Mongolia
The Country of the Week
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Ulaanbaatar
- Population
- 3,281,676 (2024 est.)
- Area
- 1,564,116 sq km
- Government
- semi-presidential republic
- Religions
- Buddhist 51.8%, no religion 40.6%, Muslim 3.2%, Shaman 2.5%, Christian 1.3%, Other 0.6% (2020 est.)
- Ethnic Groups
- Khalkh 83.8%, Kazak 3.8%, Durvud 2.6%, Bayad 2%, Buriad 1.4%, Zakhchin 1.2%, Dariganga 1.1%, other 4.1% (2020 est.)
- Currency
- togrog/tugriks (MNT)
- Life Expectancy
- 71.9 years (2024 est.)
- Internet Domain
- .mn
- 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
- Natural Resources
- oil, coal, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, phosphates, tin, nickel, zinc, fluorspar, gold, silver, iron
- Major Exports
- coal, copper ore, gold, iron ore, crude petroleum (2023)
Source: CIA World Factbook (public domain)
Overview
The peoples of Mongolia have a long history under a number of nomadic empires dating back to the Xiongnu in the 4th century B.C., and the name Mongol goes back to at least the 11th century A.D.