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NAVIGATION
Mongolia
Mongol Uls
former: Outer Mongolia
INTRODUCTION
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Background:
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The Mongols entered history in the 13th century when under GENGHIS 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 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. Over the next four years the DUC put forward a number of key reforms to modernize the economy and democratize the political system. However, the former Communists were a strong opposition that stalled additional restructuring and made implementation difficult. In 2000, the MPRP won an overwhelming victory in the legislature - with 72 of the 76 seats - and completely reshuffled the government. While it continues many of the reform policies, the MPRP is focusing on social welfare and public order priorities. |
GEOGRAPHY
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Location:
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Northern Asia, between China and Russia |
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Geographic coordinates:
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46 00 N, 105 00 E |
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Map references:
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Asia |
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Area:
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total: 1.565 million sq km
water: 9,600 sq km land: 1,555,400 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than Alaska |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 8,162 km
border countries: China 4,677 km, Russia 3,485 km |
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Coastline:
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0 km (landlocked) |
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Maritime claims:
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none (landlocked) |
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Climate:
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desert; continental (large daily and seasonal temperature ranges) |
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Terrain:
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vast semidesert and desert plains, grassy steppe, mountains in west and southwest; Gobi Desert in south-central |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Hoh Nuur 518 m
highest point: Nayramadlin Orgil (Huyten Orgil) 4,374 m |
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Natural resources:
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oil, coal, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, phosphates, tin, nickel, zinc, wolfram, fluorspar, gold, silver, iron, phosphate |
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Land use:
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arable land: 0.84%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.16% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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840 sq km (1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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dust storms, grassland and forest fires, drought, and "zud", which is harsh winter conditions |
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Environment - current issues:
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limited natural fresh water resources in some areas; policies of the former Communist regime promoting rapid urbanization and industrial growth have raised concerns about their negative effects on the environment; the burning of soft coal in power plants and the lack of enforcement of environmental laws have severely polluted the air in Ulaanbaatar; deforestation, overgrazing, the converting of virgin land to agricultural production have increased soil erosion from wind and rain; desertification and mining activities have also had a deleterious effect on the environment |
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Environment - international agreements:
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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 |
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Geography - note:
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landlocked; strategic location between China and Russia |
PEOPLE
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Population:
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2,694,432 (July 2002 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 32% (male 438,176; female 422,960)
15-64 years: 64.1% (male 864,033; female 865,172) 65 years and over: 3.9% (male 45,080; female 59,011) (2002 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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1.48% (2002 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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21.8 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
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Death rate:
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7.01 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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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: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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51.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 64.62 years
female: 66.87 years (2002 est.) male: 62.47 years |
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Total fertility rate:
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2.37 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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less than 0.01% (1999 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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less than 100 (1999 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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NA |
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Nationality:
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noun: Mongolian(s)
adjective: Mongolian |
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Ethnic groups:
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Mongol (predominantly Khalkha) 85%, Turkic (of which Kazakh is the largest group) 7%, Tungusic 4.6%, other (including Chinese and Russian) 3.4% (1998) |
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Religions:
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Tibetan Buddhist Lamaism 96%, Muslim (primarily in the southwest), Shamanism, and Christian 4% (1998) |
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Languages:
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Khalkha Mongol 90%, Turkic, Russian (1999) |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8% male: 98% female: 97.5% (2000) |