39% of Reunion Islanders lived below the metropolitan poverty threshold in 2018, according to INSEE. After having declined significantly between 2007 and 2017, as well as income inequality, the poverty rate remained stable in 2018, due to the deterioration observed in the labor market. Poverty remains much higher than in mainland France (15 %) and that in Martinique (30 %), due to the employment deficit which remains significant on the island. This is particularly the case in priority neighborhoods of urban policy and in small rural communities., where employment is scarce : more than one in two residents lives below the poverty line in these urban neighborhoods and in Sainte-Rose, Cilaos and Salazie. However, having a job is not always enough to avoid a situation of poverty, underlines INSEE. The incomes of Reunion Islanders are lower and they are highly dependent on social assistance..
Inequalities thus remain significant : in 2018, the total disposable income of the most advantaged 20% of Reunion Islanders was 5,5 times more important than that of the lowest 20%. In a city, this difference is less (4,45 times). However, income inequality has declined sharply on the island over the past decade. In 2007, the ratio between the incomes of the richest 20% and those of the poorest 20% was 7.
The stable poverty rate
