Mongolia

§1. Mongolia Introduction

Background:
  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.

§2. Mongolia Geography

Location:
  Northern Asia, between China and Russia

Geographic coordinates:
  46 00 N, 105 00 E

Map references:
  Asia

Area:
  total: 1,564,116 km²

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

Elevation extremes:
  lowest point: Hoh Nuur 518 m
  highest point: Nayramadlin Orgil (Huyten Orgil) 4,374 m

Natural resources:
  oil, coal, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, phosphates, tin, nickel, zinc,
  fluorspar, gold, silver, iron

Land use:
  arable land: 0.76%
  permanent crops: 0%
  other: 99.24% (2005)

Irrigated land:
  840 km² (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
  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, Wetlands
  signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
  landlocked; strategic location between China and Russia

§3. Mongolia People

Population:
  2,832,224 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 27.9% (male 402,448/female 387,059)
  15-64 years: 68.4% (male 967,546/female 969,389)
  65 years and over: 3.7% (male 45,859/female 59,923) (2006 est.)

Median age:
  total: 24.6 years
  male: 24.3 years
  female: 25 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
  1.46% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
  21.59 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
  6.95 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
  0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
  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 (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  total: 52.12 deaths/1,000 live births
  male: 55.51 deaths/1,000 live births
  female: 48.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 64.89 years
  male: 62.64 years
  female: 67.25 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  2.25 children born/woman (2006 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%, none 40%, Shamanist and Christian 6%, Muslim 4%
  (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% (2002)

§4. Mongolia Government

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:
  Ulaanbaatar

Administrative divisions:
  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:
  11 July 1921 (from China)

National holiday:
  Independence Day/Revolution Day, 11 July (1921)

Constitution:
  12 February 1992

Legal system:
  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; presidential tenure limited to two four-year terms;
    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 (MPRP) 53.44%, Mendsaikhanin ENKHSAIKHAN (DP) 20.05%,
    Bazarsadyn JARGALSAIKHAN (MRP) 13.92%, Badarchyn ERDENEBAT (M-MNSDP)
    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 48.78%, MDC 44.8%,
    independents 3.5%, Republican Party 1.5%, others 1.42%; seats by party -
    MPRP 36, MDC 34, others 4; note - following June 2004 election MDC
    collapsed; as of 1 December 2005 composition of legislature was MPRP 38,
    DP 25, M-MNSDP 6, CWRP 2, MRP 1, PP 1, independents 3

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 (also called Civil Courage
  Republican Party or CCRP) [Sanjaasurengiin OYUN]; Democratic Party or DP
  [Radnaasumbere GONCHIKDORJ]; 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

Political pressure groups and leaders:
  NA

International organization participation:
  ARF, AsDB, CP, EBRD, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
  IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA,
  MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OPCW, OSCE (partner), SCO (observer), UN, UNCTAD,
  UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Ravdan BOLD
  chancery: 2833 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007
  telephone: [1] (202) 333-7117
  FAX: [1] (202) 298-9227
  consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
  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:
  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)

§5. Mongolia Economy

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 2000-2002 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 and 5.5% in 2005, 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 sizeable, 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):
  $6.022 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
  $1.393 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  5.5% according to official estimate (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
  $2,200 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 20.6%
  industry: 21.4%
  services: 58% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
  1.488 million (2003)

Labor force - by occupation:
  herding/agriculture 42%, mining 4%, manufacturing 6%, trade 14%, services
  29%, public sector 5% (2003)

Unemployment rate:
  6.7% (2003)

Population below poverty line:
  36.1% (2004 est.)

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: $702 million
  expenditures: $651 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005
    est.)

Agriculture - products:
  wheat, barley, vegetables, forage crops; sheep, goats, cattle, camels,
  horses

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

Industrial production growth rate:
  4.1% (2002 est.)

Electricity - production:
  3.24 billion kWh (2005 est.)

Electricity - consumption:
  3.37 billion kWh (2005 est.)

Electricity - exports:
  18 million kWh (2005 est.)

Electricity - imports:
  130 million kWh (2005 est.)

Oil - production:
  548.8 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption:
  11,220 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - exports:
  515 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - imports:
  11,210 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Natural gas - production:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Exports:
  $852 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
  copper, apparel, livestock, animal products, cashmere, wool, hides,
  fluorspar, other nonferrous metals

Exports - partners:
  China 47.8%, US 17.9%, UK 15.7% (2004)

Imports:
  $1.011 billion c.i.f. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
  machinery and equipment, fuel, cars, food products, industrial consumer
  goods, chemicals, building materials, sugar, tea

Imports - partners:
  Russia 33.3%, China 23.6%, Japan 7.4%, South Korea 6%, US 4.6% (2004)

Debt - external:
  $1.36 billion (2004)

Economic aid - recipient:
  $215 million (2003)

Currency (code):
  togrog/tugrik (MNT)

Exchange rates:
  togrogs/tugriks per US dollar - 1,187.17 (2005), 1,185.3 (2004), 1,146.5
  (2003), 1,110.3 (2002), 1,097.7 (2001)

Fiscal year:
  calendar year

§6. Mongolia Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  142,300 (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  404,400 (2004)

Telephone system:
  general assessment: network is improving with international direct dialing
    available in many areas
  domestic: very low density of about 6.5 telephones for each thousand
    persons; two wireless providers cover all but two provinces
  international: country code - 976; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik
    (Indian Ocean Region)

Radio broadcast stations:
  AM 7, FM 62, shortwave 3 (2004)

Television broadcast stations:
  52 (plus 21 provincial repeaters and many low power repeaters) (2004)

Internet country code:
  .mn

Internet hosts:
  192 (2005)

Internet users:
  200,000 (2005)

§7. Mongolia Transportation

Airports:
  48 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 14
  over 3,047 m: 1
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 12
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2005)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  total: 34
  over 3,047 m: 3
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 24
  914 to 1,523 m: 2
  under 914 m: 1 (2005)

Heliports:
  2 (2005)

Railways:
  total: 1,810 km
  broad gauge: 1,810 km 1.524-m gauge (2004)

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: 53 ships (1000 GRT or over) 255,182 GRT/379,234 DWT
  by type: bulk carrier 5, cargo 45, liquefied gas 1, passenger/cargo 1, roll
    on/roll off 1
  foreign-owned: 39 (China 1, North Korea 3, South Korea 1, Lebanon 1,
    Marshall Islands 1, Russia 10, Singapore 8, Syria 2, Thailand 1, Ukraine
    1, UAE 3, Vietnam 7) (2005)

§8. Mongolia Military

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 (2004)

Manpower available for military service:
  males age 18-49: 736,182 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
  males age 18-49: 570,435 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
  males: 34,674 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $23.1 million (FY02)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  2.2% (FY02)

§9. Mongolia Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  none


<Factbook 2006>
