Travel to Mongolia

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. During the early 1990s, the ex-Communist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) gradually yielded its monopoly on power to the Democratic Union Coalition (DUC), which defeated the MPRP in a national election in 1996. Since then, parliamentary elections returned the MPRP overwhelmingly to power in 2000 and produced a coalition government in 2004.

Geography Location

Completely landlocked between two large neighbors - Russian Federation and China. It was immeasurably bigger during the period of Mongol conquest under Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan. Until the 20th century Mongolia was twice its present size and included a large chunk of Siberia and Inner Mongolia (now controlled by China).

Geographic coordinates: 46 00 N, 105 00 E

Area: Total: 1,564,116 sq km

Land boundaries: Total: 8,220 km (5,072 miles) bordered with Russian Federation to the North, China to the East, South and West. 3,485 km (2,166 miles.) of which is with Russian Federation and 4, 677 km (2,906 miles) is with China.

Climate: Mongolia's climate is extremely continental, with long cold, dry winters and short warm summers. For two or three months in summer, the weather is warm and pleasant and relatively hot in the southern Gobi region. Winter usually lasts from mid-October until April, with the coldest period being between mid-December and the end of February or mid-March when the temperature drops to -20 or -30c and occasionally even lower. Snow usually falls between mid-October and mid-April.
Humidity is generally low (47-73%), especially in winter, and because of the dryness the cold is less noticeable. Moreover, the cold weather is relieved by the almost continuous blue sky and sunshine. The number of sunny days ranges between 220 and 260 a year.

Terrain: Vast semi desert and desert plains, grassy steppe, mountains in west and southwest; Gobi Desert in south-central

Elevation extremes: Lowest point: Hoh Nuur 518 m , Dornod province

Highest point: Nayramadlin Orgil (Huyten Orgil) 4,374 m , Bayan-Olgii province

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

Natural hazards: Dust storms, grassland and forest fires, drought, and "zud," which is harsh winter conditions

People
Population: 2,791,272 (July 2005 est.) The present urban population is above one million, Ulaanbaatar having 700,000 inhabitants - one third of the total population of Mongolia. However, a significant part of the urban populations still live in ger /national dwelling/ habitations on the town peripheries.

Age structure: 0-14 years: 28.7% (male 407,547/female 392,440), 5-64 years: 67.7% (male 943,418/female 945,063), 5 years and over: 3.7% (male 44,413/female 58,391) (2005 est.)

Median age: Total: 24.28 years, Male: 23.93 years, Female: 24.64 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.45% (2005 est.)

Birth rate: 21.52 births/1,000 population (2005 est.), 7.03 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Nationality: Noun: Mongolian(s), Gdjective: 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% (2005)

Languages: Though Mongols developed own script way back in 13th century, some 50 years ago it was banned and the Russian Cyrillic alphabet imposed as the official script. After the Democratic Revolution of 1990, the Parliament decided to return the old script back into use as a main precondition for preserving the traditional culture and national identity.
The old script, written vertically from up to down, is being taught currently in all secondary schools since 1994, but now only 30 percent of Mongols can write, while another 50 percent can read it.
Second language: Russian is spoken by many graduates, with many Mongolians formerly educated in Russia. English is replacing Russian as the second language. German is spoken by many graduates, and a little Spanish, France and Japanese is spoken. Chinese not widely understood except in border areas.

Literacy: Definition: age 15 and over can read and write, Total population: 97.8%, male: 98%, female: 97.5% (2005)

Country name: conventional long form: none, conventional short form: Mongolia, local long form: none, local short form: Mongol Uls, former: Outer Mongolia

Government type: Parliamentary type of Government, with President second in authority to State Great Hural (Parliament).
Capital: Ulaanbaatar

Administrative divisions: 21 provinces (aimguud, singular - aimag) 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:

• January 1 - New YearMid-February
• Mongolian New Year (Tsagaan Sar)
• June 1 - Mother and Children's Day
• July 11, 12, 13 - National Day and Naadam Festival
• November 26 - Independence Day

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 Enkhbold (since January 2005); Deputy Prime Minister Ch. Ulaan (since 28 September 2004)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the State Great Hural (parliament) in consultation with the president
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.

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, two seats in dispute and unoccupied

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)

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

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)

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 recessions due to political inaction and natural disasters, as well as economic growth due to reform embracing free-market economics and extensive privatization of the formerly state-run economy. Severe winters and summer droughts in 2000, 2001, and 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 improved from 2002 at 4% to 2003 at 5%, due largely to high copper prices and new gold production, with the government claiming a 10.6% growth rate for 2004 that is unconfirmed. Mongolia's economy continues to be heavily impacted 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. The actual size of this grey - largely cash - economy 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 constitute a sizeable portion. Money laundering is growing as an accompanying concern. Mongolia settled its $11 billion debt with Russia at the end of 2003 on very 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.

Agriculture - products: Wheat, barley, vegetables, forage crops, sheep, goats, cattle, camels, horses
Industries: Construction and construction materials; mining (coal, copper, molybdenum, fluorspar, and gold); oil; food and beverages; processing of animal products, cashmere and natural fiber manufacturing
Exports - commodities: China 47.8%, US 17.9%, UK 15.7% (2004)

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)
Currency (code): Tugrug /tugrik (MNT), At the present, 10,000, 5,000, 1,000, 500, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, and 1 tugrug notes are in circulation.
Fiscal year: Calendar year

Communications
Telephone system: International Direct Dial (IDD) phone calls are available from hotels in main cities and post offices in country-side. Country code for Mongolia is 976 and the area code for Ulaanbaatar is 11.
The mobile phone network is GSM. If you bring a GSM you can get a new SIM card installed in Mongolia.
Internet country code: .mn

Transportation Railways: Total: 1,810 km

Broad gauge: 1,810 km 1.524-m gauge (2004)

Highways: Total: 49,256 km

Paved: 8,874 km

Unpaved: 40,376 km (2002)

Waterways: 580 km

Note: Only waterway in operation is Lake Khovsgol (135 km); Selenge River (270 km) and Orkhon River (175 km) are navigable but carry little traffic; lakes and rivers freeze in winter, are open from May to September (2004)

Airports: 46 (2004 est.)

Military
Military branches: Mongolian Armed Forces: Mongolian People's Army (MPA), Mongolian People's Air Force (MPAF) (2005)

Military service age and obligation: 18-25 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 12 months (2005)