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Mongolia Country Guide

Explore Mongolia in Asia

Mongolia with the capital city Ulan Bator is located in Asia (Northern Asia, between China and Russia). It covers some 1,565,000 square kilometres (slightly smaller than Alaska) with 2,996,000 citizens.

Interactive map of Mongolia

The landscape offers vast semidesert and desert plains, grassy steppe, mountains in west and southwest with Gobi Desert in south-central. The average density of population is approximately 2 per km². The notable climate conditions in Mongolia can be described as desert with continental (large daily and seasonal temperature ranges). Potential threats by nature are dust storms or grassland and forest fires, drought, &quot, zud,&quot or which is harsh winter conditions.

To reach someone in Mongolia dial +976 prior to a number. There are 188,900 installed telephones. And there are 2,249,000 registered mobile phones. The cellular networks commonly support frequencies of 900 MHz. Websites registered in this country end with the top level domain ".mn". If you want to bring electric equipment on your trip (e.g. laptop power supply), note the local power outlet of 220V - 50Hz.

About the flag and history of Mongolia

Mongolia Flag Icon

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); blue represents the sky, red symbolizes progress and prosperity.


The Mongols gained fame in the 13th century when under Chinggis KHAAN they established a huge Eurasian empire through conquest. 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 in the late 17th century came under Chinese rule. Mongolia won its independence in 1921 with Soviet backing and a Communist regime was installed in 1924. The modern country of Mongolia, however, represents only part of the Mongols'' historical homeland; more ethnic Mongolians live in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China than in Mongolia. Following a peaceful democratic revolution, 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. The MPRP won an overwhelming majority in the 2000 parliamentary election, but the party lost seats in the 2004 election and shared power with democratic coalition parties from 2004-08. The MPRP regained a solid majority in the 2008 parliamentary elections but nevertheless formed a coalition government with the Democratic Party that lasted until January 2012. In 2009, current President ELBEGDORJ of the Democratic Party was elected to office. In 2010, the MPRP voted to retake the name of the Mongolian People''s Party (MPP), a name it used in the early 1920s. Shortly thereafter, a new party was formed by former president ENKHBAYAR, which adopted the MPRP name. In the 2012 Parliamentary elections, a coalition of four political parties led by the Democratic Party, gained control of the Parliament.



Geography Quick-Facts

SummaryContinent: Asia
Neighbours: China, Russia
Capital: Ulan Bator
Size1,565,000 square kilometers (km² or sqkm) or 604,249 square miles (mi² or sqmi)
slightly smaller than Alaska
Population2,996,000
CurrencyName Tugrik, Currency Code:MNT
Country Top Level Domain (cTLD).mn
Telephone Country Prefix+976
Mobile Phone Connections2,249,000
Landline Phone Connections188,900

Country Position in World Rankings

Information about single country attributes and how these compare against the rest of the world. The information below is compiled with data from 2013. As such, it may differ a bit to the Information above in the text (which is from 2010).

Geography

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Area1,564,116 (sq km)19

People and Society

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Population3,226,516 135
Population growth rate1.44 (%)84
Birth rate20.34 (births/1,000 population)84
Death rate5.98 (deaths/1,000 population)162
Maternal mortality rate63.00 (deaths/100,000 live births)98
Infant mortality rate34.78 (deaths/1,000 live births)65
Life expectancy at birth68.95 (years)157
Total fertility rate2.18 (children born/woman)105
Health expenditures5.40 (% of GDP)124
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate0.10 (%)144
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS500 155
HIV/AIDS - deaths100 141
Obesity - adult prevalence rate14.40 (%)122
Children under the age of 5 years underweight5.30 (%)86
Education expenditures5.50 (% of GDP)55
Unemployment, youth ages 15-2420.00 (%)57

Economy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
GDP (purchasing power parity)15,440,000,000 141
GDP - real growth rate12.30 (%)3
GDP - per capita (PPP)5,500 154
Labor force1,037,000 142
Unemployment rate9.00 (%)102
Distribution of family income - Gini index36.50 82
Taxes and other revenues43.00 (% of GDP)34
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)-8.30 (% of GDP)199
Inflation rate (consumer prices)14.00 (%)210
Central bank discount rate12.25 (%)15
Commercial bank prime lending rate15.50 (%)38
Stock of narrow money1,314,000,000 139
Stock of broad money5,456,000,000 127
Stock of domestic credit5,007,000,000 117
Market value of publicly traded shares1,579,000,000 100
Industrial production growth rate7.20 (%)36
Current account balance-2,354,000,000 143
Exports4,385,000,000 120
Imports6,739,000,000 112
Debt - external2,564,000,000 139
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home4,620,000,000 86
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad95,000,000 83

Energy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Electricity - production4,480,000,000 (kWh)122
Electricity - consumption4,217,000,000 (kWh)121
Electricity - imports262,900,000 (kWh)84
Electricity - installed generating capacity833,200 (kW)128
Electricity - from fossil fuels99.90 (% of total installed capacity)47
Electricity - from other renewable sources0.10 (% of total installed capacity)93
Crude oil - production6,983 (bbl/day)85
Crude oil - exports5,260 (bbl/day)62
Refined petroleum products - consumption21,610 (bbl/day)127
Refined petroleum products - imports15,730 (bbl/day)116
Natural gas - imports11,790 (cu m)77
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy9,436,000 (Mt)101

Communications

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Telephones - main lines in use187,600 128
Telephones - mobile cellular2,942,000 129
Internet hosts20,084 118
Internet users330,000 125

Transportation

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Airports44 98
Railways1,908 (km)73
Roadways49,249 (km)79
Waterways580 (km)82
Merchant marine57 68

Military

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Military expenditures0.80 (% of GDP)150

Data based on CIA facts book 2010 & 2013, wikipedia, national statistical offices and their census releases

List of current world heritage sites

NameSince
Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape
The 121,967-ha Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape encompasses an extensive area of pastureland on both banks of the Orkhon River and includes numerous archaeological remains dating back to the 6th century. The site also includes Kharkhorum, the 13th- a ...
2004
Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Altai
The numerous rock carvings and funerary monuments found in these three sites illustrate the development of culture in Mongolia over a period of 12,000 years. The earliest images reflect a time (11,000 - 6,000 BC) when the area was partly forested and ...
2011
Uvs Nuur Basin
The Uvs Nuur Basin (1,068,853 ha), is the northernmost of the enclosed basins of Central Asia. It takes its name from Uvs Nuur Lake, a large, shallow and very saline lake, important for migrating birds, waterfowl and seabirds. The site is made up of ...
2003