Background:
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| The Mongols gained fame in the 13th century when under Chinggis KHAN 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 Mongols 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. The prime minister and most cabinet members are MPRP members. |
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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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Area:
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total: 1,564,116 sq km
country comparison to the world: 26
land:
1,553,556 sq km
water:
10,560 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; "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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| 3,041,142 (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 137
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 28.1% (male 436,391/female 418,923)
15-64 years:
67.9% (male 1,031,819/female 1,033,806)
65 years and over:
4% (male 52,430/female 67,773) (2009 est.)
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Median age:
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total: 25.3 years
male:
24.9 years
female:
25.7 years (2009 est.)
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Population growth rate:
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1.493% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 89
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Birth rate:
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21.05 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 91
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Death rate:
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6.12 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 160
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Net migration rate:
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NA (2009 est.)
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Urbanization:
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urban population: 57% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization:
1.2% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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Sex ratio:
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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:
0.77 male(s)/female
total population:
1 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 39.88 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 67
male:
42.99 deaths/1,000 live births
female:
36.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 67.65 years
country comparison to the world: 154
male:
65.23 years
female:
70.19 years (2009 est.)
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Total fertility rate:
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2.23 children born/woman (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 114
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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less than 0.1% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 133
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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fewer than 500 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 149
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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fewer than 200 (2003 est.)
country comparison to the world: 108
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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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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
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total: 13 years
male:
12 years
female:
14 years (2006)
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Education expenditures:
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5% of GDP (2004)
country comparison to the world: 73
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