Réunion is an island and region of France in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar and 175 km southwest of Mauritius. As of January 2018, it had a population of 865,826. It has the highest GDP per capita in the Indian Ocean. The island has been inhabited since the 17th century, when people from France and Madagascar settled there. Slavery was abolished on 20 December 1848, after which indentured workers were brought from South India, among other places. The island became an overseas department of France in 1946.