(Reuters) - Voters in Florida will cast ballots on January 29 in a primary that could define a front-runner in the race to become the Republican Party candidate in the U.S. presidential election.

Here are some facts about the state.

* Florida is the largest and most diverse state to vote so far in the 2008 presidential contest, with a population of 18 million, including 20 percent Hispanic and 16 percent black.

* Along with California, Florida was hit hardest by the U.S. housing market slump. Its market is suffering from the biggest condominium glut in decades and Florida leads the nation in mortgage fraud, according to the Mortgage Asset Research Institute. The state is also reeling from huge increases in insurance premiums since eight hurricanes crossed Florida in 2004 and 2005, when insurers paid out about $35 billion in claims.

* Florida is refuge to scores of retirees from colder climates, including New York City, whose former mayor, Rudy Giuliani, hopes to make his mark on the Republican race in the state. It has 3 million people over age 65, according to U.S. Census figures.

* The state was a battleground in the 2000 U.S. presidential election with hotly contested results that gave George W. Bush the edge over former Vice President Al Gore.

* In 2008, Democrats are not competing in Florida's primary because the national party has said the state's delegates will not be seated at the Democratic convention in August as punishment for violating party rules by moving its contest up to January 29.

(Compiled by Doina Chiacu, Editing by Eric Beech)