numerous than arrivals due to the departures of young people “jumping the sea” to continue their studies. Another notable trend : the balance of migrations with the mainland is increasing compared to the first half of the 2010s. At the same time, departures and arrivals of employed or unemployed workers are balanced. The natives of Reunion are at the origin of only a minority of migrations with the metropolis : three arrivals out of ten and four departures out of ten. As for internal migrations on the island, the North is the most attractive microregion, especially for students and workers. It is also the one that generates the largest flows of departures and arrivals, unlike the South where arrivals compensate for departures. On their side, the West and to a lesser extent the East are losing inhabitants following these migrations.
