| 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.) |
|
