Sept 27 (Reuters) - Somaliland, a former British protectorate and a semi-desert territory which broke away from Somalia in 1991, holds parliamentary elections on Sept. 29, its third democratic polls since seceding.

Here are some facts about the relatively stable democracy, which has not been internationally recognised:

AREA: With 137,600 sq. km. area, Somaliland is about the size of England and Wales. The Gulf of Aden is to the north, Somalia to the east, Ethiopia to the south and west and Djibouti to the northwest.

CAPITAL: Hargeisa

POPULATION: 3.5 million (Estimates of Somaliland government)

LANGUAGES: Somali, Arabic, English

RELIGION: Islam

ECONOMY: Despite having a thriving private sector, poverty and unemployment are widespread. The economy is highly dependent on remittances from its diaspora.

Livestock is the backbone of the economy. Embargoes on livestock exports, imposed by some Gulf countries, have seriously affected the economy. Duties collected at the port of Berbera, a trans-shipment centre used by landlocked Ethiopia, are a major source of revenue. Currency is Somaliland shilling.

GOVERNMENT: Legislative assembly is composed of an elected elders' chamber and a house of representatives. Head of the government is an elected president. The president nominates the cabinet, which is approved by the legislature.

Incumbent leader Dahir Rayale Kahin, from the ruling Unity of Democrats (UDUB) party, won Somaliland's first multi-party presidential elections in April 2003 with a slim majority. He was appointed in 2002 by Somaliland's council of elders, following the death of his predecessor Mohamed Ibrahim Egal.

MODERN HISTORY: Somaliland was independent for a few days in 1960, between the end of British colonial rule and its union with the former Italian colony of Somalia. In 1991, it declared independence after warlords overthrew Somali military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. Somaliland voters overwhelmingly backed its self-declared independence in a May 2001 referendum.

Sources: Reuters, Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (wwww.unpo.org), BBC.

(Compiled by Editorial Reference Unit Researchers in Bangalore)

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