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Background:
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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. 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. Since then, parliamentary elections returned the MPRP overwhelmingly to power in 2000, but 2004 elections reduced MPRP representation and, therefore, its authority.
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Location:
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Northern Asia, between China and Russia
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Geographic coordinates:
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46 00 N, 105 00 E
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Map references:
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Area:
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total: 1,564,116 sq km
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than Alaska
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Land boundaries:
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total: 8,220 km
border countries: China 4,677 km, Russia 3,543 km
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Coastline:
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0 km (landlocked)
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Maritime claims:
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none (landlocked)
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Climate:
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desert; continental (large daily and seasonal temperature ranges)
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Terrain:
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vast semidesert and desert plains, grassy steppe, mountains in west and southwest; Gobi Desert in south-central
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Hoh Nuur 518 m
highest point: Nayramadlin Orgil (Huyten Orgil) 4,374 m
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Natural resources:
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oil, coal, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, phosphates, tin, nickel, zinc, fluorspar, gold, silver, iron
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Land use:
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arable land: 0.76%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 99.24% (2005)
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Irrigated land:
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840 sq km (2003)
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Total renewable water resources:
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34.8 cu km (1999)
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
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Total: 0.44 cu km/yr (20%/27%/52%)
Per capita: 166 cu m/yr (2000)
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Natural hazards:
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dust storms, grassland and forest fires, drought, and "zud," which is harsh winter conditions
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Environment - current issues:
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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
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Environment - international agreements:
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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
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Geography - note:
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landlocked; strategic location between China and Russia
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Population:
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2,951,786 (July 2007 est.)
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Age structure:
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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.)
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Median age:
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total: 24.6 years
male: 24.2 years
female: 24.9 years (2007 est.)
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Population growth rate:
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1.486% (2007 est.)
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Birth rate:
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21.07 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
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Death rate:
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6.21 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
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Net migration rate:
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0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
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Sex ratio:
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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.)
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Infant mortality rate:
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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.)
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 66.99 years
male: 64.61 years
female: 69.48 years (2007 est.)
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Total fertility rate:
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2.25 children born/woman (2007 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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less than 0.1% (2003 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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less than 500 (2003 est)
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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less than 200 (2003 est.)
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Nationality:
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noun: Mongolian(s)
adjective: Mongolian
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Ethnic groups:
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Mongol (mostly Khalkha) 94.9%, Turkic (mostly Kazakh) 5%, other (including Chinese and Russian) 0.1% (2000)
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Religions:
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Buddhist Lamaist 50%, Shamanist and Christian 6%, Muslim 4%, none 40% (2004)
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Languages:
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Khalkha Mongol 90%, Turkic, Russian (1999)
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8%
male: 98%
female: 97.5% (2000 census)
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This page was last updated on 24 January, 2008
- The Central Intelligence Agency's World Factbook - |
