Mongolia
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What is Mongolia?
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What is the capital city of Mongolia?
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What language is spoken in Mongolia?
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Who are the Mongols and what is their historical significance?
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What is the traditional nomadic life in Mongolia?
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How did Genghis Khan influence Mongolian and world history?
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What are some key cultural practices and festivals in Mongolia?
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How does Mongolia's geography affect its climate and way of life?
News •
Mongolia historically Outer Mongolialandlocked country located in north-central Asia. It is roughly oval in shapemeasuring 1,486 miles (2,392 km) from west to east andat its maximum782 miles (1,259 km) from north to south. Mongolia’s land area is roughly equivalent to that of the countries of western and central Europeand it lies in a similar latitude range. The national capitalUlaanbaatar (Mongolian: Ulan Bator)is in the north-central part of the country.
Landlocked Mongolia is located between Russia to the north and China to the southdeep within the interior of eastern Asia far from any ocean. The country has a marked continental climatewith long cold winters and short cool-to-hot summers. Its remarkable variety of scenery consists largely of upland steppessemidesertsand desertsalthough in the west and north forested high mountain ranges alternate with lake-dotted basins. Mongolia is largely a plateauwith an average elevation of about 5,180 feet (1,580 metres) above sea level. The highest peaks are in the Mongolian Altai Mountains (Mongol Altain Nuruu) in the southwesta branch of the Altai Mountains system.
- Head Of Government:
- Prime Minister: Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene
- Capital:
- Ulaanbaatar (Ulan Bator)
- Population:
- (2025 est.) 3,569,000
- Head Of State:
- President: Ukhnaa Khürelsükh
- Form Of Government:
- unitary multiparty republic with one legislative house (State Great Hural [76])
- Official Language:
- Khalkha Mongolian
- Official Religion:
- none
- Official Name:
- Mongol Uls (Mongolia)
- Total Area (Sq Km):
- 1,564,116
- Total Area (Sq Mi):
- 603,909
- Monetary Unit:
- tugrik (Tug)
- Population Rank:
- (2025) 133
- Population Projection 2030:
- 3,494,000
- Density: Persons Per Sq Mi:
- (2025) 5.9
- Density: Persons Per Sq Km:
- (2025) 2.3
- Urban-Rural Population:
- Urban: (2023) 69.9%
- Rural: (2023) 31.1%
- Life Expectancy At Birth:
- Male: (2022) 67.3 years
- Female: (2022) 76.7 years
- Literacy: Percentage Of Population Age 15 And Over Literate:
- Male: (2020) 99%
- Female: (2020) 99%
- Gni (U.S.$ ’000,000):
- (2023) 16,956
- Gni Per Capita (U.S.$):
- (2023) 4,870
- Historically:
- Outer Mongolia
Some three-fourths of Mongolia’s area consists of pasturelandswhich support the immense herds of grazing livestock for which the country is known. The remaining area is about equally divided between forests and barren desertswith only a tiny fraction of the land under crops. With a total population of fewer than three millionMongolia has one of the lowest average population densities of any country in the world.
The Mongols have a long prehistory and a most remarkable history. The Hunsa people who lived in Central Asia from the 3rd to the 1st century bcemay have been their ancestors. A united Mongolian state of nomadic tribes was formed in the early 13th century ce by Genghis Khanand his successors controlled a vast empire that included much of ChinaRussiaCentral Asiaand the Middle East. The Mongol empire eventually collapsed and split upand from 1691 northern Mongolia was colonized by Qing (Manchu) China. With the collapse of Qing rule in Mongolia in 1911/12the Bogd Gegeen (or Javzandamba)Mongolia’s religious leaderwas proclaimed Bogd Khanor head of state. He declared Mongolia’s independencebut only autonomy under China’s suzerainty was achieved. From 1919nationalist revolutionarieswith Soviet assistancedrove out Chinese troops attempting to reoccupy Mongoliaand in 1921 they expelled the invading White Russian cavalry. July 111921then became celebrated as the anniversary of the revolution. The Mongolian People’s Republic was proclaimed in November 1924and the Mongolian capitalcentred on the main monastery of the Bogd Gegeenwas renamed Ulaanbaatar (“Red Hero”).
From 1921 until the end of the 1980sMongolia was a one-party state closely tied to the Soviet Union. It received technicaleconomicand military assistance from the Soviet Union and generally followed Soviet guidance in political and economic matters and in the building of a socialist society. Howeverbeginning in 1990forces for change in Mongolia ended the monopoly of political power by the communists in favour of free multiparty electionscoalition governmenta new constitutiongreater cultural and religious freedom with more emphasis on Mongol national traditionsa neutral position in international relationsand a transition to a market economy.
Land
Relief
Mongolia can be divided into three major topographic zones: the mountain chains that dominate the northern and western areasthe basin areas situated between and around themand the enormous upland plateau belt that lies across the southern and eastern sectors. The entire country is prone to seismic movementsand some earthquakes are extremely severe. Their effectshoweverare limited by the low population density.
The mountains
There are three major mountain chains in Mongolia: the Mongolian Altai Mountainsthe Khangai Mountains (Khangain [or Hangayn] Nuruu)and the Khentii Mountains (Khentiin [or Hentiyn] Nuruu). The Mongolian Altai in the west and southwest constitute the highest and the longest of these chains. Branching southeastward from the main Altai range at the northwestern border with Russiathe Mongolian Altai stretch southeastward for some 250 miles (400 km) along the Chinese border before turning slightly more eastward for another 450 miles (725 km) in southwestern Mongolia. The range—the only one in the country where contemporary glaciation has developed—reaches an elevation of 14,350 feet (4,374 metres) at Khüiten Peak (Nayramadlyn Orgil) at the western tip of the countryMongolia’s highest point. Extending eastward from the Mongolian Altai are the Gobi Altai Mountains (Govi Altain Nuruu)a lesser range of denuded hills that lose themselves in the expanses of the Gobi.
The Khangai Mountainsalso lying from northwest to southeastform a solid mountain mass near the centre of the country. The range’s peaks reach some 12,000 feet (3,700 metres)with Otgontengerthe highestrising to some 13,200 feet (4,025 metres) in the northwest. Characteristic of the Khangai are gentle slopes covered with fine pastureland. To the north the Eastern Sayan Mountains of Siberia lie along the border with Russia.
The alignment of the third mountain chainthe Khentii range of northeastern Mongoliais southwest to northeastextending into Siberia. The highest peak is Asraltkhairkhanwhich reaches about 9,200 feet (2,800 metres)butin generalmaximum elevations are about 7,000 feet (2,130 metres). Ulaanbaatar lies at the southwestern edge of the range. The Da Hinggan (Greater Khingan) Range rises along and beyond the eastern frontier with China.