Saint-Benoît, Réunion

Saint-Benoît
Subprefecture and commune
The Church of Sainte-Anne in the commune of Saint-Benoît
Location of Saint-Benoît
Coordinates: 21°02′02″S 55°42′46″E
Country	France
Overseas region and department	Réunion
Arrondissement	Saint-Benoît
Canton	Saint-Benoît-1 and 2
Intercommunality	Réunion Est
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Patrice Selly[1]
Area ^1	229.61 km^2 (88.65 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	37,585
• Density	160/km^2 (420/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+04:00
INSEE/Postal code	97410 /97470
Elevation	0–2,520 m (0–8,268 ft) (avg. 7 m or 23 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km^2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Saint-Benoît (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ bənwa] ^ⓘ) is a commune in the French overseas department of Réunion, in the Indian Ocean. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Réunion, about 40 kilometres southeast of Saint-Denis, the capital.

Geography

It is the second largest city of the island by its surface area. In the west of the commune lies Grand Étang, the largest lake of La Réunion. Close to the lake flows the Bras d'Annette waterfall.

Climate

Saint-Benoît has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen climate classification Af). The climate is tropical, influenced by the winds called alizés, or trade winds. The average annual temperature in Saint-Benoît is 23.8 °C (74.8 °F). The average annual rainfall is 3,455.9 mm (136.06 in) with February as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in February, at around 26.5 °C (79.7 °F), and lowest in July, at around 21.0 °C (69.8 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Saint-Benoît was 34.1 °C (93.4 °F) on 6 February 2004; the coldest temperature ever recorded was 10.5 °C (50.9 °F) on 15 July 1991.

Climate data for Saint-Benoît (1991–2020 averages, extremes 1987−present)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	33.7 (92.7)	34.1 (93.4)	33.9 (93.0)	33.4 (92.1)	32.0 (89.6)	31.8 (89.2)	30.0 (86.0)	29.7 (85.5)	29.7 (85.5)	30.1 (86.2)	33.8 (92.8)	33.6 (92.5)	34.1 (93.4)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	30.2 (86.4)	30.5 (86.9)	30.1 (86.2)	29.3 (84.7)	27.7 (81.9)	26.0 (78.8)	25.0 (77.0)	25.2 (77.4)	25.7 (78.3)	26.6 (79.9)	27.8 (82.0)	29.3 (84.7)	27.8 (82.0)
Daily mean °C (°F)	26.3 (79.3)	26.5 (79.7)	26.1 (79.0)	25.2 (77.4)	23.6 (74.5)	21.9 (71.4)	21.0 (69.8)	21.2 (70.2)	21.7 (71.1)	22.7 (72.9)	23.8 (74.8)	25.3 (77.5)	23.8 (74.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	22.3 (72.1)	22.5 (72.5)	22.0 (71.6)	21.1 (70.0)	19.5 (67.1)	17.8 (64.0)	17.0 (62.6)	17.1 (62.8)	17.7 (63.9)	18.7 (65.7)	19.9 (67.8)	21.4 (70.5)	19.7 (67.5)
Record low °C (°F)	17.4 (63.3)	17.2 (63.0)	17.6 (63.7)	15.8 (60.4)	13.3 (55.9)	12.1 (53.8)	10.5 (50.9)	11.4 (52.5)	12.0 (53.6)	12.8 (55.0)	13.7 (56.7)	16.9 (62.4)	10.5 (50.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	469.1 (18.47)	541.0 (21.30)	535.2 (21.07)	349.4 (13.76)	260.1 (10.24)	179.2 (7.06)	178.6 (7.03)	154.6 (6.09)	144.8 (5.70)	132.6 (5.22)	181.3 (7.14)	330.0 (12.99)	3,455.9 (136.06)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	19.9	18.3	19.2	17.6	17.0	14.7	17.0	16.6	14.5	13.4	12.8	16.8	197.7
Source: Météo France[3]

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1961	16,783	—
1967	19,492	+2.53%
1974	21,658	+1.52%
1982	23,541	+1.05%
1990	26,187	+1.34%
1999	31,560	+2.10%
2007	33,485	+0.74%
2012	36,025	+1.47%
2017	37,759	+0.94%
Source: SPLAF[4] and INSEE (1967-2017)[5]

See also

• Communes of the Réunion department

References

1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
2. "Populations de référence 2022" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 19 December 2024.
3. "climate of Saint-Benoît 1991-2020" (PDF) (in French). Météo-France. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
4. SPLAF (Site sur la Population et les Limites Administratives de la France). "Agglomérations et villes de la Réunion". Retrieved 23 February 2021.
5. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE