Saint-Pierre Population and Area (Réunion)
Largest city in France 2026: up-to-date figures for Saint-Pierre (Réunion)
Saint-Pierre: Population and Area
With 85,927 inhabitants (INSEE total population in force on January 1, 2026), Saint-Pierre is the 55th most populous town in France in 2026 and the 3rd most populous in the Réunion department, out of 24 communes. It covers 96 km² (262nd largest area in France, 12th largest in the department), with a population density of 895 inhabitants per km², or 8.2 times the national average (110 inhabitants/km²), which ranks it 1,062nd in France for density.
Saint-Pierre is located in the Réunion department (974), in the Réunion region, where it ranks 3rd 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-Paul (pop. 109,405), Le Tampon (pop. 83,518), Saint-André (pop. 59,351), Saint-Louis (pop. 55,653).
Sources: INSEE, official population figures in force on January 1, 2026 (total population); areas: IGN / Observatoire des territoires; INSEE code 97416. Rankings are calculated across the 34,858 communes of metropolitan and overseas France in our database.
Saint-Pierre, the capital of southern Réunion
A subprefecture of Réunion, Saint-Pierre is the island's third most populous town, behind Saint-Denis and Saint-Paul. It is nicknamed the capital of the South: its port, shops, government offices, hospital and university branch make it the center of the entire southern part of the island.
A town between the ocean and the uplands
Like most towns in Réunion, Saint-Pierre stretches from the coast up the slopes of the interior: the town proper, with its seafront and port, is home to most of the residents, while the upland neighborhoods, more agricultural, are less densely populated. Its population has risen sharply since Réunion became a department in 1946, driven by the birth rate and by the appeal of the south coast, and it keeps growing. Together with its neighbor Le Tampon, Saint-Pierre forms one of the main urban areas of overseas France.