Factbox: Key facts on Georgian rebel region Abkhazia

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia signed a deal on Wednesday with Georgian breakaway region Abkhazia to build a military base in the Black Sea territory for at least 3,000 land troops, further strengthening its dependence on sponsor Russia.

Here are some facts about Georgian rebel region Abkhazia:

GEOGRAPHY

* About 8,000 square km (3,088 square miles), Abkhazia is a lush strip of land on the Black Sea about half the size of Wales. Once the playground of the Soviet elite, including Soviet leader Josef Stalin, the territory has ambitions to become a top tourist destination for Russians, who already account for 90 percent of holidaymakers.

* It is ruled by Sergei Bagapsh, who became president in 2005. He was re-elected in December 2009 in a vote that was officially ignored by the West.

HISTORY:

* Abkhazia threw off Georgian rule in a 1992-93 war after Georgia's independence from the Soviet Union stoked fears among the Abkhaz that their influence in their homeland would be further diminished. After sporadic fighting, Georgia sent in the army and paramilitaries to stamp out calls for secession, only to be pushed back to the Inguri river -- today's de facto border -- by Abkhaz militias backed by Russian forces.

* As fighting raged in August 2008 in another rebel region, South Ossetia, Abkhazia seized the opportunity to take back the last corner of its territory, pushing Georgian police out of the Kodori gorge. Russia now controls its borders, and plans to build military bases, for naval troops in Ochamchire and airborne forces in Gudauta.

* After the Russian-Georgian war over South Ossetia, Russia recognized Abkhazia as an independent state. Venezuela, Nicaragua and the tiny island state of Nauru followed suit. The rest of the world still considers it part of Georgia.

PEOPLE

* The population of Abkhazia is around 200,000. Georgia says 200,000 ethnic Georgians and Mingrelians fled during the 1992-93 war. Around 60,000 have returned, mainly to the eastern Gali region adjacent to Georgia proper.

* A United Nations mission of some 130 monitors observed the fragile peace after the 1992-93 war, but was forced to leave after Russia vetoed an extension to its mandate in June 2009. Russia objected to a reference in a Western draft U.N. resolution which reaffirmed Georgia's territorial integrity.

* According to the Abkhaz authorities, 90 percent of foreign investment is Russian. Pensions are paid by Russia and the rouble is the currency. Tourism is Abkhazia's best hope of economic development.

* Leader Bagapsh has repeatedly said he does not want his breakaway region to become absorbed into Russia.

RISKS

* Abkhazia's border is just 25 km (15 miles) from Sochi, the Russian city due to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

* Bagapsh has said Abkhazia could serve as a "buffer zone" between Russia and NATO-aspirant Georgia.

* In August 2009 Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin pledged half a billion dollars to defend Abkhazia, to Georgia's disdain.

* Skirmishes in the south of the region show the strip of land is still not free from violence.

(Reporting by Moscow and Tbilisi bureaux; editing by Robin Pomeroy)