Saint-Paul Population and Area (Réunion)
Largest city in France 2026: up-to-date figures for Saint-Paul (Réunion)
Saint-Paul: Population and Area
With 109,405 inhabitants (INSEE total population in force on January 1, 2026), Saint-Paul is the 39th most populous town in France in 2026 and the 2nd most populous in the Réunion department, out of 24 communes. It covers 241 km² (27th largest area in France, largest in the department), with a population density of 453 inhabitants per km², or 4.1 times the national average (110 inhabitants/km²), which ranks it 2,028th in France for density.
Saint-Paul is located in the Réunion department (974), in the Réunion region, where it ranks 2nd by population out of 24 communes. The most populous town in the Réunion department is Saint-Denis (157,142 inhabitants); the department is home to 899,660 people over 2,504 km².
See the full ranking of communes in the Réunion department and the regional ranking: largest city in Réunion.
Towns of similar size in the Réunion department: Saint-Denis (pop. 157,142), Saint-Pierre (pop. 85,927), Le Tampon (pop. 83,518), Saint-André (pop. 59,351).
Sources: INSEE, official population figures in force on January 1, 2026 (total population); areas: IGN / Observatoire des territoires; INSEE code 97415. Rankings are calculated across the 34,858 communes of metropolitan and overseas France in our database.
Saint-Paul, the largest town in Réunion by area
The second-largest city in Réunion after Saint-Denis, Saint-Paul is also the island's most extensive town: its territory begins on the west coast, at the bay of the "best anchorage" where the first inhabitants of Île Bourbon landed, climbs up to the Cirque de Mafate and peaks at nearly 3,000 meters at the Gros Morne. It is one of the very few large cities in France whose territory runs from sea level to high mountains.
A large city scattered across neighborhoods
This immense area gives Saint-Paul a very low density for a city of its rank. The population is spread between the historic center, the seaside resorts of Saint-Gilles-les-Bains and La Saline, upland neighborhoods such as Le Guillaume and Bois-de-Nèfles, and almost uninhabited areas in Mafate. The cradle of the island's settlement, Saint-Paul is experiencing rapid population growth, typical of Réunion, driven by a young population and by the boom in tourism on the west coast, the sunniest part of the island.