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  Introduction
  Geography
  People
  Government
  Economy
  Communications
  Transportation
  Military
  Transnational Issues

In general, information available as of 1 January 2003
was used in the preparation of The World Factbook 2003.


This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003


Map of Mongolia

Legend: DefinitionDefinition Field ListingField Listing Rank OrderRank Order
   Introduction    Mongolia
Background:
Definition Field Listing
The Mongols gained fame in the 13th century when under Genghis 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 came under Chinese rule. Mongolia won its independence in 1921 with Soviet backing. A Communist regime was installed in 1924. During the early 1990s, the ex-Communist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) gradually yielded its monopoly on power to the Democratic Union Coalition (DUC), which defeated the MPRP in a national election in 1996. Over the next four years, the DUC put forward a number of key reforms to modernize the economy and to democratize the political system. The former Communists were a strong opposition that stalled additional restructuring and made implementation difficult. In 2000, the MPRP won an overwhelming victory in the legislature - with 72 of the 76 seats - and completely reshuffled the government. While it continues many of the reform policies, the MPRP has focused on social welfare and public order priorities.
   Geography    Mongolia
Location:
Definition Field Listing
Northern Asia, between China and Russia
Geographic coordinates:
Definition Field Listing
46 00 N, 105 00 E
Map references:
Definition Field Listing
Asia
Area:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 1.565 million sq km
water: 9,600 sq km
land: 1,555,400 sq km
Area - comparative:
Definition Field Listing
slightly smaller than Alaska
Land boundaries:
Definition Field Listing
total: 8,162 km
border countries: China 4,677 km, Russia 3,485 km
Coastline:
Definition Field Listing
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
Definition Field Listing
none (landlocked)
Climate:
Definition Field Listing
desert; continental (large daily and seasonal temperature ranges)
Terrain:
Definition Field Listing
vast semidesert and desert plains, grassy steppe, mountains in west and southwest; Gobi Desert in south-central
Elevation extremes:
Definition Field Listing
lowest point: Hoh Nuur 518 m
highest point: Nayramadlin Orgil (Huyten Orgil) 4,374 m
Natural resources:
Definition Field Listing
oil, coal, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, phosphates, tin, nickel, zinc, wolfram, fluorspar, gold, silver, iron, phosphate
Land use:
Definition Field Listing
arable land: 0.84%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 99.16% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
Definition Field Listing
840 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
Definition Field Listing
dust storms, grassland and forest fires, drought, and "zud", which is harsh winter conditions
Environment - current issues:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
Definition Field Listing
landlocked; strategic location between China and Russia
   People    Mongolia
Population:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2,712,315 (July 2003 est.)
Age structure:
Definition Field Listing
0-14 years: 30.7% (male 423,081; female 408,119)
15-64 years: 65.7% (male 890,482; female 892,140)
65 years and over: 3.6% (male 42,292; female 56,201) (2003 est.)
Median age:
Definition Field Listing
total: 23.5 years
male: 23.2 years
female: 23.9 years (2002)
Population growth rate:
Definition Field Listing
1.42% (2003 est.)
Birth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
21.39 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
7.18 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Net migration rate:
Definition Field Listing
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Sex ratio:
Definition Field Listing
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 57.16 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 53.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 60.75 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total population: 63.81 years
male: 61.63 years
female: 66.09 years (2003 est.)
Total fertility rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2.28 children born/woman (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
less than 100 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
NA
Nationality:
Definition Field Listing
noun: Mongolian(s)
adjective: Mongolian
Ethnic groups:
Definition Field Listing
Mongol (predominantly Khalkha) 85%, Turkic (of which Kazakh is the largest group) 7%, Tungusic 4.6%, other (including Chinese and Russian) 3.4% (1998)
Religions:
Definition Field Listing
Tibetan Buddhist Lamaism 96%, Muslim (primarily in the southwest), Shamanism, and Christian 4% (1998)
Languages:
Definition Field Listing
Khalkha Mongol 90%, Turkic, Russian (1999)
Literacy:
Definition Field Listing
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.1%
male: 99.2%
female: 99% (2003 est.)
   Government    Mongolia
Country name:
Definition Field Listing
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Mongolia
local short form: Mongol Uls
former: Outer Mongolia
local long form: none
Government type:
Definition Field Listing
parliamentary
Capital:
Definition Field Listing
Ulaanbaatar
Administrative divisions:
Definition Field Listing
21 provinces (aymguud, singular - aymag) and 1 municipality* (singular - hot); Arhangay, Bayanhongor, Bayan-Olgiy, Bulgan, Darhan Uul, Dornod, Dornogovi, Dundgovi, Dzavhan, Govi-Altay, Govi-Sumber, Hentiy, Hovd, Hovsgol, Omnogovi, Orhon, Ovorhangay, Selenge, Suhbaatar, Tov, Ulaanbaatar*, Uvs
Independence:
Definition Field Listing
11 July 1921 (from China)
National holiday:
Definition Field Listing
Independence Day/Revolution Day, 11 July (1921)
Constitution:
Definition Field Listing
12 February 1992
Legal system:
Definition Field Listing
blend of Soviet, German, and US systems of law that combines aspects of a parliamentary system with some aspects of a presidential system; constitution ambiguous on judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
Definition Field Listing
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
Definition Field Listing
chief of state: President Natsagiyn BAGABANDI (since 20 June 1997)
head of government: Prime Minister Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR (since 26 July 2000)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the State Great Hural in consultation with the president
elections: president nominated by parties in the State Great Hural and elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 20 May 2001 (next to be held NA May 2005); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by the State Great Hural; election last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA 2004)
election results: Natsagiyn BAGABANDI reelected president; percent of vote - Natsagiyn BAGABANDI (MPRP) 58.13%, Radnaasumbereliyn GONCHIGDORJ (DP) 36.58%, Luvsandamba DASHNYAM (CWP) 3.54%, other 1.75%; Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR elected prime minister by a vote in the State Great Hural of 68 to 3
Legislative branch:
Definition Field Listing
unicameral State Great Hural (76 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA July 2004)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MPRP 72, other 4
Judicial branch:
Definition Field Listing
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 for approval by the president)
Political parties and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
Citizens' Will Party or CWP (also called Civil Will Party or Civil Courage Party) [Sanjaasurengyn OYUN]; Democratic Party or DP [D. DORLIGJAN]; Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party or MPRP [Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR]; Mongolian New Socialist Democratic Party or MNSDP [B. ERDENEBAT]; Mongolian Republican Party or MRP [B. JARGALSAIHAN]
note: the MPRP is the ruling party
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
NA
International organization participation:
Definition Field Listing
ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (observer), CP (provisional), EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: Ambassador Ravdangiyn BOLD
chancery: 2833 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007
consulate(s) general: New York
FAX: [1] (202) 298-9227
telephone: [1] (202) 333-7117
Diplomatic representation from the US:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: Ambassador Pamela J. Slutz
embassy: Micro Region 11, Big Ring Road, C.P.O. 1021, Ulaanbaatar 13
mailing address: PSC 461, Box 300, FPO AP 96521-0002
telephone: [976] (11) 329095
FAX: [976] (11) 320776
Flag description:
Definition Field Listing
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    Mongolia
Economy - overview:
Definition Field Listing
Economic activity traditionally has been based on agriculture and breeding of livestock. Mongolia also 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 1990-1991 at the time of the dismantlement of the USSR. Mongolia was driven into deep recession, prolonged by the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party's (MPRP) reluctance to undertake serious economic reform. The Democratic Coalition (DC) government embraced free-market economics, eased price controls, liberalized domestic and international trade, and attempted to restructure the banking system and the energy sector. Major domestic privatization programs were undertaken, as well as the fostering of foreign investment through international tender of the oil distribution company, a leading cashmere company, and banks. Reform was held back by the ex-Communist MPRP opposition and by the political instability brought about through four successive governments under the DC. Economic growth picked up in 1997-1999 after stalling in 1996 due to a series of natural disasters and declines in world prices of copper and cashmere. In August and September 1999, the economy suffered from a temporary Russian ban on exports of oil and oil products, and Mongolia remains vulnerable in this sector. Mongolia joined the World Trade Organization (WTrO) in 1997. The international donor community pledged over $300 million per year at the Consultative Group Meeting, held in Ulaanbaatar in June 1999. The MPRP government, elected in July 2000, is anxious to improve the investment climate; it must also deal with a heavy burden of external debt. Falling prices for Mongolia's mainly primary sector exports, widespread opposition to privatization, and adverse effects of weather on agriculture in early 2000 and 2001 restrained real GDP growth in 2000-2001. Despite drought problems in 2002, GDP rose 4.0%, followed by a solid 5.0% increase in 2003. The first applications under the land privatization law have been marked by a number of disputes over particular sites. Russia claims Mongolia owes it $11 billion from the old Soviet period; any settlement could substantially increase Mongolia's foreign debt burden.
GDP:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
purchasing power parity - $5.06 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
3.9% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture: 32%
industry: 23%
services: 45% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line:
Definition Field Listing
36% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Definition Field Listing
lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 24.5% (1995)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
Definition Field Listing
33.2 (1995)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
3% (2002 est.)
Labor force:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.4 million (2001)
Labor force - by occupation:
Definition Field Listing
primarily herding/agricultural
Unemployment rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
20% (2000)
Budget:
Definition Field Listing
revenues: $386 million
expenditures: $427 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.)
Industries:
Definition Field Listing
construction materials, mining (coal, copper, molybdenum, fluorspar, and gold); oil; food and beverages, processing of animal products
Industrial production growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
4.1% (2002 est.)
Electricity - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2.225 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
Definition Field Listing
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2.194 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
Definition Field Listing
25 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
Definition Field Listing
196 million kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
8,750 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
NA (2001)
Oil - imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
NA (2001)
Agriculture - products:
Definition Field Listing
wheat, barley, potatoes, forage crops; sheep, goats, cattle, camels, horses
Exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$501 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
copper, livestock, animal products, cashmere, wool, hides, fluorspar, other nonferrous metals
Exports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
China 43.8%, US 33.6%, Russia 9.6% (2002)
Imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$659 million c.i.f. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
machinery and equipment, fuels, food products, industrial consumer goods, chemicals, building materials, sugar, tea
Imports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
Russia 32%, China 19.4%, South Korea 12.1%, US 9.1%, Germany 4.7%, Japan 4.3% (2002)
Debt - external:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$913 million (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
Definition Field Listing
$208.7 million (1999 est.)
Currency:
Definition Field Listing
togrog/tugrik (MNT)
Currency code:
Definition Field Listing
MNT
Exchange rates:
Definition Field Listing
togrogs/tugriks per US dollar - 1,134 (2002), 1,097.7 (2001), 1,076.67 (2000), 1,021.87 (1999), 840.83 (1998)
Fiscal year:
Definition Field Listing
calendar year
   Communications    Mongolia
Telephones - main lines in use:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
104,100 (1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
110,000 (2001)
Telephone system:
Definition Field Listing
general assessment: very low density: about 3.5 telephones for each thousand persons
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean Region)
Radio broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
AM 7, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2001)
Television broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
4 (plus 18 provincial repeaters and many low power repeaters) (1999)
Internet country code:
Definition Field Listing
.mn
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
Definition Field Listing
5 (2001)
Internet users:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
40,000 (2002)
   Transportation    Mongolia
Railways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1,815 km
broad gauge: 1,815 km 1.524-m gauge (2002)
Highways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 49,250 km
paved: 1,724 km
unpaved: 47,526 km (2000)
Waterways:
Definition Field Listing
400 km (1999)
Ports and harbors:
Definition Field Listing
none
Airports:
Definition Field Listing
50 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 10
2,438 to 3,047 m: 9
under 914 m: 1 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 40
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 9
1,524 to 2,437 m: 13
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 12 (2002)
   Military    Mongolia
Military branches:
Definition Field Listing
Mongolian Armed Forces (includes General Purpose Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Civil Defense Troops); note - Border Troops are under Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs in peacetime
Military manpower - military age:
Definition Field Listing
18 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - availability:
Definition Field Listing
males age 15-49: 796,449 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
Definition Field Listing
males age 15-49: 516,502 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
Definition Field Listing
males: 32,529 (2003 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$23.1 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2.2% (FY02)
   Transnational Issues    Mongolia
Disputes - international:
Definition Field Listing
none

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003


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