The Mongols gained fame in the 13th century when under Chinggis KHAN they conquered a huge Eurasian empire. After his death the empire was divided into several powerful Mongol states, but these broke apart in the 14th century. The Mongols eventually retired to their original steppe homelands and later came under Chinese rule. Mongolia won its independence in 1921 with Soviet backing. A Communist regime was installed in 1924. The ex-Communist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) won elections in 1990 and 1992, but was defeated by the Democratic Union Coalition (DUC) in the 1996 parliamentary election. Since then, parliamentary elections returned the MPRP overwhelmingly to power in 2000 and produced a coalition government in 2004.
Location
Northern Asia, between China and Russia
Geographic coordinates
46 00 N, 105 00 E
Map references
Asia
Area
total: 1,564,116 sq km
Area - comparative
slightly smaller than Alaska
Land boundaries
total
8,220 km
border countries
China 4,677 km, Russia 3,543 km
Coastline
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims
none (landlocked)
Climate
desert; continental (large daily and seasonal temperature ranges)
Terrain
vast semidesert and desert plains, grassy steppe, mountains in west and southwest; Gobi Desert in south-central
dust storms, grassland and forest fires, drought, and "zud," which is harsh winter conditions
Environment - current issues
limited natural fresh water resources in some areas; the policies of former Communist regimes promoted rapid urbanization and industrial growth that had negative effects on the environment; the burning of soft coal in power plants and the lack of enforcement of environmental laws severely polluted the air in Ulaanbaatar; deforestation, overgrazing, and the converting of virgin land to agricultural production increased soil erosion from wind and rain; desertification and mining activities had a deleterious effect on the environment
Environment - international agreements
party to
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified
none of the selected agreements
Geography - note
landlocked; strategic location between China and Russia
Population
2,951,786 (July 2007 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
28.7% (male 432,309/female 415,382)
15-64 years
67.4% (male 994,186/female 995,986)
65 years and over
3.9% (male 49,517/female 64,406) (2007 est.)
Median age
total
24.6 years
male
24.2 years
female
24.9 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate
1.486% (2007 est.)
Birth rate
21.07 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate
6.21 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years
1.041 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.998 male(s)/female
65 years and over
0.769 male(s)/female
total population
1 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total
42.65 deaths/1,000 live births
male
45.86 deaths/1,000 live births
female
39.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population
66.99 years
male
64.61 years
female
69.48 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate
2.25 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
less than 0.1% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS
less than 500 (2003 est)
HIV/AIDS - deaths
less than 200 (2003 est.)
Nationality
noun
Mongolian(s)
adjective
Mongolian
Ethnic groups
Mongol (mostly Khalkha) 94.9%, Turkic (mostly Kazakh) 5%, other (including Chinese and Russian) 0.1% (2000)
Religions
Buddhist Lamaist 50%, Shamanist and Christian 6%, Muslim 4%, none 40% (2004)
Languages
Khalkha Mongol 90%, Turkic, Russian (1999)
Literacy
definition
age 15 and over can read and write
total population
97.8%
male
98%
female
97.5% (2000 census)
Country name
conventional long form
none
conventional short form
Mongolia
local long form
none
local short form
Mongol Uls
former
Outer Mongolia
Government type
mixed parliamentary/presidential
Capital
name
Ulaanbaatar
geographic coordinates
47 55 N, 106 53 E
time difference
UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time
+1hr, begins last Saturday in March; ends last Saturday in September
blend of Soviet, German, and US systems that combine "continental" or "civil" code and case-precedent; constitution ambiguous on judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch
chief of state
President Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR (since 24 June 2005)
head of government
Prime Minister Miegombyn ENKHBOLD (since 25 January 2006); Deputy Prime Minister Mendsaikhan ENKHSAIKHAN (since 28 January 2006)
cabinet
Cabinet nominated by the prime minister in consultation with the president and confirmed by the State Great Hural (parliament)
elections
presidential candidates nominated by political parties represented in State Great Hural and elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 22 May 2005 (next to be held in May 2009); following legislative elections, leader of majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by State Great Hural
election results
Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR elected president; percent of vote - Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR 53.44%, Mendsaikhanin ENKHSAIKHAN 20.05%, Bazarsadyn JARGALSAIKHAN 13.92%, Badarchyn ERDENEBAT 12.59%; Miegombyn ENKHBOLD elected prime minister by the State Great Hural 56 to 10
Legislative branch
unicameral State Great Hural 76 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms
elections: last held 27 June 2004 (next to be held in June 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - MPRP 48.8%, MDC 44.8%, independents 3.5%, Republican Party 1.5%, others 1.4%; seats by party - MPRP 36, MDC 34, others 4; note - 2 seats disputed and unfilled; following June 2004 election MDC collapsed
Judicial branch
Supreme Court (serves as appeals court for people's and provincial courts but rarely overturns verdicts of lower courts; judges are nominated by the General Council of Courts and approved by the president)
Political parties and leaders
Citizens' Will Republican Party or CWRP [Sanjaasurengiin OYUN] (also called Civil Courage Republican Party or CCRP); Democratic Party or DP [Tsakhiagiyn ELBEGDORJ]; Motherland-Mongolian New Socialist Democratic Party or M-MNSDP [Badarchyn ERDENEBAT]; Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party or MPRP [Miegombyn ENKHBOLD]; Mongolian Republican Party or MRP [Bazarsadyn JARGALSAIKHAN]; People's Party or PP [Lamjav GUNDALAI]
note: DP and M-MNSDP formed Motherland-Democracy Coalition (MDC) in 2003 and with CWRP contested June 2004 elections as single party; MDC's leadership dissolved coalition in December 2004
three equal, vertical bands of red (hoist side), blue, and red; centered on the hoist-side red band in yellow is the national emblem ("soyombo" - a columnar arrangement of abstract and geometric representation for fire, sun, moon, earth, water, and the yin-yang symbol)
Economy - overview
Economic activity in Mongolia has traditionally been based on herding and agriculture. Mongolia has extensive mineral deposits. Copper, coal, molybdenum, tin, tungsten and gold account for a large part of industrial production. Soviet assistance, at its height one-third of GDP, disappeared almost overnight in 1990 and 1991 at the time of the dismantlement of the USSR. The following decade saw Mongolia endure both deep recession due to political inaction and natural disasters, as well as economic growth because of reform-embracing, free-market economics and extensive privatization of the formerly state-run economy. Severe winters and summer droughts in 2000-02 resulted in massive livestock die-off and zero or negative GDP growth. This was compounded by falling prices for Mongolia's primary sector exports and widespread opposition to privatization. Growth was 10.6% in 2004, 5.5% in 2005, and 7.5% in 2006, largely because of high copper prices and new gold production. Mongolia's economy continues to be heavily influenced by its neighbors. For example, Mongolia purchases 80% of its petroleum products and a substantial amount of electric power from Russia, leaving it vulnerable to price increases. China is Mongolia's chief export partner and a main source of the "shadow" or "grey" economy. The World Bank and other international financial institutions estimate the grey economy to be at least equal to that of the official economy, but the former's actual size is difficult to calculate since the money does not pass through the hands of tax authorities or the banking sector. Remittances from Mongolians working abroad both legally and illegally are sizable, and money laundering is a growing concern. Mongolia settled its $11 billion debt with Russia at the end of 2003 on favorable terms. Mongolia, which joined the World Trade Organization in 1997, seeks to expand its participation and integration into Asian regional economic and trade regimes.
GDP (purchasing power parity)
$5.852 billion (2006 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate)
$1.54 billion (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
7.5% according to official estimate (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP)
$2,100 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture
21.7%
industry
27.9%
services
50.4% (2005)
Labor force
1.577 million (2005)
Labor force - by occupation
agriculture
39.9%
industry
31.4%
services
28.7% (2005)
Unemployment rate
3.3% (2005)
Population below poverty line
36.1% (2004)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%
2.1%
highest 10%
37% (1995)
Distribution of family income - Gini index
44 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
9.5% (2005 est.)
Budget
revenues
$695.3 million
expenditures
$634.5 million (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products
Industries
construction and construction materials; mining (coal, copper, molybdenum, fluorspar, tin, tungsten, and gold); oil; food and beverages; processing of animal products, cashmere and natural fiber manufacturing
China 68.4%, Canada 11.2%, US 7%, South Korea 5.1% (2006)
Imports
$1.184 billion c.i.f. (2005)
Imports - commodities
machinery and equipment, fuel, cars, food products, industrial consumer goods, chemicals, building materials, sugar, tea
Imports - partners
Russia 30.1%, China 29.8%, Japan 12% (2006)
Debt - external
$1.38 billion (2005)
Economic aid - recipient
$203.35 million (2005)
Currency (code)
togrog/tugrik (MNT)
Currency code
MNT
Exchange rates
togrogs/tugriks per US dollar - 1,179.6 (2006), 1,205 (2005), 1,185.3 (2004), 1,146.5 (2003), 1,110.3 (2002)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Telephones - main lines in use
156,000 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular
557,200 (2005)
Telephone system
general assessment
network is improving with international direct dialing available in many areas
domestic
very low density of about 6 main lines per 100 persons (roughly 25 per 100 persons including cellular mobile phones); there are 3 wireless providers
international
country code - 976; satellite earth stations - 7
Radio broadcast stations
AM 7, FM 115 (includes 20 National radio broadcaster repeaters), shortwave 4 (2006)
Radios
155,900 (1999)
Television broadcast stations
456 (including provincial and low-power repeaters) (2006)
Televisions
168,800 (1999)
Internet country code
.mn
Internet hosts
272 (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
5 (2001)
Internet users
268,300 (2005)
Airports
44 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways
total
12
over 3,047 m
1
2,438 to 3,047 m
10
1,524 to 2,437 m
1 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total
32
over 3,047 m
2
2,438 to 3,047 m
3
1,524 to 2,437 m
24
914 to 1,523 m
2
under 914 m
1 (2006)
Heliports
2 (2006)
Railways
total
1,810 km
broad gauge
1,810 km 1.524-m gauge (2005)
Roadways
total
49,250 km
paved
1,724 km
unpaved
47,526 km (2002)
Waterways
580 km
note: only waterway in operation is Lake Hovsgol (135 km); Selenge River (270 km) and Orhon River (175 km) are navigable but carry little traffic; lakes and rivers freeze in winter, are open from May to September (2004)
Merchant marine
total
61 ships (1000 GRT or over) 319,053 GRT/479,190 DWT
by type
bulk carrier 8, cargo 49, passenger/cargo 1, roll on/roll off 3
foreign-owned
49 (China 4, Japan 1, North Korea 3, Lebanon 1, Malaysia 1, Russia 13, Singapore 10, Syria 1, Thailand 1, UAE 5, Ukraine 1, Vietnam 8) (2006)
Military branches
Mongolian People's Army (MPA), Mongolian People's Air Force (MPAF); there is no navy (2005)
Military service age and obligation
18-25 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 12 months in land or air defense forces or police; a small portion of Mongolian land forces (2.5 percent) is comprised of contract soldiers; women cannot be deployed overseas for military operations (2006)
