Mongolia

highest point:

Nayramadlin Orgil (Khuiten Peak) 4,374 m

lowest point:

Hoh Nuur 560 m

mean elevation:

1,528 m

fresh water lake(s):

Hovsgol Nuur - 2,620 sq km; Har Us Nuur - 1,760 sq km;

salt water lake(s):

Uvs Nuur - 3,350 sq km; Hyargas Nuur - 1,360 sq km

• dust storms;
• grassland and forest fires;
• drought;
• "zud," which is harsh winter conditions

noun:

Mongolian(s)

adjective:

Mongolian

total:

31.2 years (2023 est.)

male:

29.9 years

female:

32.2 years

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.94 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.67 male(s)/female

total population:

0.95 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

total:

19.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male:

22.8 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

16.6 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

71.7 years (2023 est.)

male:

67.5 years

female:

76 years

total:

5.46 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

2.18 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

1.46 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

1.82 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

29.4% (2020 est.)

male:

51.7% (2020 est.)

female:

7.1% (2020 est.)

women married by age 15:

0.9%

women married by age 18:

12%

men married by age 18:

2.1% (2018 est.)

total:

21% (2021 est.)

male:

20.1%

female:

22.4%

• limited natural freshwater resources in some areas;
• the burning of soft coal in power plants and the lack of enforcement of environmental laws leads to air pollution in Ulaanbaatar;
• deforestation and overgrazing increase soil erosion from wind and rain;
• water pollution;
• desertification and mining activities have a deleterious effect on the environment

party to:

Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

urban population:

69.1% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

1.4% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

particulate matter emissions:

41.3 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

25.37 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

13.72 megatons (2020 est.)

fresh water lake(s):

Hovsgol Nuur - 2,620 sq km; Har Us Nuur - 1,760 sq km;

salt water lake(s):

Uvs Nuur - 3,350 sq km; Hyargas Nuur - 1,360 sq km

municipal:

50 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

170 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

250 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Mongolia

local long form:

none

local short form:

Mongol Uls

former:

Outer Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic

etymology:

the name means "Land of the Mongols" in Latin; the Mongolian name Mongol Uls translates as "Mongol State"

• 21 provinces (aymguud, singular - aymag) and 1 municipality* (singular - hot);
• Arhangay, Bayanhongor, Bayan-Olgiy, Bulgan, Darhan-Uul, Dornod, Dornogovi, Dundgovi, Dzavhan (Zavkhan), Govi-Altay, Govisumber, Hentiy, Hovd, Hovsgol, Omnogovi, Orhon, Ovorhangay, Selenge, Suhbaatar, Tov, Ulaanbaatar*, Uvs

• Naadam (games) holiday (commemorates independence from China in the 1921 Revolution), 11-15 July;
• Constitution Day (marks the date that the Mongolian People's Republic was created under a new constitution), 26 November (1924)

history:

several previous; latest adopted 13 January 1992, effective 12 February 1992

amendments:

• proposed by the State Great Hural, by the president of the republic, by the government, or by petition submitted to the State Great Hural by the Constitutional Court;
• conducting referenda on proposed amendments requires at least two-thirds majority vote of the State Great Hural;
• passage of amendments by the State Great Hural requires at least three-quarters majority vote;
• passage by referendum requires majority participation of qualified voters and a majority of votes;
• amended 1999, 2000, 2019, 2023;
• note - an amendment passed in a referendum held in May 2023 increased the seats in the State Great Hural from 76 to 126

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

both parents must be citizens of Mongolia; one parent if born within Mongolia

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

President Ukhnaagiin KHURELSUKH (since 25 June 2021)

head of government:

Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai OYUN-ERDENE (since 27 January 2021); Deputy Prime Minister Sainbuyen AMARSAIKHAN (since 8 September 2022)

cabinet:

• directly appointed by the prime minister following a constitutional amendment ratified in November 2019;
• prior to the amendment, the cabinet was nominated by the prime minister in consultation with the president and confirmed by the State Great Hural (parliament)

elections/appointments:

• presidential candidates nominated by political parties represented in the State Great Hural and directly elected by simple majority popular vote for one 6-year term;
• election last held on 9 June 2021 (next election in 2027);
• following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by the State Great Hural

election results:

• Ukhnaagiin KHURELSUKH elected president in first round;
• percent of vote - Ukhnaagiin KHURELSUKH (MPP) 72%, Dangaasuren ENKHBAT (RPEC) 21.6%, Sodnomzundui ERDENE (DP) 6.4%

description:

• unicameral State Great Hural or Ulsyn Ikh Khural (126 seats; 78 members directly elected in a selected constituency by simple majority vote and 48 members directly elected by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms);
• note - a constitutional referendum passed in May 2023 increased the number of seats to 126 from 76

elections:

last held on 24 June 2020 (next to be held in 2024)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - MPP 44.9%, DP 24.5%, Our Coalition 8.1%, independent 8.7%, Right Person Electorate Coalition 5.2%, other 8.5%;
• seats by party - MPP 62, DP 11, Our Coalition 1, Right Person Electorate Coalition 1;
• independent 1;
• composition - 63 men, 13 women;
• percent of women 17.1%

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court (consists of the Chief Justice and 24 judges organized into civil, criminal, and administrative chambers);
• Constitutional Court or Tsets (consists of the chairman and 8 members)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court chief justice and judges appointed by the president upon recommendation by the General Council of Courts - a 14-member body of judges and judicial officials - to the State Great Hural;
• appointment is for life;
• chairman of the Constitutional Court elected from among its members;
• members appointed from nominations by the State Great Hural - 3 each by the president, the State Great Hural, and the Supreme Court;
• appointment is 6 years;
• chairmanship limited to a single renewable 3-year term

subordinate courts:

• aimag (provincial) and capital city appellate courts;
• soum, inter-soum, and district courts;
• Administrative Cases Courts

chief of mission:

Ambassador BATBAYAR Ulziidelger (since 1 December 2021)

chancery:

2833 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007

telephone:

[1] (202) 333-7117

FAX:

[1] (202) 298-9227

email address and website:

[email protected]; http://mongolianembassy.us/

consulate(s) general:

New York, San Francisco

chief of mission:

Ambassador Richard L. BUANGAN (since November 2022)

embassy:

Denver Street #3, 11th Micro-District, Ulaanbaatar 14190

mailing address:

4410 Ulaanbaatar Place, Washington DC 20521-4410

telephone:

[976] 7007-6001

FAX:

[976] 7007-6174

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://mn.usembassy.gov/

• 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

name:

"Mongol ulsyn toriin duulal" (National Anthem of Mongolia)

lyrics/music:

Tsendiin DAMDINSUREN/Bilegiin DAMDINSUREN and Luvsanjamts MURJORJ

note: music adopted 1950, lyrics adopted 2006; lyrics altered on numerous occasions

total World Heritage Sites:

6 (4 cultural, 2 natural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Uvs Nuur Basin (n);
• Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape (c);
• Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Altai (c);
• Great Burkhan Khaldun Mountain and surrounding sacred landscape (c);
• Landscapes of Dauria (n);
• Deer Stone Monuments and Related Bronze Age Sites (c)

• lower middle-income East Asian economy;
• large human capital improvements over last 3 decades;
• agricultural and natural resource rich;
• export and consumption-led growth;
• high inflation due to supply bottlenecks and increased food and energy prices;
• currency depreciation

Fitch rating:

B (2018)

Moody's rating:

B3 (2018)

Standard & Poors rating: B (2018)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

• construction and construction materials;
• mining (coal, copper, molybdenum, fluorspar, tin, tungsten, gold);
• oil;
• food and beverages;
• processing of animal products, cashmere and natural fiber manufacturing

agriculture:

31.1%

industry:

18.5%

services:

50.5% (2016)

total:

21% (2021 est.)

male:

20.1%

female:

22.4%

lowest 10%:

13.7%

highest 10%:

5.7% (2017)

production:

43.904 million metric tons (2020 est.)

consumption:

8.818 million metric tons (2020 est.)

exports:

28.551 million metric tons (2020 est.)

imports:

1,000 metric tons (2020 est.)

proven reserves:

2.52 billion metric tons (2019 est.)

total petroleum production:

16,700 bbl/day (2021 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

35,800 bbl/day (2019 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate exports:

14,700 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate imports:

0 bbl/day (2018 est.)

production:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

consumption:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

exports:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

imports:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

proven reserves:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

general assessment:

• liberalized and competitive telecoms market comprises of a number of operators;
• fixed-line penetration increased steadily in the years to 2018 as more people took on fixed-line access for voice calls and to access copper-based broadband services;
• the number of lines fell in 2019, and again and more sharply in 2020, partly through the economic consequences of the pandemic (GDP fell 5.3% in 2020, year-on-year) and partly due to the migration to the mobile platform and to VoIP;
• fixed broadband penetration remains low, mainly due to a limited number of fixed lines and the dominance of the mobile platform;
• the attraction of fixed broadband as a preferred access where it is available is waning as the mobile networks are upgraded with greater capacity and capabilities;
• the growing popularity of mobile broadband continues to underpin overall broadband and telecom sector growth, with Mongolia’s market very much being dominated by mobile services, supported by widely available LTE;
• this will largely determine and shape the future direction of Mongolia’s developing digital economy (2021)

domestic:

fixed-line teledensity of 12 per 100; mobile-cellular subscribership is 140 per 100 persons (2021)

international:

country code - 976; satellite earth stations - 7 (2016)

• following a law passed in 2005, Mongolia's state-run radio and TV provider converted to a public service provider;
• also available are 68 radio and 160 TV stations, including multi-channel satellite and cable TV providers;
• transmissions of multiple international broadcasters are available (2019)

number of registered air carriers:

4 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 12

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

670,360 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

7.82 million (2018) mt-km

total:

1,815 km (2017)

broad gauge:

1,815 km (2017) 1.520-m gauge

note: national operator Ulaanbaatar Railway is jointly owned by the Mongolian Government and by the Russian State Railway

total:

113,200 km (2017)

paved:

10,600 km (2017)

unpaved:

102,600 km (2017)

• 580 km (2010) (the 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 ice-free from May to September)

• 18-27 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service (can enter military schools at age 17);
• 12-month conscript service obligation for men in the army, air forces, or police (can be extended 3 months under special circumstances);
• conscription service can be exchanged for a 24‐month stint in the civil service or a cash payment determined by the Mongolian Government;
• after conscription, soldiers can contract into military service for 2 or 4 years;
• volunteer military service for men and women is 24 months, which can be extended for another two years up to the age of 31 (2023)