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Introduction: MONGOLIA
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
Country name: conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Mongolia
local long form: none
local short form: Mongol Uls
former: Outer Mongolia
Capital: Ulaanbaatar
Location: Northern Asia, between China and Russia
Geographic Coordinates: 46 00 N, 105 00 E
Area: total: 1,564,116 sq km
Area Comparative: slightly smaller than Alaska
Land Boundaries: total: 8,220 km
border countries: China 4,677 km, Russia 3,543 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime Claims: none (landlocked)
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
Elavation Extremes: lowest point: Hoh Nuur 518 m
highest point: Nayramadlin Orgil (Huyten Orgil) 4,374 m
Natural Resources: oil, coal, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, phosphates, tin, nickel, zinc, fluorspar, gold, silver, iron
GOVERNEMENT
Governement Type: mixed parliamentary/presidential
Administratives Divisions: 21 provinces (aymguud, singular - aymag) 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 11 July 1921 (from China)
National Holiday: Independence Day/Revolution Day, 11 July (1921)
Constitution: 12 February 1992
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 Natsagiyn BAGABANDI (since 20 June 1997)
head of government: Prime Minister Tsakhiagiyn ELBEGDORJ (since 20 August 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Chultem 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 20 May 2001 (next to be held in May 2005); following legislative elections, leader of majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by State Great Hural
election results: Natsagiyn BAGABANDI reelected president; percent of vote - Natsagiyn BAGABANDI (MPRP) 58.13%, Radnaasumbereliyn GONCHIKDORJ (DP) 36.58%, Luvsandamba DASHNYAM (CWRP) 3.54%, other 1.75%; Tsakhiagiyn ELBEGDORJ elected prime minister by the State Great Hural 74 to 0
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)
Political parties and Leaders: Citizens' Will Republican Party or CWRP (also called Civil Courage Republican Party or CCRP) [Sanjaasurengiin OYUN]; Democratic Party or DP [R. GONCHIKDORJ]; Motherland-Mongolian New Socialist Democratic Party or M-MNSDP [B. ERDENEBAT]; Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party or MPRP [Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR]; Mongolian Republican Party or MRP [B. JARGALSAIKHAN]
note: DP and M-MNSDP formed Motherland-Democracy Coalition (MDC) in 2003 and with CWRP contested June 2004 elections as single party; MDC's leadership dissolved coalition in December 2004
PEOPLE
Population: 2,791,272 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 28.7% (male 407,547/female 392,440)
15-64 years: 67.7% (male 943,418/female 945,063)
65 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.)
Nationality: noun: Mongolian(s)
adjective: 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% (2004)
Languages: Khalkha Mongol 90%, Turkic, Russian (1999)
COMUNICATIONS
Telephones - main lines in use: 142,300 (2004)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 404,400 (2004)
Telephone system: general assessment: network is improving with international direct dialing available in many areas
domestic: very low density of about 6.5 telephones for each thousand persons; two wireless providers cover all but two provinces
international: country code - 976; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean Region)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 7, FM 62, shortwave 3 (2004)
Television broadcast stations: 52 (plus 21 provincial repeaters and many low power repeaters) (2004)
Internet country code: .mn
Internet hosts: 1,000 (2004)
Internet users: 220,000 (2004)
TRANSPORT
Railways: 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)
Pipelines:  
Ports and harbors: none
Merchant marine: total: 65 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 339,423 GRT/533,853 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 54, liquefied gas 2, passenger/cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1
foreign-owned: 38 (China 2, Lebanon 1, Philippines 1, Russia 10, Singapore 10, South Korea 1, Syria 1, Thailand 1, Ukraine 1, UAE 4, Vietnam 6) (2005)
Airports: 46 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 15
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 11
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 31
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 18
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.)
Heliports: 2 (2004 est.)
 
 
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