View source for Mongolia

{{Short description|Country in East Asia}}
{{About|the modern sovereign state}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Mongolia
| native_name            = {{ublist|{{MongolUnicode|lang=mn|ᠮᠤᠩᠭᠤᠯ<br />ᠤᠯᠤᠰ}} ([[Mongolian script|Mongolian]])|{{native name|mn|Монгол Улс|italics=no}}}}
| common_name            = Mongolia
| image_flag             = Flag of Mongolia.svg
| image_coat             = State emblem of Mongolia.svg
| symbol_type            = Emblem
| other_symbol_type      = [[State seal of Mongolia|State seal]]
| other_symbol           = [[File:State seal of Mongolia.svg|border|90px]]
| image_map              = Mongolia (orthographic projection).svg
| map_caption            = 
| national_motto         = 
| national_anthem        = {{lang|mn|Монгол Улсын Төрийн дуулал}}<br />{{transliteration|mn|Mongol ulsyn töriin duulal}}<br />"[[National Anthem of Mongolia]]"[[File:The National Anthem of Mongolia.ogg]]
| official_languages     = [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]]
| languages_type         = [[Official script]]s
| languages              = {{hlist|[[Mongolian script|Mongolian]]|[[Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet|Cyrillic]]<!-- Please, add an official (and non-media) source, otherwise it may be removed. --><ref>{{Cite news |date=21 June 2011 |title=Official Documents to be in Mongolian Script |work=UB Post |url=http://ubpost.mongolnews.mn/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6478&Itemid=36 |access-date=2010-07-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111101013639/http://ubpost.mongolnews.mn/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6478&Itemid=36 |archive-date=1 November 2011}}</ref>}}
| ethnic_groups          = {{tree list}}
*95.6% [[Mongols]]
*3.8% [[Kazakhs]]
*0.6% [[Demographics of Mongolia|other]]{{tree list/end}}
| ethnic_groups_year     = 2020<ref name="web-old.archive.org">{{cite web |url=https://tuv.nso.mn/uploads/users/87/files/Khun_am_toollogo.pdf |title=Хун ам, орон сууцны 2020 оны улсын ээлжит тооллогы нэгдсэн дун |language=Mongolian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107230731/https://tuv.nso.mn/uploads/users/87/files/Khun_am_toollogo.pdf |archive-date=7 November 2020 |access-date=16 August 2021}}</ref>
| demonym                = [[Mongols|Mongolian]], [[Mongols|Mongol]]
| capital                = [[Ulaanbaatar]]{{efn|Also spelled as "Ulan Bator"}}
| religion               = {{unbulleted list
  | 51.7% [[Buddhism in Mongolia|Buddhism]]
  | 40.6% [[Irreligion|No religion]]
  | 3.2% [[Islam in Mongolia|Islam]]
  | 2.5% [[Mongolian shamanism|Shamanism]]
  | 1.3% [[Christianity in Mongolia|Christianity]]
  | 0.7% [[Religion in Mongolia|other]]
 }}
| religion_year          = 2020<ref name="web-old.archive.org"/>
| coordinates            = {{coord|48|N|106|E|scale:20000000_source:GNS|display=title}}
| largest_city           = capital
| government_type        = Unitary [[semi-presidential republic]]<ref name="IDEA">{{Cite web |last=Odonkhuu |first=Munkhsaikhan |author-link=<!-- Munkhsaikhan Odonkhuu --> |date=12 February 2016 |title=Mongolia: A Vain Constitutional Attempt to Consolidate Parliamentary Democracy |url=http://www.constitutionnet.org/news/mongolia-vain-constitutional-attempt-consolidate-parliamentary-democracy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160225144740/http://www.constitutionnet.org/news/mongolia-vain-constitutional-attempt-consolidate-parliamentary-democracy |archive-date=25 February 2016 |access-date=21 February 2016 |website=ConstitutionNet |publisher=[[International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance|International IDEA]] |quote=Mongolia is sometimes described as a semi-presidential system because, while the prime minister and cabinet are collectively responsible to the SGKh, the president is popularly elected, and his/her powers are much broader than the conventional powers of heads of state in parliamentary systems.}}</ref>
| leader_title1          = [[President of Mongolia|President]]
| leader_name1           = [[Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh]]
| leader_title2          = [[Prime Minister of Mongolia|Prime Minister]]
| leader_name2           = [[Gombojavyn Zandanshatar]]
| leader_title3          = [[Chairman of the State Great Khural|Chairman]] of the [[State Great Khural]]
| leader_name3           = [[Khürelbaataryn Bulgantuya]] (acting)
| legislature            = [[State Great Khural]]
| area_rank              = 18th
| area_km2               = 1,564,116
| area_sq_mi             = 603,909 <!-- Do not remove per [[WP:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers]] -->
| percent_water          = 0.67<ref name="cia">{{Cite web |title=Mongolia |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mongolia/ |access-date=9 August 2015 |website=The World Factbook |publisher=CIA |archive-date=9 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109221145/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mongolia |url-status=live}}</ref>
| population_estimate    = 3,504,741
| population_estimate_year = 2023<ref>{{cite web|url=https://1212.mn/en/dissemination/73110203 | title=MONGOLIAN STATISTICAL INFORMATION SERVICE}}</ref>
| population_estimate_rank = 131st
| population_density_km2 = 2.24
| population_density_sq_mi = 5.8
| population_density_rank = 238th
| GDP_PPP                = {{increase}} $73.280 billion<ref name="WEO">{{cite web |title=World Economic Outlook Database, April 2025 |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2025/april |language=en |website=International Monetary Fund }}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_year           = 2025
| GDP_PPP_rank           = 113th
| GDP_PPP_per_capita     = {{increase}} $20,450<ref name="WEO"/>
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 90th
| GDP_nominal            = {{increase}} $25.800 billion<ref name="WEO"/>
| GDP_nominal_year       = 2025
| GDP_nominal_rank       = 118th
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $7,200<ref name="WEO"/>
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 97th
| Gini_year              = 2018
| Gini_change            = <!-- increase/decrease/steady -->
| Gini                   = 32.7 <!-- number only -->
| Gini_ref               = <ref name="wb-gini">{{Cite web |title=GINI index (World Bank estimate) – Mongolia |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI?locations=MN |access-date=22 March 2020 |website=data.worldbank.org |publisher=[[World Bank]] |archive-date=1 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101132736/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI?locations=MN |url-status=live}}</ref>
| Gini_rank              = 
| HDI                    = 0.747
| HDI_year               = 2023<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year. -->
| HDI_change             = increase
| HDI_ref                = <ref name="UNHDR">{{Cite web |date=6 May 2025 |title=Human Development Report 2025 |url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250506051232/https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf |archive-date=6 May 2025 |access-date=6 May 2025 |publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]]}}</ref>
| HDI_rank               = 104th
| sovereignty_type       = [[History of Mongolia|Formation]]
| established_event1     = [[Xianbei]]
| established_date1      = 209 BC
| established_event2     = [[Rouran Khaganate]]
| established_date2      = 330 AD
| established_date3      = 1125
| established_event3     = [[Khamag Mongol]]
| established_event4     = [[Mongol Empire]]
| established_date4      = 1206
| established_event5     = [[Northern Yuan]]
| established_date5      = 1368
| established_event6     = Completion of [[Qing dynasty]] conquest
| established_date6      = 1691, 1758
| established_event7     = [[Bogd Khanate]]
| established_date7      = 29 December 1911
| established_event8    = [[Mongolian People's Republic]] 
| established_date8     = 26 November 1924
| established_event9    = [[Constitution of Mongolia|Current constitution]]
| established_date9     = 12 February 1992
| currency               = [[Mongolian tögrög|Tögrög]]
| currency_code          = MNT
| time_zone              = <!-- [[Asia/Hovd|HOVD]] (Hovd Standard Time) / [[Asia/Ulaanbaatar||ULAT]] (Ulaanbaatar Standard Time) -->
| utc_offset             = +7/+8<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mongolia Standard Time is GMT (UTC) +8, some areas of Mongolia use GMT (UTC) +7 |url=http://www.timetemperature.com/asia/mongolia_time_zone.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013100212/http://timetemperature.com/asia/mongolia_time_zone.shtml |archive-date=13 October 2007 |access-date=2007-09-30 |publisher=Time Temperature.com}}</ref>
| time_zone_DST          = 
| utc_offset_DST         = 
| drives_on              = Right
| calling_code           = [[+976]]
| cctld                  = [[.mn]], [[.мон]]
}}

'''Mongolia'''{{efn|{{langx|mn|Монгол Улс|Mongol Uls}}; [[Mongolian script]]: {{MongolUnicode|ᠮᠤᠩᠭᠤᠯ}} {{MongolUnicode|ᠤᠯᠤᠰ}}, {{IPA|mn|mɔŋɢəɮ ʊɮs}}, {{transliteration|Mong|moŋɣol ulus}}; [[literal translation|lit.]] "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia"<br/>{{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-Mongolia.ogg|m|ɒ|ŋ|ˈ|ɡ|oʊ|l|i|ə}} {{respell|mong|GOH|lee|ə}}}} is a [[landlocked country]] in [[East Asia]]. Bordered by [[Russia]] to the north and [[China]] to the south and southeast, it covers an area of {{convert|1564116|km2|abbr=off}}, making it the [[List of countries and dependencies by area|18th-largest country]] in the world and the second largest landlocked country after [[Kazakhstan]], as well as the largest landlocked country that does not border an [[Endorheic basin|inland sea]]. With a population of 3.5&nbsp;million, it is the world's [[List of countries and dependencies by population density|most sparsely populated sovereign state]]. The country constitutes a significant portion of the [[Mongolian Plateau]], and its natural environment is characterized by grassy [[steppe]], mountains to the north and west, and the [[Gobi Desert]] to the south. [[Ulaanbaatar]], the capital and [[List of cities in Mongolia|largest city]], is home to roughly half of the country's population.

The territory of modern-day Mongolia has been ruled by various [[nomadic empire]]s, including the [[Xiongnu]], the [[Xianbei]], the [[Rouran]], the [[First Turkic Khaganate]], the [[Second Turkic Khaganate]], the [[Uyghur Khaganate]] and others. In 1206, [[Genghis Khan]] founded the [[Mongol Empire]], which became the largest [[List of largest empires|contiguous land empire]] in history. His grandson [[Kublai Khan]] conquered [[China proper]] and established the [[Yuan dynasty]]. After the collapse of the Yuan, the [[Mongols]] retreated to Mongolia and resumed their earlier pattern of factional conflict, except during the era of [[Dayan Khan]] and [[Tumen Zasagt Khan]].

In the 16th century, [[Buddhism in Mongolia|Tibetan Buddhism]] spread to Mongolia, being further led by the [[Manchu people|Manchu]]-founded [[Qing dynasty]], which absorbed the country in the 17th century. By the early 20th century, almost one-third of the adult male population were Buddhist monks.<ref>Michael Jerryson, ''Mongolian Buddhism: The Rise and Fall of the Sangha,'' (Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books, 2007), 89.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mongolia – Religion |url=http://asia.isp.msu.edu/wbwoa/east_asia/mongolia/religion.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315082839/http://asia.isp.msu.edu/wbwoa/east_asia/mongolia/religion.htm |archive-date=15 March 2015 |access-date=24 January 2015 |website=Michigan State University}}</ref> After the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911, Mongolia [[Mongolian Revolution of 1911|declared independence]], and achieved actual [[Mongolian Revolution of 1921|independence from the Republic of China]] in 1921. Shortly thereafter, the country became a [[satellite state]] of the [[Soviet Union]]. In 1924, the [[Mongolian People's Republic]] was founded as a [[socialist state]].<ref name="Sik">{{Cite book |last=Sik |first=Ko Swan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H1ecjepq80QC&pg=PA39 |title=Nationality and International Law in Asian Perspective |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-7923-0876-8 |page=39 |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers |access-date=2013-06-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904002110/https://books.google.com/books?id=H1ecjepq80QC&pg=PA39 |archive-date=4 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> After the anti-communist [[revolutions of 1989]], Mongolia conducted its own peaceful [[1990 Democratic Revolution in Mongolia|democratic revolution]] in early 1990. This led to a [[multi-party system]], a new [[Constitution of Mongolia|constitution of 1992]], and transition to a [[market economy]].

Approximately 30% of the population is [[nomad]]ic or semi-nomadic; [[Horse culture in Mongolia|horse culture]] remains integral. [[Buddhism]] is the majority religion (51.7%), with the nonreligious being the second-largest group (40.6%). [[Islam]] is the third-largest religious identification (3.2%), concentrated among ethnic [[Kazakhs]]. The vast majority of citizens are ethnic Mongols, with roughly 5% of the population being [[Kazakhs]], [[Tuvans]], and other ethnic minorities, who are especially concentrated in the western regions. Mongolia is a member of the [[United Nations]], [[Asia Cooperation Dialogue]], [[Group of 77|G77]], [[Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank]], [[Non-Aligned Movement]] and a [[Foreign relations of NATO#Mongolia|NATO global partner]]. Mongolia joined the [[World Trade Organization]] in 1997 and seeks to expand its participation in regional economic and trade groups.<ref name="cia" />

== Etymology ==
{{Infobox Chinese
| title = '''Mongolia'''
| pic = 
| piccap = 
| w = <small>[[People's Republic of China|PRC]]:</small> Mêng<sup>3</sup>-ku<sup>3</sup> <br/><small>[[Taiwan|ROC]]:</small> Mêng<sup>2</sup>-ku<sup>3</sup>
| myr = <small>PRC:</small> Měnggǔ <br/><small>[[Taiwan|ROC]]:</small> Ménggǔ
| tp = <small>PRC:</small> Měnggǔ <br/><small>[[Taiwan|ROC]]:</small> Ménggǔ
| mps = <small>PRC:</small> Měnggǔ <br/><small>[[Taiwan|ROC]]:</small> Ménggǔ
| order = 
| wuu = Monku
| y = Mùhnggú
| mong = ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠣᠯ <br />ᠤᠯᠤᠰ
| monr = Mongol Uls
| mon = Монгол Улс <br />(Mongol Uls)
| showflag = p
| t = 
| s = 
}}

The name Mongolia means the "Land of the Mongols" in Latin. The Mongolian word ''"Mongol"'' ({{wikt-lang|mn|монгол}}) is of uncertain etymology. Sükhbataar (1992) and de la Vaissière (2021) proposed it being a derivation from [[Yujiulü Mugulü|Mugulü]], the 4th-century founder of the [[Rouran Khaganate]],<ref>{{Cite book |first=Г.|last=Сүхбаатар |title=Монголын эртний түүх судлал, III боть |year=1992 |volume=3 |pages=330–550 |language=mn |trans-title=Historiography of Ancient Mongolia, Volume III |chapter=Монгол Нирун улс |trans-chapter=Mongol Nirun ([[Rouran]]) state}}</ref> first attested as the 'Mungu',<ref name="Svanty">{{cite book|last1=Svantesson|first1=Jan-Olof|last2=Tsendina|first2=Anna|last3=Karlsson|first3=Anastasia|last4=Franzén|first4=Vivian|title=The Phonology of Mongolian|pages=103–105|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|year=2005|isbn=978-0-19-955427-0|series=Phonologies of the World's Languages}}</ref> ([[Chinese language|Chinese]]: {{wikt-lang|zh|蒙兀}}, <small>Modern Chinese</small> ''Měngwù'', <small>[[Middle Chinese]]</small> ''Muwngu''),<ref>{{cite book|last=Pulleyblank|first=Edwin George|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qBvsXylluO4C|title=Lexicon of Reconstructed Pronunciation in Early Middle Chinese, Late Middle Chinese, and Early Mandarin|publisher=UBC Press|year=1991|isbn=0-7748-0366-5}}.</ref> a branch of the [[Shiwei people|Shiwei]] in an 8th-century [[Tang dynasty]] list of northern tribes, presumably related to the [[Liao dynasty|Liao]]-era ''Mungku''<ref name="Svanty" /> (Chinese: {{wikt-lang|zh|蒙古}}, <small>[[pinyin|Modern Chinese]]</small> ''Měnggǔ'', <small>[[Middle Chinese]]</small> ''MuwngkuX'').<ref name="BaxSag">Baxter, Wm. H. & Sagart, Laurent. ''{{Cite web |title=Baxter–Sagart Old Chinese Reconstruction |url=http://crlao.ehess.fr/docannexe.php?id=1207 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425064509/http://crlao.ehess.fr/docannexe.php?id=1207 |archive-date=25 April 2012}}&nbsp;{{small|(1.93&nbsp;MB)}}''. 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2011.</ref>

After the fall of the [[Liao dynasty]] in 1125, the [[Khamag Mongol]]s became a leading tribe on the [[Mongolian Plateau]]. However, their wars with the [[Jurchen people|Jurchen]]-ruled [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin dynasty]] and the [[Tatar confederation]] had weakened them. The last head of the tribe was [[Yesugei|Yesügei]], whose son [[Genghis Khan|Temüjin]] (Genghis Khan) eventually united all the Shiwei tribes as the [[Mongol Empire]] (''Yekhe Monggol Ulus''). In the thirteenth century, the word Mongol grew into an umbrella term for a large group of [[Mongolic languages|Mongolic-speaking]] tribes united under the rule of [[Genghis Khan]].<ref name="britannica">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Mongolia: Ethnography of Mongolia |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-27420/Mongolia#394579.hook |access-date=2007-07-22 |archive-date=6 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706041059/http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-27420/Mongolia#394579.hook |url-status=live}}</ref>

Since the adoption of the new [[Constitution of Mongolia]] on 13 February 1992, the official name of the state is "Mongolia" (''Mongol Uls'').<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sanders |first1=Alan J. K. |title=Historical Dictionary of Mongolia |date=20 May 2010 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-7452-7 |page=449 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5JN83EDDLl4C |language=en |quote=Since the proclamation of the 1992 Mongolian Constitution, the official name of the independent Mongolian state, previously (1924–92) the Mongolian People's Republic, has been simply Mongolia (''Mongol Uls'').}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Everett-Heath |first1=John |title=The Concise Dictionary of World Place-names |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-860537-9 |page=346 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fghrQgAACAAJ |language=en}}</ref>

== History ==
{{Main|History of Mongolia}}{{More citations needed section|date=April 2025}}

=== Prehistory and antiquity ===
{{Main|Prehistoric Mongolia|Proto-Mongols}}

The ''[[Khoit Tsenkher Cave Rock Art|Khoit Tsenkher Cave]]''<ref name="Novgorodova">Eleanora Novgorodova, Archäologische Funde, Ausgrabungsstätten und Skulpturen, in ''Mongolen (catalogue)'', pp. 14–20</ref> in [[Khovd Province]] shows lively pink, brown, and red ochre paintings (dated to 20,000 years ago) of [[mammoths]], [[lynx]], [[bactrian camel]]s, and [[ostrich]]es, earning it the nickname "the [[Lascaux]] of Mongolia". The [[Venus figurines of Mal'ta]] (21,000 years ago) testify to the level of Upper Paleolithic art in northern Mongolia; Mal'ta is now part of Russia.
Neolithic agricultural settlements (c. 5500–3500 BC), such as those at Norovlin, Tamsagbulag, Bayanzag, and Rashaan Khad, predated the introduction of horse-riding nomadism, a pivotal event in the history of Mongolia which became the dominant culture. The [[Genetic history of East Asians|ethnogenesis]] of [[Mongolic peoples]] is largely linked with the expansion of [[Ancient Northeast Asian]]s. The Mongolian pastoralist lifestyle may in part be derived from the [[Western Steppe Herders]], but without much geneflow between these two groups, suggesting cultural transmission.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Population dynamics and the rise of empires in Inner Asia: Genome-wide analysis spanning 6,000 years in the eastern Eurasian Steppe gives insights to the formation of Mongolia's empires |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201105183836.htm |access-date=4 June 2023 |website=ScienceDaily |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Yang |first1=Xiaomin |last2=Sarengaowa |last3=He |first3=Guanglin |last4=Guo |first4=Jianxin |last5=Zhu |first5=Kongyang |last6=Ma |first6=Hao |last7=Zhao |first7=Jing |last8=Yang |first8=Meiqing |last9=Chen |first9=Jing |last10=Zhang |first10=Xianpeng |last11=Tao |first11=Le |last12=Liu |first12=Yilan |last13=Zhang |first13=Xiu-Fang |last14=Wang |first14=Chuan-Chao |date=2021 |title=Genomic Insights Into the Genetic Structure and Natural Selection of Mongolians |journal=Frontiers in Genetics |volume=12 |article-number=735786 |doi=10.3389/fgene.2021.735786 |issn=1664-8021 |pmc=8693022 |pmid=34956310 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Horse-riding nomadism has been documented by archeological evidence in Mongolia during the Copper and Bronze Age [[Afanasevo culture]] (3500–2500 BC);<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/nomadic-herders-left-strong-genetic-mark-europeans-and-asians|first=Ann|last=Gibbons|date=10 June 2015|title=Nomadic herders left a strong genetic mark on Europeans and Asians|journal=Science|publisher=AAAS|access-date=5 November 2022|archive-date=2 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220902191050/https://www.science.org/content/article/nomadic-herders-left-strong-genetic-mark-europeans-and-asians|url-status=live}}</ref> this [[Indo-European migrations|Indo-European]] culture was active to the [[Khangai Mountains]] in Central Mongolia. The wheeled vehicles found in the burials of the Afanasevans have been dated to before 2200 BC.<ref>{{Cite book |last=David Christian |title=A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia |date=16 December 1998 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-0-631-20814-3 |page=101}}</ref> Pastoral nomadism and metalworking became more developed with the later [[Okunev culture]] (2nd millennium BC), [[Andronovo culture]] (2300–1000 BC) and [[Karasuk culture]] (1500–300 BC), culminating with the Iron Age [[Xiongnu]] Empire in 209 BC. Monuments of the pre-Xiongnu Bronze Age include [[deer stone]]s, keregsur [[kurgans]], [[Slab Grave Culture|square slab tombs]], and rock paintings.

Although cultivation of crops has continued since the Neolithic period, agriculture has always remained small in scale compared to pastoral nomadism. Agriculture may have first been introduced from the west or arose independently in the region. The population during the [[Copper Age]] has been described as mongoloid in the east of what is now Mongolia, and as europoid in the west.<ref name="Novgorodova" /> Tocharians ([[Yuezhi]]) and [[Scythians]] inhabited western Mongolia during the Bronze Age. The mummy of a Scythian warrior, which is believed to be about 2,500 years old, was a 30- to 40-year-old man with blond hair; it was found in [[Altai Mountains|the Altai]], Mongolia.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 August 2006 |title=Archeological Sensation-Ancient Mummy Found in Mongolia |work=Spiegel Online |publisher=Spiegel.de |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,433600,00.html |url-status=live |access-date=2010-05-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522230511/http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,433600,00.html |archive-date=22 May 2010}}</ref> As equine nomadism was introduced into Mongolia, the political center of the [[Eurasian Steppe]] also shifted to Mongolia, where it remained until the 18th century. The intrusions of northern pastoralists (e.g. the Guifang, Shanrong, and [[Donghu people|Donghu]]) into China during the [[Shang dynasty]] (1600–1046 BC) and [[Zhou dynasty]] (1046–256 BC) presaged the age of [[nomadic empire]]s.

===Early states===
[[File:ZaamarTomb.jpg|thumb|right|7th-century [[Göktürks|Göktürk]] artifacts found {{convert|180|km|0|abbr=on}} from Ulaanbaatar]]

Since prehistoric times, Mongolia has been inhabited by nomads who, from time to time, formed great confederations that rose to power and prominence. Common institutions were the office of the [[Khan (title)|Khan]], the [[Kurultai]] (Supreme Council), left and right wings, imperial army ([[Keshig]]) and the decimal military system. The first of these empires, the [[Xiongnu]] of undetermined ethnicity, were brought together by [[Modu Shanyu]] to form a confederation in 209 BC. Soon they emerged as the greatest threat to the [[Qin dynasty]], forcing the latter to construct the [[Great Wall of China]]. It was guarded by up to almost 300,000 soldiers during Marshal [[Meng Tian]]'s tenure, as a means of defense against the destructive Xiongnu raids. The vast Xiongnu empire (209 BC–93 AD) was followed by the Mongolic [[Xianbei state|Xianbei empire]] (93–234 AD), which also ruled more than the entirety of present-day Mongolia. The Mongolic Rouran Khaganate (330–555), of [[Xianbei]] provenance was the first to use "Khagan" as an imperial title. It ruled a massive empire before being defeated by the [[Göktürks]] (555–745), an even larger empire.

The Göktürks laid siege to [[Panticapaeum]], present-day [[Kerch]], in 576. They were succeeded by the [[Uyghur Khaganate]] (745–840) who were defeated by the Kyrgyz. The Mongolic [[Khitan people|Khitans]], descendants of the Xianbei, ruled Mongolia during the Liao dynasty (907–1125), after which the [[Khamag Mongol]] (1125–1206) rose to prominence.

Lines 3–5 of the memorial inscription of [[Bilge Khagan]] (684–737) in central Mongolia summarizes the time of the [[Khagan]]s:
{{blockquote| In battles they subdued the nations of all four sides of the world and suppressed them. They made those who had heads bow their heads, and who had knees genuflect them. In the east up to the Kadyrkhan common people, in the west up to the Iron Gate they conquered... These Khagans were wise. These Khagans were great. Their servants were wise and great too. Officials were honest and direct with people. They ruled the nation this way. This way they held sway over them. When they died ambassadors from Bokuli Cholug (Baekje Korea), Tabgach (Tang China), Tibet (Tibetan Empire), [[Pannonian Avars|Avar]] (Avar Khaganate), Rome (Byzantine Empire), [[Yenisei Kirghiz|Kirgiz]], Uch-Kurykan, Otuz-Tatars, [[Khitan people|Khitans]], [[Kumo Xi|Tatabis]] came to the funerals. So many people came to mourn over the great Khagans. They were famous Khagans.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Memorial Complex of Bilge Khagan |url=http://bitig.org/?lang=e&mod=1&tid=1&oid=16&m=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203230249/http://www.bitig.org/?lang=e |archive-date=February 3, 2015 |access-date=January 1, 2015 |publisher=bitig.org}}</ref>}}

===Mongol empire to early 20th century===
{{Main|Mongol Empire|Mongolia under Yuan rule|Northern Yuan dynasty|Dzungar Khanate|Mongolia under Qing rule}}
{{See also|List of medieval Mongol tribes and clans|List of Mongol states|List of Mongol rulers}}
[[File:Mongol_Empire_map.gif|thumb|right|[[Mongol Empire]] expansion (1206–1294)]]

In the chaos of the late 12th century, a chieftain named Temüjin finally succeeded in uniting the Mongol tribes between [[Manchuria]] and the [[Altai Mountains]]. In 1206, he took the title [[Genghis Khan#Name and title|Genghis Khan]], and waged a series of military campaigns – renowned for their brutality and ferocity – sweeping through much of Asia, and forming the [[Mongol Empire]], the largest contiguous land empire in world history. Under his successors it stretched from present-day [[Poland]] in the west to [[Korea]] in the east, and from parts of [[Siberia]] in the north to the [[Gulf of Oman]] and [[Vietnam]] in the south, covering some {{convert|33000000|km2}},<ref name="EarthRule">{{Cite web |last=Bruce R. Gordon |title=To Rule the Earth... |url=http://www.hostkingdom.net/earthrul.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701103611/http://www.hostkingdom.net/earthrul.html |archive-date=1 July 2007 |access-date=2013-06-28}}</ref> (22% of Earth's total land area) and had a population of over 100 million people (about a quarter of Earth's total population at the time). The emergence of [[Pax Mongolica]] also significantly eased trade and commerce across Asia during its height.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Guzman |first=Gregory G. |year=1988 |title=Were the barbarians a negative or positive factor in ancient and medieval history? |journal=The Historian |issue=50 |pages=568–570}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Thomas T. Allsen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0StLNcKQNUoC&pg=PA211 |title=Culture and Conquest in Mongol Eurasia |date=25 March 2004 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-60270-9 |page=211 |author-link=Thomas T. Allsen |access-date=2013-06-28}}</ref>

After Genghis Khan's death, the empire was subdivided into four kingdoms or [[Khanate]]s. These eventually became quasi-independent after the [[Toluid Civil War]] (1260–1264), which broke out in a battle for power following [[Möngke Khan]]'s death in 1259. One of the khanates, the "Great Khaanate", consisting of the Mongol homeland and most of modern-day China, became known as the Yuan dynasty under [[Kublai Khan]], the grandson of Genghis Khan. He set up his capital in present-day Beijing. After more than a century of power, the Yuan dynasty was overthrown by the Ming dynasty in 1368, and the Yuan court fled to the north, thus becoming the [[Northern Yuan|Northern Yuan dynasty]]. As the Ming armies pursued the Mongols into their homeland, they successfully sacked and destroyed the Mongol capital [[Karakorum]] and other cities. Some of these attacks were repelled by the Mongols under [[Biligtü Khan Ayushiridara|Ayushridar]] and his general [[Köke Temür]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=《扩廓帖木儿传》[biography of Köke Temür] |publisher=[[History of Yuan]] |edition=卷一四一，列传第二八}}</ref>

After the expulsion of the Yuan rulers from [[China proper]], the Mongols continued to rule their homeland, known in historiography as the Northern Yuan dynasty. With the division of the Mongol tribes, it was subsequently also known as "The Forty and the Four" (Döčin dörben) among them.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Junko |first1=Miyawaki |title=The Birth of the Oyirad Khanship |journal=Central Asiatic Journal |date=1997 |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=38–75 |jstor=41928088 }}</ref> The next centuries were marked by violent power struggles among various factions, notably the Genghisids and the non-Genghisid [[Oirats]], as well as by several Ming invasions (such as the [[Yongle Emperor's campaigns against the Mongols|five expeditions led by the Yongle Emperor]]).

[[File:Genghis khan.jpg|left|thumb|273x273px|Genghis Khan, the first Mongol Emperor]]
In the early 16th century, [[Dayan Khan]] and his [[khatun]] [[Mandukhai]] reunited all Mongol groups under the Genghisids. In the mid-16th century, [[Altan Khan]] of the Tümed, a grandson of Dayan Khan – but not a hereditary or legitimate Khan – became powerful. He founded [[Hohhot]] in 1557. After he met with the [[3rd Dalai Lama|Dalai Lama]] in 1578, he ordered the introduction of [[Tibetan Buddhism]] to Mongolia. (It was the second time this had occurred.) Abtai Khan of the [[Khalkha Mongols|Khalkha]] converted to Buddhism and founded the [[Erdene Zuu Monastery|Erdene Zuu]] monastery in 1585. His grandson [[Zanabazar]] became the first [[Jebtsundamba Khutuktu|Jebtsundamba Khutughtu]] in 1640. Following the leaders, the entire Mongolian population embraced Buddhism. Each family kept scriptures and Buddha statues on an altar at the north side of their [[yurt]]. Mongolian nobles donated land, money and herders to the monasteries. As was typical in states with established religions, the top religious institutions, the monasteries, wielded significant temporal power in addition to spiritual power.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Alexander |first1=Berzin |title=History of Buddhism in Mongolia |url=https://studybuddhism.com/en/advanced-studies/history-culture/buddhism-in-mongolia/history-of-buddhism-in-mongolia |website=Study Buddhism |access-date=15 February 2023 |archive-date=15 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215024500/https://studybuddhism.com/en/advanced-studies/history-culture/buddhism-in-mongolia/history-of-buddhism-in-mongolia |url-status=live}}</ref>

The last Khagan of Mongols was [[Ligden Khan]] in the early 17th century. He came into conflicts with the [[Manchu people|Manchus]] over the looting of Chinese cities, and also alienated most Mongol tribes.<!--Why? --> He died in 1634. By 1636, most of the [[Inner Mongolia]]n tribes had submitted to the Manchus, who founded the [[Qing dynasty]]. The Khalkha eventually submitted to Qing rule in 1691, thus bringing all of today's Mongolia under Manchu rule. After several [[Dzungar–Qing Wars]], the [[Dzungars]] (western Mongols or Oirats) were virtually annihilated during the Qing conquest of Dzungaria in 1757 and 1758.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Kazakhstan to c. 1700 ce |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/313790/Kazakhstan/214566/History#ref=ref598970 |access-date=2013-06-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212010855/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/313790/Kazakhstan/214566/History#ref=ref598970 |archive-date=12 December 2013 |author=Edward Allworth |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Altan Khan.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Altan Khan]] (1507–1582) founded the city of Hohhot, helped introduce Buddhism and originated the title of [[Dalai Lama]].]]
Some scholars estimate that about 80% of the 600,000 or more [[Dzungar genocide|Dzungar were killed]] by a combination of disease and warfare.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Michael Edmund Clarke |title=In the Eye of Power: China and Xinjiang from the Qing Conquest to the "New Great Game" for Central Asia, 1759 – 2004 |publisher=Griffith University |url=http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/uploads/approved/adt-QGU20061121.163131/public/02Whole.pdf |type=PhD |location=Brisbane |year=2004 |page=37 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410040826/http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/uploads/approved/adt-QGU20061121.163131/public/02Whole.pdf |archive-date=2008-04-10}}</ref> Outer Mongolia was given relative autonomy, being administered by the hereditary Genghisid khanates of Tusheet Khan, Setsen Khan, Zasagt Khan and Sain Noyon Khan. The [[Jebtsundamba Khutuktu]] of Mongolia had immense ''de facto'' authority. The Manchu forbade mass Chinese immigration into the area, which allowed the Mongols to keep their culture. The Oirats who migrated to the [[Pontic–Caspian steppe|Volga steppes]] in Russia became known as [[Kalmyks]].

The main trade route during this period was the [[Siberian Route|Tea Road]] through Siberia; it had permanent stations located every {{convert|25|to|30|km|mi}}, each of which was staffed by 5–30 chosen families.

Until 1911, the Qing dynasty maintained control of Mongolia with a series of alliances and intermarriages, as well as military and economic measures. [[Amban]]s, Manchu "high officials", were installed in [[Ulaanbaatar|Khüree]], [[Uliastai]], and [[Khovd (city)|Khovd]], and the country was divided into numerous feudal and ecclesiastical fiefdoms (which also placed people in power with loyalty to the Qing). Over the course of the 19th century, the feudal lords attached more importance to representation and less importance to the responsibilities towards their subjects. The behavior of Mongolia's nobility, together with [[usury|usurious]] practices by Chinese traders and the collection of imperial taxes in silver instead of animals, resulted in widespread poverty among the nomads. By 1911 there were 700 large and small monasteries in Outer Mongolia; their 115,000 monks made up 21% of the population. Apart from the Jebtsundamba Khutuktu, there were 13 other reincarnating high lamas, called 'seal-holding saints' (''tamgatai khutuktu''), in Outer Mongolia.

=== Modern history ===
{{Main|Mongolian Revolution of 1911|Bogd Khanate of Mongolia|Mongolian Revolution of 1921|Mongolian People's Republic|Mongolian Revolution of 1990|History of modern Mongolia}}
[[File:BogdKhan.jpg|thumb|upright|The eighth [[Jebtsundamba Khutuktu]], Bogd Khaan]]
[[File:Map-of-Unified-Mongolia-1917.jpg|thumb|Map of unified Mongolia in 1917]]

With the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911, Mongolia under the [[Bogd Khaan]] declared its independence. However, the newly established [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] considered Mongolia to be part of its own territory. [[Yuan Shikai]], the [[President of the Republic of China]], considered the new republic to be the [[Successor state|successor]] of the Qing. Bogd Khaan said that [[Qing dynasty in Inner Asia|both Mongolia and China]] had been administered by the Manchu during the Qing, and after the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911, the contract of Mongolian submission to the Manchu had become invalid.<ref>Bawden, Charles (1968): ''The Modern History of Mongolia.'' Weidenfeld & Nicolson: 194–195</ref>

The area controlled by the Bogd Khaan was approximately that of the former [[Outer Mongolia]] during the Qing period. In 1919, after the [[October Revolution]] in Russia, Chinese troops led by warlord [[Xu Shuzheng]] occupied Mongolia. Warfare erupted on the northern border. As a result of the [[Russian Civil War]], the [[White movement|White]] Russian Lieutenant General [[Roman Ungern von Sternberg|Baron Ungern]] led his troops into Mongolia in October 1920, defeating the Chinese forces in [[Ulaanbaatar|Niislel Khüree]] (now Ulaanbaatar) in early February 1921 with Mongol support.

To eliminate the threat posed by Ungern, [[Russian SFSR|Bolshevik Russia]] decided to support the establishment of a communist Mongolian government and army. This Mongolian army took the [[Altanbulag, Selenge|Mongolian part]] of [[Kyakhta]] from Chinese forces on 18 March 1921, and on 6 July, Russian and Mongolian troops arrived in Khüree. Mongolia declared its independence again on 11 July 1921.<ref>Thomas E. Ewing, "Russia, China, and the Origins of the Mongolian People's Republic, 1911–1921: A Reappraisal", in: ''The Slavonic and East European Review'', Vol. 58, No. 3 (Jul. 1980), pp. 399, 414, 415, 417, 421</ref> As a result, Mongolia was closely aligned with the Soviet Union over the next seven decades.

==== Mongolian People's Republic ====
In 1924, after the [[Bogd Khaan]] died of [[laryngeal cancer]]<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Кузьмин, С.Л. |last2=[Kuzmin, S.L.] |last3=Оюунчимэг, Ж. |last4=[Oyunchimeg, J.] |title=Буддизм и революция в Монголии |trans-title=Buddhism and the revolution in Mongolia |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/54133527/%D0%91%D1%83%D0%B4%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%BC-%D0%B8-%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%8E%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%8F-%D0%B2-%D0%9C%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%B8 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306164044/https://www.scribd.com/doc/54133527/%D0%91%D1%83%D0%B4%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%BC-%D0%B8-%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%8E%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%8F-%D0%B2-%D0%9C%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%B8 |archive-date=6 March 2016 |language=ru}}</ref> or, as some sources claim, at the hands of Russian spies,<ref>{{YouTube|XuB0b_dEZ5g|Догсомын Бодоо 1/2}} '''(Mongolian)'''</ref> the country's [[political system]] was changed. The [[Mongolian People's Republic]] was established. In 1928, [[Khorloogiin Choibalsan]] rose to power. The early leaders of the Mongolian People's Republic (1921–1952) included many with [[Pan-Mongolism|Pan-Mongolist]] ideals. However, changing global politics and increased Soviet pressure led to the decline of Pan-Mongol aspirations in the following period.

[[File:Horloogiyn Choybalsan.jpg|thumb|150px|left|[[Khorloogiin Choibalsan]] led Mongolia during the Stalinist era, and presided over an environment of intense political persecution.]]
[[Khorloogiin Choibalsan]] instituted collectivization of livestock, began the destruction of the Buddhist monasteries, and carried out [[Stalinist repressions in Mongolia|Stalinist purges]], which resulted in the murders of numerous monks and other leaders. In Mongolia during the 1920s, approximately one-third of the male population were monks. By the beginning of the 20th century, 750 monasteries were functioning in Mongolia and by the end of the 1930s almost all had been looted or razed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mongolia: The Bhudda {{sic|nolink=y}} and the Khan |url=http://orientmag.com/8-30.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100818173717/http://www.orientmag.com/8-30.htm |archive-date=18 August 2010 |access-date=2013-06-28 |publisher=Orient Magazine}}</ref>

In 1930, the Soviet Union stopped [[Buryats|Buryat]] migration to the [[Mongolian People's Republic]] to prevent Mongolian reunification. All leaders of Mongolia who did not fulfill Stalin's demands to perform [[Red Terror]] against Mongolians were executed, including [[Peljidiin Genden]] and [[Anandyn Amar]]. The [[Great Purge|Stalinist purges in Mongolia]], which began in 1937, killed more than 30,000 people. Under Stalinist influence in the [[Mongolian People's Republic]], an estimated 17,000 monks were killed, official figures show.<ref name="reuters">{{cite news |last=Thomas |first=Natalie |date=2018-06-04 |title=Young monks lead revival of Buddhism in Mongolia after years of repression. |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-mongolia-monks-idUKKCN1J104O |work=Reuters. |access-date=2023-07-06}}</ref> [[Khorloogiin Choibalsan|Choibalsan]], who led a dictatorship and organized [[Stalinist repressions in Mongolia|Stalinist purges in Mongolia]] between 1937 and 1939, died suspiciously in the [[Soviet Union]] in 1952. [[Comintern]] leader [[Bohumír Šmeral]] said, "People of Mongolia are not important, the land is important. Mongolian land is larger than England, France and Germany".<ref name="Mongolia 2003">''History of Mongolia,'' 2003, Volume 5. Mongolian Institute of History</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2021}}

[[File:MNRA soldiers 1939.jpg|right|thumb|Mongolian troops fight against the Japanese counterattack at [[Battles of Khalkhin Gol|Khalkhin Gol]], 1939.]]
After the [[Japanese invasion of Manchuria|Japanese invasion of neighboring Manchuria]] in 1931, Mongolia was threatened on this front. During the [[Battles of Khalkhin Gol|Soviet-Japanese Border War]] of 1939, the Soviet Union successfully defended Mongolia against Japanese expansionism. Mongolia fought against Japan during the [[Battles of Khalkhin Gol]] in 1939 and during the [[Soviet–Japanese War]] in August 1945 to liberate Inner Mongolia from Japan and [[Mengjiang]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Боржигон Хүсэл |date=18 January 2015 |title=1945 ОНД БНМАУ-ААС ХЯТАД УЛСАД ҮЗҮҮЛСЭН ТУСЛАМЖ |trans-title=Mongolian People's Republic supported the Chinese Anti-Japan War in 1945 |url=https://www.mongoliajol.info/index.php/JIS/article/download/394/415 |access-date=2 February 2019 |website=Mongolia Journals Online |archive-date=4 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804060721/https://www.mongoliajol.info/index.php/JIS/article/download/394/415 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Cold War ====
The February 1945 [[Yalta Conference]] provided for the Soviet Union's participation in the [[Pacific War]]. One of the Soviet conditions for its participation, put forward at Yalta, was that after the war Outer Mongolia would retain its independence. [[1945 Mongolian independence referendum|The referendum]] took place on 20 October 1945, with (according to official numbers) 100% of the electorate voting for independence.<ref>Nohlen, D, Grotz, F & Hartmann, C (2001) ''Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II'', p491 {{ISBN|0-19-924959-8}}</ref>

After the establishment of the [[People's Republic of China]], both countries confirmed their mutual recognition on 6 October 1949. However, the [[Republic of China]] used its [[United Nations Security Council veto power|Security Council veto]] in 1955, to stop the admission of the [[Mongolian People's Republic]] to the United Nations on the grounds it recognized all of Mongolia —including Outer Mongolia— as part of China. This was the only time the [[Republic of China and the United Nations|Republic of China]] ever used its veto. Hence, and because of the repeated threats to veto by the ROC, Mongolia did not join the UN until 1961 when the Soviet Union agreed to lift its veto on the admission of [[Mauritania]] (and any other newly independent African state), in return for the admission of Mongolia. Faced with pressure from nearly all the other African countries, the ROC relented under protest. Mongolia and Mauritania were both admitted to the UN on 27 October 1961.<ref name="unveto">{{Cite web |script-title=zh:因常任理事国投反对票而未获通过的决议草案或修正案各段 |url=http://www.un.org/zh/sc/meetings/veto/pdf/a58_47_p2.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140323133412/http://www.un.org/zh/sc/meetings/veto/pdf/a58_47_p2.pdf |archive-date=23 March 2014 |publisher=聯合國 |language=zh}}</ref><ref name="bbcveto">{{Cite news |title=The veto and how to use it |work=BBC News Online |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2828985.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726080318/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2828985.stm |archive-date=26 July 2010}}</ref><ref name="gpveto">{{Cite web |title=Changing Pattern in the Use of Veto in the Security Council |url=http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/102/32810.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508103405/http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/102/32810.html |archive-date=8 May 2013 |publisher=Global Policy Forum}}</ref> (see [[China and the United Nations]])

[[File:Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal Berlin, VIII.jpg|thumb|150px|Mongolian Premier [[Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal]] was the longest-serving leader in the [[Eastern Bloc]], with over 44 years in office.]]
On 26 January 1952, [[Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal]] took power in Mongolia after the death of Choibalsan. Tsedenbal was the leading political figure in Mongolia for more than 30 years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/tsedenbals-mongolia-and-the-communist-aid-donors-reappraisal|title=Tsedenbal's Mongolia and the Communist Aid Donors: A Reappraisal|access-date=13 April 2021|archive-date=13 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413123041/https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/tsedenbals-mongolia-and-the-communist-aid-donors-reappraisal|url-status=live}}</ref> While Tsedenbal was visiting Moscow in August 1984, his severe illness prompted the parliament to announce his retirement and replace him with [[Jambyn Batmönkh]].

==== Post-Cold War ====
The [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] in 1991 strongly influenced Mongolian politics and [[Youth in Mongolia|youth]]. Its people undertook the [[Mongolian Revolution of 1990|peaceful Democratic Revolution]] in [[Revolutions of 1989|January 1990]] and the introduction of a [[multi-party system]] and a market economy.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=350.org |last2=Hunter |first2=Daniel |date=2024-04-17 |title=Authoritarianism to Democracy: The Story of Mongolia |url=https://commonslibrary.org/authoritarianism-to-democracy-the-story-of-mongolia/ |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=The Commons Social Change Library |language=en-AU}}</ref> At the same time, the transformation of the former [[Marxist-Leninist]] [[Mongolian People's Party|Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party]] to the current social democratic [[Mongolian People's Party]] reshaped the country's political landscape.

A [[Constitution of Mongolia|new constitution]] was introduced in 1992, and the term "People's Republic" was dropped from the country's name.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kim|first=Hyun-bin|date=18 December 2024|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2024/12/113_388575.html|title=Mongolia celebrates centennial of Mongolian People's Republic|work=The Korea Times|access-date=19 December 2024}}</ref> The [[Economy of Mongolia#Transition to a market economy|transition to a market economy]] was often rocky; during the early 1990s the country had to deal with high inflation and food shortages.<ref>{{Cite book |last=[[Morris Rossabi|Rossabi, Morris]] |url=https://archive.org/details/modernmongoliafr00ross |title=Modern Mongolia: From Khans to Commissars to Capitalists |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-520-24419-1 |location=[[Berkeley, California|Berkeley]] |pages=[https://archive.org/details/modernmongoliafr00ross/page/n81 57]–58, 143–144 |url-access=limited}}</ref> The first election victories for non-communist parties came in 1993 (presidential elections) and 1996 (parliamentary elections). China has supported Mongolia's application for membership in the [[Asia Cooperation Dialogue]] (ACD), [[Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation]] (APEC) and granting it observer status in the [[Shanghai Cooperation Organisation]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005-06-29 |title="Pan-Mongolism" and U.S.-China-Mongolia relations |url=http://www.jamestown.org/programs/chinabrief/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=3856&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=195&no_cache=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151227111904/http://www.jamestown.org/programs/chinabrief/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=3856&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=195&no_cache=1 |archive-date=27 December 2015 |access-date=2013-04-07 |publisher=Jamestown Foundation}}</ref>

== Geography and climate ==
{{Main|Geography of Mongolia}}
[[File:Mongolia 1996 CIA map.jpg|thumb|The southern portion of Mongolia is taken up by the [[Gobi Desert]], while the northern and western portions are mountainous.]]

At {{convert|1564116|km2|mi2|0|abbr=on}}, Mongolia is the world's [[List of sovereign states and dependencies by area|18th-largest]] country.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Country Comparison :: Area |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2147rank.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209041128/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2147rank.html |archive-date=9 February 2014 |access-date=2013-06-28 |website=The World Factbook |publisher=CIA}}</ref> It is significantly larger than the next-largest country, Peru. It mostly lies between latitudes [[41st parallel north|41°]] and [[52nd parallel north|52°N]] (a small area is north of 52°), and longitudes [[87th meridian east|87°]] and [[120th meridian east|120°E]]. As a point of reference the northernmost part of Mongolia is on roughly the same latitude as Berlin (Germany) and Saskatoon (Canada), while the southernmost part is on roughly the same latitude as Rome (Italy) and Chicago (U.S.). The westernmost part of Mongolia is on roughly the same longitude as Kolkata in India, while the easternmost part is on the same longitude as Qinhuangdao and Hangzhou in China, as well as the western edge of Taiwan. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its westernmost point is only {{convert|36.76|km}} from Kazakhstan, nearly making a [[quadripoint]].

The geography of Mongolia is varied, with the [[Gobi Desert]] to the south and cold, mountainous regions to the north and west. Much of Mongolia consists of the [[Mongolian-Manchurian grassland]], with forested areas accounting for 11.2% of the total land area.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mongolian Forestry Sector |url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/w8302e/w8302e05.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101015229/http://www.fao.org/docrep/w8302e/w8302e05.htm |archive-date=1 November 2012 |access-date=31 May 2013 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations}}</ref> The whole of Mongolia is considered to be part of the Mongolian Plateau. The highest point in Mongolia is the [[Khüiten Peak]] in the [[Tavan bogd]] massif in the far west at {{convert|4374|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}. The basin of the [[Uvs Lake]], shared with [[Tuva Republic]] in Russia, is a natural [[World Heritage Site]].{{fact|date=October 2025}}

=== Climate ===
{{Main|Climate of Mongolia|Climate change in Mongolia}}

Mongolia is known as the "Land of the Eternal Blue Sky" or "Country of Blue Sky" (Mongolian: "Mönkh khökh tengeriin oron") because it has over 250 sunny days a year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mongolia Climate – Retrieve the average temperatures and rains in Mongolia & in Ulaan baatar |url=http://www.e-mongol.com/mongolia_climate.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203003217/http://www.e-mongol.com/mongolia_climate.htm |archive-date=3 February 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-05-31 |title=Country Nicknames: Top 40 best nation aliases |url=http://www.skyscanner.net/news/country-nicknames-top-40-best-nation-aliases |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101070834/http://www.skyscanner.net/news/country-nicknames-top-40-best-nation-aliases |archive-date=1 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Nomadic trails in the land of the blue sky |url=http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20140113-nomadic-trails-in-the-land-of-the-blue-sky |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022131450/http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20140113-nomadic-trails-in-the-land-of-the-blue-sky |archive-date=22 October 2014 |website=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=7 July 2004 |title=''Weeping Camel:'' A Real Mongolian Tear-Jerker |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0719_040719_weepingcamel_2.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304094123/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0719_040719_weepingcamel_2.html |archive-date=4 March 2016 |website=National Geographic}}</ref>

[[File:Koppen-Geiger Map MNG present.svg|thumb|left|Köppen climate classification zones in Mongolia]]
Most of the country is hot in the summer and extremely cold in the winter, with January averages dropping as low as {{convert|-30|°C}}.<ref name="mong26">{{Cite web |year=2004 |title=Republic of Mongolia |url=http://www.imcg.net/gpd/asia/mongolia.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061002003846/http://www.imcg.net/gpd/asia/mongolia.pdf |archive-date=2 October 2006 |access-date=2008-02-10}}</ref> A vast front of cold, heavy, shallow air comes in from Siberia in winter and collects in river valleys and low basins causing very cold temperatures while slopes of mountains are much warmer due to the effects of [[temperature inversion]] (temperature increases with altitude).

In winter the whole of Mongolia comes under the influence of the [[Siberian Anticyclone]]. The localities most severely affected by this cold weather are Uvs province ([[Ulaangom]]), western Khovsgol ([[Rinchinlkhumbe, Khovsgol|Rinchinlhumbe]]), eastern Zavkhan ([[Tosontsengel, Zavkhan|Tosontsengel]]), northern Bulgan (Hutag) and eastern Dornod province (Khalkhiin Gol). Ulaanbaatar is strongly, but less severely, affected. The cold gets less severe as one goes south, reaching the warmest January temperatures in Omnogovi Province ([[Dalanzadgad]], [[Khanbogd, Ömnögovi|Khanbogd]]) and the region of the Altai mountains bordering China. A unique microclimate is the fertile grassland-forest region of central and eastern Arkhangai Province ([[Tsetserleg (city)|Tsetserleg]]) and northern Ovorkhangai Province ([[Arvaikheer]]) where January temperatures are on average the same and often higher than the warmest desert regions to the south in addition to being more stable. The [[Khangai Mountains]] play a certain role in forming this microclimate. In Tsetserleg, the warmest town in this microclimate, nighttime January temperatures rarely go under {{convert|-30|°C}} while daytime January temperatures often reach {{convert|0|°C}} to {{convert|5|°C}}.<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 June 2013 |title=Arkhangai Meteorological Department |url=http://www.icc.mn/aimag/Arkhangai/# |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110204130/http://www.icc.mn/aimag/Arkhangai/ |archive-date=10 January 2014 |access-date=2013-06-28 |publisher=Icc.mn}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Climate History for Tsetserleg, Mongolia |url=http://www.wunderground.com/history/station/44282/2007/1/11/MonthlyHistory.html?req_city=NA&req_state=NA&req_statename=NA |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130616141615/http://www.wunderground.com/history/station/44282/2007/1/11/MonthlyHistory.html?req_city=NA&req_state=NA&req_statename=NA |archive-date=16 June 2013 |access-date=2013-06-28 |publisher=Weather Underground}}</ref>
[[File:Gorkhi-Terelj National Park.jpg|thumb|The [[Khentii Mountains]] in [[Gorkhi-Terelj National Park|Terelj]], close to the birthplace of Genghis Khan]]
The country is subject to occasional harsh climatic conditions known as ''[[zud]].'' It results in large proportions of the country's livestock dying from starvation or freezing temperatures or both, resulting in economic upheaval for the largely pastoral population. The annual average temperature in Ulaanbaatar is {{cvt|−1.3|°C}}, making it the world's coldest capital city.<ref name=mong26/> Mongolia is high, cold and windy.<ref name=":0">{{citation-attribution|1={{Cite encyclopedia |title=The Society and Its Environment |encyclopedia=Mongolia: a country study |publisher=[[Federal Research Division]], [[Library of Congress]] |location=Washington, D.C. |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/90006289/ |last=DeGlopper |first=Donald R. |date=1991 |editor-last=Worden |editor-first=Robert L. |language=en |oclc=622910663 |editor-last2=Savada |editor-first2=Andrea Matles |access-date=29 October 2020 |archive-date=29 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210329021801/https://www.loc.gov/item/90006289/ |url-status=live }}}}</ref> It has an extreme continental climate with long, cold winters and short summers, during which most of its annual precipitation falls.<ref name=":0" /> The country averages 257 cloudless days a year, and it is usually at the center of a region of high atmospheric pressure.<ref name=":0" /> Precipitation is highest in the north (average of {{convert|200|to|350|mm|in|0|sp=us}} per year) and lowest in the south, which receives {{convert|100|to|200|mm|in|0|sp=us}} annually.<ref name=":0" /> The highest annual precipitation of {{convert|622.297|mm|3|abbr=on}} occurred in the forests of [[Bulgan Province]] near the border with Russia and the lowest of {{convert|41.735|mm|3|abbr=on}} occurred in the Gobi Desert (period 1961–1990).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Annual average temperature and precipitation of Mongolia |url=http://gis.wwf.mn/index.php/en/national/15-climate-of-mongolia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110195205/http://gis.wwf.mn/index.php/en/national/15-climate-of-mongolia |archive-date=10 January 2014 |access-date=2013-06-28 |publisher=Gis.wwf.mn}}</ref> The sparsely populated far north of Bulgan Province averages {{convert|600|mm|0|abbr=on}} in annual precipitation which means it receives more precipitation than Beijing ({{cvt|571.8|mm|disp=or}}) or Berlin ({{cvt|571|mm|disp=or}}).

=== Environmental issues ===
{{Excerpt|Environmental issues in Mongolia}}

=== Wildlife ===
{{Main|Wildlife of Mongolia}}
[[File:KhongorynElsCamels.jpg|thumb|[[Bactrian camels]] by sand dunes in Gobi Desert]]

The name "Gobi" is a Mongol term for a desert steppe, which usually refers to a category of arid rangeland with insufficient vegetation to support [[marmot]]s but with enough to support camels.<ref name=":0" /> Mongols distinguish Gobi from desert proper, although the distinction is not always apparent to outsiders unfamiliar with the Mongolian landscape.<ref name=":0" />

Gobi rangelands are fragile and easily destroyed by overgrazing, which results in expansion of the true desert, a stony waste where not even [[Bactrian camel]]s can survive.<ref name=":0" /> The arid conditions in the Gobi are attributed to the [[rain shadow effect]] caused by the Himalayas. Before the Himalayas were formed by the collision of the Indo-Australian plate with the Eurasian plate 10 million years ago, Mongolia was a flourishing habitat for major fauna but still somewhat arid and cold due to distance from sources of evaporation. Sea turtle and mollusk fossils have been found in the Gobi, apart from well-known dinosaur fossils. [[Tadpole shrimps]] are still found in the Gobi today. The eastern part of Mongolia including the [[Onon River|Onon]] and [[Kherlen River|Kherlen]] rivers and [[Lake Buir]] form part of the [[Amur river]] basin draining to the Pacific Ocean. It hosts some unique species like the Eastern brook lamprey, Daurian crayfish (''cambaroides dauricus'') and Daurian pearl oyster (''dahurinaia dahurica'') in the Onon/Kherlen rivers as well as Siberian prawn (''exopalaemon modestus'') in Lake Buir.

== Demographics ==
<!-- Please, add other images to Commons -->
{{Main|Demographics of Mongolia}}
[[File:Chinggis Square.jpg|thumb|[[Ulaanbaatar]] is the capital and largest city of Mongolia.]]

Mongolia's total population in 2024 was 3,544,835, per the National Statistics Office of Mongolia. This figure includes the total number of Mongolian citizens who usually reside in Mongolia (for more than 183 days or six months), as well as Mongolian citizens living abroad.<ref>{{Cite web |title=POPULATION OF MONGOLIA, by region, aimags and the Capital, urban and rural |url=https://www.1212.mn/en/statistic/statcate/573051/table-view/DT_NSO_0300_004V1 |access-date=2025-05-21 |website=National Statistics Office of Mongolia}}</ref> 51% of the population was female and 49% male, with 71.2% residing in urban areas, compared to 21.8% in rural areas.<ref>{{Cite web |title=POPULATION OF MONGOLIA, by sex and urban/rural |url=https://www.1212.mn/en/statistic/statcate/573051/table-view/DT_NSO_0300_027V1 |access-date=2025-05-21 |website=National Statistics Office of Mongolia}}</ref> Mongolia's population growth rate was estimated at 1.2% in 2007.<ref name="UN DESA PD">{{Cite web |title=WPP2006_Highlights_0823.doc |url=http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/wpp2006/WPP2006_Highlights_rev.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130721171003/http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/wpp2006/WPP2006_Highlights_rev.pdf |archive-date=21 July 2013 |access-date=2013-06-28}}</ref>

The first census in the 20th century was carried out in 1918 and recorded a population of 647,500.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mongolia |url=http://www.unescap.org/stat/pop-it/pop-wdt/wdt-mongolia.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511040529/http://www.unescap.org/stat/pop-it/pop-wdt/wdt-mongolia.pdf |archive-date=11 May 2013 |access-date=2013-06-28 |publisher=United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific}}</ref> Since the end of socialism, Mongolia has experienced a decline of [[total fertility rate]] (children per woman) that is steeper than in any other country in the world, according to recent UN estimations:<ref name="UN DESA PD" /> in 1970–1975, fertility was estimated to be 7.33 children per woman, dropping to about 2.1 in 2000–2005.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Spoorenberg |first=Thomas |year=2009 |title=The impact of the political and economic transition on fertility and family formation in Mongolia. A synthetic parity progression ratio analysis |journal=Asian Population Studies |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=127–151 |doi=10.1080/17441730902992067 |s2cid=153650562 |issn=1744-1730}}</ref> The decline ended and in 2005–2010, the fertility value increased to 2.8 in 2013 and stabilized afterwards at a rate of about 2.5-2.6 children per woman around 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fertility rate: children per woman |url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/children-born-per-woman?tab=chart&country=MNG |access-date=2024-03-18 |website=Our World in Data |archive-date=18 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240318130315/https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/children-born-per-woman?tab=chart&country=MNG |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Mongols are moderately homogeneous;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mongolia – Climate and soils |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Mongolia/Climate-and-soils |access-date=2023-04-05 |website=Britannica  |language=en |archive-date=5 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405131415/https://www.britannica.com/place/Mongolia/Climate-and-soils |url-status=live}}</ref> ethnic Mongols account for about 95% of the population and consist of [[Khalkha]] and other groups, all distinguished primarily by dialects of the Mongol language. The [[Khalkha]] make up 86% of the ethnic Mongol population. The remaining 14% include Oirats, [[Buryats]] and others. [[Turkic people]]s ([[Kazakhs]] and [[Tuvans]]) constitute 4.5% of Mongolia's population, and the rest are Russian, Chinese, Korean and American nationalities.<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 August 2007 |title=Second wave of Chinese invasion |work=Sydney Morning Herald |url=https://www.smh.com.au/news/business/second-wave-of-chinese-invasion/2007/08/12/1186857347594.html |url-status=live |access-date=2013-06-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021224406/http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/second-wave-of-chinese-invasion/2007/08/12/1186857347594.html |archive-date=21 October 2013}}</ref>

=== Languages ===
[[File:Mörön Public Library and Museum.jpg|thumb|Public Library and Museum in Mörön, [[Khövsgöl Province|Khövsgöl]] province showing signage in Mongolian (Mongolian script and Cyrillic) and English]]
Mongolia's official and [[national language]] is [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]]. A member of the [[Mongolic languages|Mongolic language]] family, the standard dialect is [[Khalkha Mongolian|Khalkha Mongol]]. It coexists with various other, largely mutually intelligible varieties of Mongolic such as [[Oirat language|Oirat]], [[Buryat language|Buryat]], and [[Khamnigan Mongol|Khamnigan]]. Several dialects have been morphing to become more like the central Khalkha dialect in recent years.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last1=Marzluf |first1=Philip |title=The Routledge international handbook of language education policy in Asia |last2=Saruul-Erdene |first2=Myagmar |date=2019 |publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group |isbn=978-1-317-35449-9 |editor-last=Kirkpatrick |editor-first=Andy |series=Routledge international handbooks |location=London; New York |chapter=Mongolia: Language education policy |editor-last2=Liddicoat |editor-first2=Anthony J.}}</ref> Most speakers of these dialects are located in the western part of the country, namely [[Bayan-Ölgii Province|Bayan-Ölgii]], [[Uvs Province|Uvs]], and [[Khovd Province|Khovd]]. [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]], a [[Turkic languages|Turkic language]], is the majority language in Bayan-Ölgii, while [[Tuvan language|Tuvan]] is another Turkic language spoken in [[Khövsgöl Province|Khövsgöl]]. [[Mongolian Sign Language]] is the principal language of the deaf community.

As of the mid-2020s, Mongolian is mainly written using the [[Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet]], introduced during the 1940s. Since the [[Mongolian Revolution of 1990|1990 revolution]] there has been a minor revival of the historic [[Mongolian script]], which is still the official script used by [[Mongols in China|Mongols in neighboring]] [[Inner Mongolia]]. Although Mongolian script has officially been declared the ''national script'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Монгол хэлний тухай хууль |url=https://legalinfo.mn/ |access-date=2024-05-19 |website=Эрх зүйн мэдээллийн нэгдсэн систем |language=mn}}</ref> and is taught from the sixth grade onward at schools,<ref>{{Cite web |title=University and college students to learn Mongolian script from upcoming academic year |url=https://montsame.mn/en/read/250154 |access-date=2024-05-19 |website=MONTSAME News Agency |language=en |archive-date=19 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519063138/https://montsame.mn/en/read/250154 |url-status=live }}</ref> it remains mostly confined to ceremonial usage in daily life.<ref name=":1" /> In 2025, Mongolia began using both the Cyrillic and traditional Mongolian scripts for legal papers and official documents.<ref>{{cite news|last=Huaxia|date=2 January 2025|url=https://english.news.cn/asiapacific/20250102/8b680b455e18408bbde04b07870fe493/c.html|title=Mongolia adopts dual scripts for legal, official documents|work=Xinhuanet|access-date=4 January 2025|archive-date=4 January 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250104095800/https://english.news.cn/asiapacific/20250102/8b680b455e18408bbde04b07870fe493/c.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Mongols-map.png|thumb|right|alt=Map of Asia|This map shows the boundary of the 13th-century [[Mongol Empire]] compared to today's [[Mongols]]. The red area shows where the majority of [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]] speakers reside today.]]

Since 1990, English has quickly supplanted Russian as the most popular foreign language in Mongolia.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Shinjee |first1=Bolormaa |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781003198345/routledge-handbook-sociolinguistics-around-world-martin-ball-rajend-mesthrie-chiara-meluzzi |title=The Routledge Handbook of Sociolinguistics Around the World |last2=Dovchin |first2=Sender |author-link2= Sender Dovchin|date=2023-07-28 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-003-19834-5 |editor-last=Ball |editor-first=Martin J. |edition=2 |location=London |chapter=SOCIOLINGUISTICS IN MONGOLIA |doi=10.4324/9781003198345 |editor-last2=Mesthrie |editor-first2=Rajend |editor-last3=Meluzzi |editor-first3=Chiara |archive-date=19 May 2024 |access-date=19 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519063137/https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781003198345/routledge-handbook-sociolinguistics-around-world-martin-ball-rajend-mesthrie-chiara-meluzzi |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Цыбенова |first1=Ч. С. |last2=Жалсанова |first2=В. Г. |date=2022-08-31 |title=Русский язык в повседневном дискурсе монголов (данные экспертного опроса) |url=https://www.nauka-dialog.ru/jour/article/view/3964 |journal=Научный диалог |language=ru |volume=11 |issue=6 |pages=158–181 |doi=10.24224/2227-1295-2022-11-6-158-181 |issn=2227-1295 |doi-access=free |archive-date=19 May 2024 |access-date=19 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519063136/https://www.nauka-dialog.ru/jour/article/view/3964 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the [[Mongolian People's Republic|communist era]], Russian was a vital language for mobility and professional communication, with a large number of students studying in the [[Soviet Union]] as well as a large number of Soviet professionals and soldiers located within Mongolia.<ref name=":1" /> Since then, Mongolia's education system has reoriented away from the Soviet Union to the West, and English has become the dominant foreign language, aided by liberalized media, international aid agencies, the rise of private education and tutoring, as well as official government policy. In the 2014–2015 academic year, 59% of the overall student population studied English at public secondary schools.<ref name=":1" /> In 2023, English was declared the "first foreign language", and to be taught from the third grade.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Б.Анхтуяа |date=2023-08-02 |title=Mongolia makes English the first foreign language in secondary education - News.MN |url=https://news.mn/en/799615/ |access-date=2024-05-19 |website=News.MN - The source of news |language=en |archive-date=19 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519063136/https://news.mn/en/799615/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

As of the 2014–2015 academic year, the most popular foreign language in specialized language courses were (ordered by popularity), English, [[Chinese language|Chinese]], Russian, [[Japanese language|Japanese]], and [[Korean language|Korean]]. Korean in particular has gained popularity as tens of thousands of [[Mongolians in South Korea|Mongolians work in South Korea]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Han |first=Jae-hyuck |date=5 May 2006 |title=Today in Mongolia: Everyone can speak a few words of Korean |publisher=Office of the President, Republic of Korea |url=http://english.president.go.kr/cwd/en/archive/archive_view.php?meta_id=en_dip_2006&category=164&id=923b8c655856408486c7764f |access-date=2007-08-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930015517/http://english.president.go.kr/cwd/en/archive/archive_view.php?meta_id=en_dip_2006&category=164&id=923b8c655856408486c7764f |archive-date=30 September 2007}}</ref> forming the [[Mongolian diaspora|largest group of Mongolians abroad]].

=== Religion ===
{{Main|Religion in Mongolia|Freedom of religion in Mongolia}}
{| class="wikitable floatright sortable" style="font-size: 90%"
|-
|+ Religions in Mongolia <br /><small>(population aged 15 and above)<ref name="Religion2010">2010 Population and Housing Census of Mongolia. Data recorded in Brian J. Grim et al. ''Yearbook of International Religious Demography 2014''. BRILL, 2014. p. 152</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Mongolia |url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-report-on-international-religious-freedom/mongolia/ |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=United States Department of State |language=en-US}}</ref></small>
|-
! Religion !! Population!! Share
|-
| '''Non-religious''' || 1,338,528 || 40.6%
|-
| '''Religious''' || ''1,958,338'' || ''59.4%''
|-
| [[Buddhism]] || 1,704,480 || 51.7%
|-
| [[Islam]] || 105,500 || 3.2%
|-
| [[Shamanism]] || 82,422 || 2.5%
|-
| [[Christianity]] || 42,859 || 1.3%
|-
| Other religions || 23,078 || 0.7%
|-
| '''Total''' || '''3,296,866''' || '''100.0%'''
|}

According to the 2020 National Census, among Mongolians aged 15 and above, 59.4% were [[Buddhism in Mongolia|Buddhists]], while 40.6% were [[Irreligion|non-religious]].<ref name=":2" /> <!-- Is the Mongolian state effectively separated from religion (i.e. true secularism), or does it give some kind of special status? -->

[[Mongolian shamanism]] has been widely practiced throughout the history of what is now Mongolia, with similar beliefs being common among the nomads of central Asia. They gradually gave way to [[Tibetan Buddhism]], but shamanism has left a mark on Mongolian religious culture, and it continues to be practiced. The Kazakhs of western Mongolia, some Mongols, and other Turkic peoples in the country traditionally adhere to [[Islam in Mongolia|Islam]].

Throughout much of the 20th century, the [[Mongolian People's Republic|communist]] government repressed religious practices. It targeted the clergy of the Mongolian Buddhist Church, which had been tightly intertwined with the previous feudal government structures (e.g. from 1911 on, the head of the Church had also been the [[Khan (title)|Khan]] of the country).<ref name=eb/> In the late 1930s, the regime, then led by [[Khorloogiin Choibalsan]], closed almost all of Mongolia's over 700 Buddhist monasteries and [[Stalinist repressions in Mongolia|killed at least 30,000 people, of whom 18,000 were lamas]].<ref name="Thirty thousand">{{Cite web |title=Historical Injustice and Democratic Transition in Eastern Asia and Northern Europe, London 2002, p. 156 |url=http://www.chriskaplonski.com/downloads/bullets.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511044943/http://www.chriskaplonski.com/downloads/bullets.pdf |archive-date=11 May 2011 |access-date=2010-12-23}}</ref> The number of [[Buddhist monk]]s dropped from 100,000 in 1924 to 110 in 1990.<ref name="eb">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Mongolia |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Online |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/389335/Mongolia |access-date=2013-06-28 |date=11 July 1921 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514054518/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/389335/Mongolia |archive-date=14 May 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Amarbayasgalant monastery - panoramio.jpg|thumb|left|[[Amarbayasgalant Monastery]]]]
The [[fall of communism]] in 1991 restored public religious practice. [[Tibetan Buddhism]], which had been the predominant religion prior to the rise of communism, again rose to become the most widely practiced religion in Mongolia. The highest-ranking lama of Buddhism in Mongolia has been vacant since the 9th Jebtsundamba's passing in 2012<ref name="thediplomat.com">{{Cite web |title=China's Grip on Mongolia's Quest for Spiritual Leadership |url=https://thediplomat.com/2023/03/chinas-grip-on-mongolias-quest-for-spiritual-leadership/ |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=thediplomat.com |language=en-US |archive-date=25 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325161712/https://thediplomat.com/2023/03/chinas-grip-on-mongolias-quest-for-spiritual-leadership/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and the search for the next Jebtsundamba Khutuktu is being complicated by Beijing's desire to assert control over Tibetan Buddhism.<ref name="thediplomat.com"/>

The end of religious repression in the 1990s also allowed for other religions to spread in the country. According to the Christian missionary group [[Barnabas Fund]], the number of Christians grew from just four in 1989 to around 40,000 {{As of|2008|lc=y}}. In May 2013, [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) held a cultural program to celebrate twenty years of LDS Church history in Mongolia, with 10,900 members, and 16 church buildings in the country.<ref name="LDS Members Celebrate 20 Years of Church in Mongolia">{{Cite web |title=Members Celebrate 20 Years of Church in Mongolia |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/members-celebrate-20-years-of-church-in-mongolia?lang=eng |access-date=2013-06-02 |publisher=churchofjesuschrist.org |archive-date=10 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710143743/https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/members-celebrate-20-years-of-church-in-mongolia?lang=eng |url-status=live}}</ref> There are some 1,000 Catholics in Mongolia and, in 2003, a missionary from the [[Philippines]] was named Mongolia's first [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] bishop.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Religions in Mongolia |url=http://www.mongolia-attractions.com/religions-in-mongolia.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513073925/https://www.mongolia-attractions.com/religions-in-mongolia.html |archive-date=13 May 2011 |access-date=2010-05-02 |publisher=Mongolia-attractions.com |df=mdy}}</ref> In 2017 [[Seventh-day Adventists]] reported 2,700 members in six churches up from zero members in 1991.<ref name="adventistyearbook.org">{{Cite web |date=2019-12-16 |title=Mongolia Mission |url=https://www.adventistyearbook.org/entity?EntityID=13261 |access-date=2020-05-29 |publisher=Adventistyearbook.org |archive-date=9 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209182208/http://www.adventistyearbook.org/default.aspx?page=ViewAdmField&Year=9999&AdmFieldID=MGMF |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Government and politics ==
{{Main|Politics of Mongolia|Elections in Mongolia}}
[[File:Mongolian parliament members.jpg|thumb|[[State Great Khural]] chamber in session]]

Mongolia is a [[Semi-presidential system|semi-presidential]] representative democratic republic with a directly elected [[President of Mongolia|President]].<ref name="IDEA" /><ref name="Draft">{{Cite journal |last=Shugart |first=Matthew Søberg |author-link=Matthew Søberg Shugart |date=September 2005 |title=Semi-Presidential Systems: Dual Executive and Mixed Authority Patterns |url=http://dss.ucsd.edu/~mshugart/semi-presidentialism.pdf |journal=Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080819200307/http://dss.ucsd.edu/~mshugart/semi-presidentialism.pdf |archive-date=19 August 2008 |access-date=21 February 2016}}</ref><ref name="Dual">{{Cite journal |last=Shugart |first=Matthew Søberg |author-link=Matthew Søberg Shugart |date=December 2005 |title=Semi-Presidential Systems: Dual Executive And Mixed Authority Patterns |url=http://www.palgrave-journals.com/fp/journal/v3/n3/pdf/8200087a.pdf |url-status=live |journal=French Politics |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=323–351 |doi=10.1057/palgrave.fp.8200087 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053112/http://www.palgrave-journals.com/fp/journal/v3/n3/pdf/8200087a.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=21 February 2016 |quote=Even if the president has no discretion in the forming of cabinets or the right to dissolve parliament, his or her constitutional authority can be regarded as 'quite considerable' in Duverger's sense if cabinet legislation approved in parliament can be blocked by the people's elected agent. Such powers are especially relevant if an extraordinary majority is required to override a veto, as in '''Mongolia''', Poland, and Senegal. |s2cid=73642272|doi-access=free}}</ref> The people also elect the deputies in the national assembly, the [[State Great Khural]]. The president appoints the prime minister, and nominates the cabinet on the proposal of the prime minister. The [[constitution of Mongolia]] guarantees a number of freedoms, including full [[freedom of expression]] and [[Freedom of religion|religion]]. Mongolia amended its constitution most lately in 2019 transferring some powers from the president to the prime minister.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Adiya |first=Amar |date=2022-06-30 |title=Mongolia Looks Into New Parliamentary System |url=https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/mongolia-looks-into-new-parliamentary-system |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=Mongolia Weekly |language=en |archive-date=25 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325212159/https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/mongolia-looks-into-new-parliamentary-system |url-status=live}}</ref> On 31 May 2023, Mongolia's parliament approved a constitutional amendment that increased the number of seats from 76 to 126 and changed the electoral system re-introducing proportional party voting.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-25 |title=Concerns Over Foreign Meddling Rise in Mongolia's Elections |url=https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/concerns-over-foreign-meddling-rise-in-mongolia-s-elections |access-date=2023-07-25 |website=Mongolia Weekly |language=en |archive-date=25 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725143104/https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/concerns-over-foreign-meddling-rise-in-mongolia-s-elections |url-status=live }}</ref>

Mongolia has a number of political parties; the largest are the [[Mongolian People's Party]] and the [[Democratic Party (Mongolia)|Democratic Party]]. The non-governmental organization [[Freedom House]] considers Mongolia to be free.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Freedom in the World, 2024, Mongolia |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/mongolia/freedom-world/2024 |access-date=27 May 2024 |publisher=Freedom House |archive-date=27 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240527235244/https://freedomhouse.org/country/mongolia/freedom-world/2024 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The People's Party – known as the People's Revolutionary Party between 1924 and 2010 – formed the government from 1921 to 1996 (in a one-party system until 1990) and from 2000 to 2004. From 2004 to 2006, it was part of a coalition with the Democrats and two other parties, and after 2006 it was the dominant party in two other coalitions. The party initiated two changes of government from 2004 prior to losing power in the 2012 election. The Democrats were the dominant force in a ruling coalition between 1996 and 2000, and an almost-equal partner with the People's Revolutionary Party in a coalition between 2004 and 2006. An election of deputies to the national assembly on 28 June 2012 resulted in no party having an overall majority;<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 June 2012 |title=Preliminary Results Issued by the General Election Commission of Mongolia... |url=http://www.infomongolia.com/ct/ci/4423 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522164824/http://www.infomongolia.com/ct/ci/4423 |archive-date=22 May 2013 |access-date=2013-06-28 |publisher=Infomongolia.com}}</ref> however, as the [[Democratic Party (Mongolia)|Democratic Party]] won the largest number of seats,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hook |first=Leslie |date=29 June 2012 |title=Democratic party leads Mongolia poll |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/ec0e7c04-c1cb-11e1-8e7c-00144feabdc0 |url-status=live |access-date=2013-06-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120705222046/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ec0e7c04-c1cb-11e1-8e7c-00144feabdc0.html#axzz24pxWkMSH |archive-date=5 July 2012}}</ref> its leader, [[Norovyn Altankhuyag]], was appointed [[Prime Minister of Mongolia|prime minister]] on 10 August 2012.<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 August 2012 |title=N. Altankhuyag Becomes 27th Prime Minister of Mongolia |url=http://ubpost.mongolnews.mn/?p=345 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208080845/http://ubpost.mongolnews.mn/?p=345 |archive-date=8 February 2013 |access-date=2013-06-28 |publisher=UBPost}}</ref> In 2014, he was replaced by [[Chimediin Saikhanbileg]]. The [[Mongolian People's Party|MPP]] won a landslide victory in the [[2016 Mongolian parliamentary election|2016 elections]] and the next [[Prime Minister of Mongolia|prime minister]] was [[Mongolian People's Party|MPP]]'s [[Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh]]. In June 2020, MPP won a landslide victory in the [[2020 Mongolian legislative election|election]]. It took 62 seats and the main opposition DP, 11 of the 76 seats. Before the elections the ruling party had redrawn the electoral map in a way that was beneficial for MPP.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/07/07/heres-how-an-unpopular-ruling-party-swept-mongolias-june-elections/ |title=Here's how an unpopular ruling party swept Mongolia's June elections |newspaper=The Washington Post |first=Boldsaikhan |last=Sambuu |date=7 July 2020 |access-date=16 August 2021 |archive-date=18 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118064646/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/07/07/heres-how-an-unpopular-ruling-party-swept-mongolias-june-elections/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
In January 2021, Prime Minister Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh resigned after protests over the treatment of a coronavirus patient.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/world/news/mongolian-pm-resigns-2032101 |title=Mongolian PM resigns |work=The Daily Star |agency=Agence France Press |date=22 January 2021 |access-date=16 August 2021 |archive-date=11 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011051409/https://www.thedailystar.net/world/news/mongolian-pm-resigns-2032101 |url-status=live}}</ref> On 27 January 2021, [[Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene|Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene]] of MPP became new prime minister. He represents a younger generation of leaders that had studied abroad.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thediplomat.com/2021/01/with-new-pm-a-new-generation-taking-charge-in-mongolia/ |title=With New PM, a New Generation Taking Charge in Mongolia |work=The Diplomat |first1=Bolor |last1=Lkhaajav |first2=Julian |last2=Dierkes |date=27 January 2021 |access-date=16 August 2021 |archive-date=17 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917223507/https://thediplomat.com/2021/01/with-new-pm-a-new-generation-taking-charge-in-mongolia/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Archers in Traditional Mongolian Outfits Guide Secretary Kerry as He Prepares to Shoot an Arrow at a "Mini-Nadaam" Outside Ulaanbaatar (27443915682).jpg|thumb|Mongolia's President [[Tsakhia Elbegdorj]] with U.S. Secretary of State [[John Kerry]], June 2016]]
The [[President of Mongolia]] is able to veto the laws made by parliament, appoint judges and justice of courts and appoint ambassadors. The parliament can override that veto by a two-thirds majority vote. Mongolia's constitution provides three requirements for taking office as president; the candidate must be a native-born Mongolian, be at least 45 years old, and have resided in Mongolia for five years before taking office. The president must also suspend their party membership. After defeating incumbent [[Nambaryn Enkhbayar]], [[Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj]], a two-time former prime minister and member of the [[Democratic Party (Mongolia)|Democratic Party]], was elected as president on 24 May 2009 and inaugurated on 18 June that year.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/05/25/Opposition-leader-Mongolias-new-president/53731243264038/ |title=Opposition leader Mongolia's new president |work=UPI |date=25 May 2009 |access-date=16 August 2021 |archive-date=18 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818212933/https://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/05/25/Opposition-leader-Mongolias-new-president/53731243264038/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The ruling [[Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (2010)]] ([[Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (2010)|MPRP]]) nominated [[Batbold Sukhbaatar]] as new Prime Minister in October 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8331142.stm |title=Mongolia nominates a new leader |work=BBC News |date=29 October 2009 |access-date=16 August 2021 |archive-date=14 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814182010/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8331142.stm |url-status=live}}</ref> Elbegdorj was re-elected on 26 June 2013 and was inaugurated on 10 July 2013 for his second term as president.<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 July 2013 |title=President to be sworn in on 10th in front of Genghis Khan monument |url=https://www.shuud.mn/?p=252264 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705082636/http://www.shuud.mn/?p=252264 |archive-date=5 July 2013 |access-date=3 July 2013 |publisher=shuud.mn (in Mongolian) |df=mdy}}</ref> In June 2017, opposition [[Democratic Party (Mongolia)|Democratic Party]] candidate [[Khaltmaagiin Battulga]] won the presidential [[2017 Mongolian presidential election|election]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thediplomat.com/2017/07/mongolia-just-chose-a-new-president-what-now/ |title=Mongolia Just Chose a New President. What Now? |last=Dierkes |first=Julian |work=The Diplomat |date=8 July 2017 |access-date=16 August 2021 |archive-date=31 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210731214600/https://thediplomat.com/2017/07/mongolia-just-chose-a-new-president-what-now/ |url-status=live}}</ref> He was inaugurated on 10 July 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |title=МОНГОЛ УЛСЫН ЕРӨНХИЙЛӨГЧИЙН 2017 ОНЫ СОНГУУЛИЙН 2 ДАХЬ САНАЛ ХУРААЛТЫН ДҮН |language=Mongolian |url=http://www.gec.gov.mn/details/2188 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710125442/http://gec.gov.mn/details/2188 |archive-date=10 July 2017 |access-date=11 July 2017}}</ref>

In June 2021, former Prime Minister [[Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh|Ukhnaa Khurelsukh]], the candidate of the ruling [[Mongolian People's Party]] ([[Mongolian People's Party|MPP]]), became the country's sixth democratically elected president after winning the [[2021 Mongolian presidential election|presidential election]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Ex-Mongolian prime minister Khurelsukh wins presidential election in landslide |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/former-mongolian-prime-minister-khurelsukh-wins-presidency-2021-06-09/ |work=Reuters |date=10 June 2021 |language=en |access-date=18 May 2022 |archive-date=18 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518170501/https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/former-mongolian-prime-minister-khurelsukh-wins-presidency-2021-06-09/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Mongolia uses a [[Unicameralism|unicameral]] [[legislature]], the State Great Khural, with 76 seats, which is chaired by the Speaker of the House. Its members are directly elected, every four years, by popular vote.<ref name="IDEA" /> As per 2023 constitutional amendment the parliament increased the number of seats from 76 to 126.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Adiya |first=Amar |date=2023-07-25 |title=How is Mongolia Addressing Concerns Over Foreign Meddling in Elections? |url=https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/concerns-over-foreign-meddling-rise-in-mongolia-s-elections |access-date=2024-05-17 |website=Mongolia Weekly |language=en |archive-date=25 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725143104/https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/concerns-over-foreign-meddling-rise-in-mongolia-s-elections |url-status=live }}</ref> According to [[V-Dem Democracy Indices]] Mongolia was [[Democratic backsliding|autocratizing]] in 2024.<ref name="j496">{{cite web | title=Democracy Report 2025, 25 Years of Autocratization – Democracy Trumped? | url=https://v-dem.net/documents/54/v-dem_dr_2025_lowres_v1.pdf | access-date=14 March 2025}}</ref>

===Foreign relations===
{{Main|Foreign relations of Mongolia}}
[[File:Vladimir Putin in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on September 3, 2024 (1).jpg|thumb|Mongolian President [[Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh]] with Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]] in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 3 September 2024]]

Mongolia's foreign relations traditionally focus on its two large neighbors, Russia and China.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dierkes |first=Julian |date=16 February 2018 |title=Can Mongolia's Brash New President Navigate Between China and Russia? |work=WPR – World Politics Review |url=https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/22691/can-mongolia-s-brash-new-president-navigate-between-china-and-russia |url-status=live |access-date=18 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909005238/http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/22691/can-mongolia-s-brash-new-president-navigate-between-china-and-russia |archive-date=9 September 2017}}</ref> Mongolia is economically dependent on these countries: China is Mongolia's largest export partner at a 78% share, far above the other top countries (Switzerland at 15%; Singapore 3%). Mongolia receives 36% of imports from China and 29% from Russia.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mongolia/ |title=Mongolia |website=CIA World Factbook |date=28 May 2024 |publisher=CIA |access-date=28 May 2024 |archive-date=9 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109221145/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mongolia |url-status=live }}</ref> Mongolia is also pursuing a trilateral partnership with China and Russia through the [[Altai gas pipeline|Power of Siberia 2]] natural gas pipeline, with a contract to be signed in the "near future" according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Papachristou |first1=Lucy |title=Russia and China to sign Power of Siberia-2 gas pipeline 'in near future', says Novak |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russia-china-sign-power-siberia-2-gas-pipeline-contract-in-near-future-says-2024-05-17/ |website=Reuters |access-date=28 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Adiya |first=Amar |date=2022-08-26 |title=Mongolia Maintains Neutrality After 6 Months of Ukraine War |url=https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/mongolia-maintains-neutrality-after-6-months-of-ukraine-war |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=Mongolia Weekly |language=en |archive-date=28 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221128053549/https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/mongolia-maintains-neutrality-after-6-months-of-ukraine-war |url-status=live}}</ref> Due to China's status as Mongolia's most important trading partner, Mongolia has been trying to stay out of the current U.S.-China confrontation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Adiya |first=Amar |date=2021-07-28 |title=Mongolia forced to choose sides as 'friends' fight |url=https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/mongolia-forced-to-choose-sides-as-friends-fight |access-date=2022-09-25 |website=Mongolia Weekly |language=en |archive-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925181747/https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/mongolia-forced-to-choose-sides-as-friends-fight |url-status=live}}</ref>

It has begun seeking positive relations with a wider range of other countries especially in cultural and economic matters, focusing on encouraging [[foreign direct investment]] and trade.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mongolia Country Brief |url=http://dfat.gov.au/geo/mongolia/pages/mongolia-country-brief.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150814043540/http://dfat.gov.au/geo/mongolia/Pages/mongolia-country-brief.aspx |archive-date=14 August 2015 |access-date=18 February 2018 |website=Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade |publisher=Government of Australia}}</ref> Mongolia has been pursuing a 'third-neighbor' foreign policy since early 1990s to build deeper relations and partnerships with countries beyond its two surrounding neighbors.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Adiya |first=Amar |date=2022-04-26 |title=Why Mongolians Won't Take Sides in the Ukraine War |url=https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/why-mongolians-won-t-take-sides-in-the-ukraine-war |access-date=2022-07-01 |website=Mongolia Weekly |language=en |archive-date=1 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701025457/https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/why-mongolians-won-t-take-sides-in-the-ukraine-war |url-status=live}}</ref>

Mongolia has been a member of [[The Forum of Small States (FOSS)]] since the group's founding in 1992.<ref name="singaporebook">{{Cite book|title=50 Years of Singapore and the United Nations |publisher=World Scientific |isbn=978-981-4713-03-0 |year=2015}}.</ref>

Then Vice President of the U.S. Joe Biden, visited Mongolia in 2011 supporting Mongolia's third neighbor policy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Levick |first=Ewen |date=2020-11-17 |title=Why Mongolia matters to Joe Biden |url=https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/why-mongolia-matters-to-joe-biden |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=Mongolia Weekly |language=en |archive-date=25 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325204313/https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/why-mongolia-matters-to-joe-biden |url-status=live}}</ref>

====Embassies====
{{Main|List of diplomatic missions of Mongolia}}

Mongolia maintains many [[diplomatic missions]] in other countries and has [[embassies]] in the following world capitals:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mongolia Embassies & Consulates |url=https://www.embassypages.com/mongolia |access-date=18 February 2018 |website=EmbassyPages.com |archive-date=2 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902181641/https://www.embassypages.com/mongolia |url-status=live}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=10em}}
*[[Ankara]]
*[[Astana]]
*[[Bangkok]]
*[[Beijing]]
*[[Berlin]]
*[[Brasília]]
*[[Brussels]]
*[[Budapest]]
*[[Cairo]]
*[[Canberra]]
*[[Hanoi]]
*[[Havana]]
*[[Jakarta]]
*[[Kuala Lumpur]]
*[[Kuwait City]]
*[[London]]
*[[Moscow]]
*[[New Delhi]]
*[[Ottawa]]
*[[Paris]]
*[[Prague]]
*[[Pyongyang]]
*[[Rome]]
*[[Seoul]]
*[[Singapore]]
*[[Sofia]]
*[[Stockholm]]
*[[Tokyo]]
*[[Vienna]]
*[[Vientiane]]
*[[Warsaw]]
*[[Washington, D.C.]]
{{div col end}}

=== Military ===
{{main|Mongolian Armed Forces}}
[[File:Vostok-2018 military manoeuvres (2018-09-13) 51.jpg|thumb|Mongolian, Chinese and Russian national flags set on armored vehicles during the large-scale military exercise [[Vostok 2018]] in Eastern Siberia]]

Mongolia supported the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]], and has sent several successive contingents of 103 to 180 troops each to [[Iraq]]. About 130 troops were deployed to [[Afghanistan]]. 200 Mongolian troops are serving in [[Sierra Leone]] on a UN mandate to protect the UN's [[Special Court for Sierra Leone|special court]] set up there, and in July 2009, Mongolia decided to send a battalion to [[Chad]] in support of [[MINURCAT]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ban Ki-Moon on press conference in Ulaanbaatar, July 27th, 2009 |url=http://www.un.org/apps/sg/offthecuff.asp?nid=1312 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110503184917/http://www.un.org/apps/sg/offthecuff.asp?nid=1312 |archive-date=3 May 2011 |access-date=2010-05-02 |publisher=Un.org}}</ref>

From 2005 to 2006, about 40 troops were deployed with the Belgian and Luxembourg contingents in [[Kosovo]]. On 21 November 2005, [[George W. Bush]] became the first-ever sitting U.S. president to visit Mongolia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=President George W. Bush Visits Mongolia |url=http://mongolia.usembassy.gov/potus_visit.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080229154823/http://mongolia.usembassy.gov/potus_visit.html |archive-date=29 February 2008 |access-date=2013-06-30 |publisher=US embassy in Mongolia, 2005}}</ref> In 2004, under Bulgarian chairmanship, the [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]] (OSCE) invited Mongolia as its newest Asian partner.

=== Legal system ===
{{Main|Judiciary of Mongolia}}

The [[judiciary of Mongolia]] is made of a three-tiered court system: [[Trial court|first instance]] courts in each [[Districts of Mongolia|provincial district]] and each [[Düürgüüd of Mongolia|Ulaanbaatar district]]; [[Appellate court|appellate]] courts for each province and also the Capital Ulaanbaatar; and the court of last resort (for non-constitutional matters) at the [[Supreme Court of Mongolia]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Judicial System of Mongolia |url=http://www.supremecourt.mn/english/content/11 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220152649/http://www.supremecourt.mn/english/content/11 |archive-date=20 December 2016 |access-date=10 December 2016 |publisher=[[Supreme Court of Mongolia]]}}</ref> For questions of constitutional law there is a separate constitutional court.

A [[Judicial General Council of Mongolia|Judicial General Council]] (JGC) nominates judges which must then be confirmed by the [[State Great Khural|parliament]] and appointed by the President.

Arbitration centers provide [[alternative dispute resolution]] options for commercial and other disputes.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-05-22 |title=Эвлэрүүлэн зуучлалын тухай хууль |trans-title=Law on mediation and conciliation |url=http://www.legalinfo.mn/law/details/8689 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509142002/http://www.legalinfo.mn/law/details/8689 |archive-date=9 May 2016 |access-date=13 May 2016 |publisher=www.Legalinfo.mn}}</ref>

=== Administrative divisions ===
{{Main|Provinces of Mongolia|Districts of Mongolia}}
{{Clickable map of Mongolian provinces}}

Mongolia is divided into 21 [[Provinces of Mongolia|provinces (aimags)]] and subdivided into 330 [[Districts of Mongolia|districts (sums)]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nso.mn/en/statistic/file-library/view/80622441 |title=Social and economic profile of Mongolia 2019-2023 |language=mn |date=2024-05-17 |website=nso.mn |publisher=National Statistics Office of Mongolia |access-date=2024-05-22}}</ref> Ulaanbaatar is administered separately as a [[Provinces of Mongolia|capital city (municipality)]] with provincial status. The ''aimags'' are:
{{div col|colwidth=10em}}
* [[Arkhangai Province|Arkhangai]]
* [[Bayan-Ölgii Province|Bayan-Ölgii]]
* [[Bayankhongor Province|Bayankhongor]]
* [[Bulgan Province|Bulgan]]
* [[Darkhan-Uul Province|Darkhan-Uul]]
* [[Dornod Province|Dornod]]
* [[Dornogovi Province|Dornogovi]]
* [[Dundgovi Province|Dundgovi]]
* [[Govi-Altai Province|Govi-Altai]]
* [[Govisümber Province|Govisümber]]
* [[Khentii Province|Khentii]]
* [[Khovd Province|Khovd]]
* [[Khövsgöl Province|Khövsgöl]]
* [[Ömnögovi Province|Ömnögovi]]
* [[Orkhon Province|Orkhon]]
* [[Övörkhangai Province|Övörkhangai]]
* [[Selenge Province|Selenge]]
* [[Sükhbaatar Province|Sükhbaatar]]
* [[Töv Province|Töv]]
* [[Uvs Province|Uvs]]
* [[Zavkhan Province|Zavkhan]]
{{div col end}}

=== Major cities ===
{{Main|List of cities in Mongolia}}{{Pie chart|value1=44.2|value2=3.1|value3=2.6|value4=1.4|value5=1.3|value6=1.2|value7=1.2|label1=Ulaanbaatar|label2=Erdenet|label3=Darkhan|label4=Choibalsan|label5=Mörön|label6=Nalaikh|label7=Ölgii|value8=1.0|value9=1.0|value10=1.0|footer=The percentage of the population the top 10 most populous cities make up.|label8=Arvaikheer|label9=Bayankhongor|label10=Khovd|other=42.0}}

As of 2020, 47.6% of the population lives in Ulaanbaatar, further 21.4% lived in [[Darkhan (city)|Darkhan]], [[Erdenet]], the [[Provinces of Mongolia|aimag]] centers and [[Districts of Mongolia|sum]] centers, and other permanent settlements, and 31.0% in rural areas.<ref>{{cite book |last=National Statistics Office of Mongolia |title=MONGOLIAN STATISTICAL YEARBOOK 2020 |date=2021-09-18 |url=https://www.nso.mn/en/statistic/file-library/view/47811478 |page=10 |publisher=Mongol Ulsyn Ündėsnij Statisikijn Horoo |isbn=978-99978-758-9-1 |archive-date=22 May 2024 |access-date=22 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240522192729/https://www.nso.mn/en/statistic/file-library/view/47811478 |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{Largest cities
| name         = Largest cities and towns of Mongolia
| country      = Mongolia
| stat_ref     = National Statistics Office of Mongolia, 2020 {{URL|1=https://www2.1212.mn/tables.aspx?TBL_ID=DT_NSO_0300_004V5}}
| div_name     = Province

|city_1 = Ulaanbaatar | div_1 = Ulaanbaatar | pop_1 = 1,426,645 | img_1 = UlaanBaatar-2009.jpg
|city_2 = Erdenet | div_2 = Orkhon Province{{!}}Orkhon  | pop_2 = 101,421 | img_2 = Erdenet 01.jpg
|city_3 = Darkhan (city){{!}}Darkhan | div_3 = Darkhan-Uul Province{{!}}Darkhan-Uul | pop_3 = 83,213| img_3 =
|city_4 = Choibalsan (city){{!}}Choibalsan | div_4 = Dornod Province{{!}}Dornod | pop_4 = 46,683| img_4 =
|city_5 = Mörön | div_5 = Khövsgöl Province{{!}}Khövsgöl | pop_5 = 41,586
|city_6 = Nalaikh{{!}}''Nalaikh*'' | div_6 = Ulaanbaatar | pop_6 = 38,690
|city_7 = Ölgii (city){{!}}Ölgii | div_7 = Bayan-Ölgii Province{{!}}Bayan-Ölgii | pop_7 = 38,310
|city_8 = Arvaikheer | div_8 = Övörkhangai Province{{!}}Övörkhangai | pop_8 = 33,743
|city_9 = Bayankhongor | div_9 = Bayankhongor Province{{!}}Bayankhongor | pop_9 = 31,948
|city_10 = Khovd (city){{!}}Khovd | div_10 = Khovd Province{{!}}Khovd | pop_10 = 31,081
|city_11 = Ulaangom | div_11 = Uvs Province{{!}}Uvs | pop_11= 30,958
|city_12 = Baganuur{{!}}''Baganuur*'' | div_12 = Ulaanbaatar | pop_12 = 29,342
|city_13 = Dalanzadgad | div_13 = Ömnögovi Province{{!}}Ömnögovi | pop_13 = 27,525
|city_14 = Sainshand | div_14 = Dornogovi Province{{!}}Dornogovi | pop_14 = 24,552
|city_15 = Öndörkhaan{{!}}Chinggis City | div_15 = Khentii Province{{!}}Khentii | pop_15 = 22,216
|city_16 = Sükhbaatar (city){{!}}Sükhbaatar | div_16 = Selenge Province{{!}}Selenge | pop_16 = 22,470
|city_17 = Züünkharaa, Selenge{{!}}Züünkharaa | div_17 = Selenge Province{{!}}Selenge | pop_17 = 21,093
|city_18 = Tsetserleg (city){{!}}Tsetserleg | div_18 = Arkhangai Province{{!}}Arkhangai | pop_18 = 20,645
|city_19 = Baruun-Urt | div_19 = Sükhbaatar Province{{!}}Sükhbaatar | pop_19 = 19,255
|city_20 = Zamyn-Üüd | div_20 = Dornogovi Province{{!}}Dornogovi | pop_20 = 19,116
<!--
|city_21 = Altai (city){{!}}Altai | div_21 = Govi-Altai Province{{!}}Govi-Altai | pop_21 = 17,448
|city_22 = Zuunmod | div_22 = Töv Province{{!}}Töv | pop_22 = 17,017
|city_23 = Uliastai | div_23 = Zavkhan Province{{!}}Zavkhan | pop_23 = 16,397
|city_24 = Mandalgovi | div_24 = Dundgovi Province{{!}}Dundgovi | pop_24 = 12,644
|city_25 = Bulgan | div_25 = Bulgan Province{{!}}Bulgan | pop_25 = 12,581
|city_26 = Choir | div_26 = Govisümber Province{{!}}Govisümber | pop_26 = 10,766
|city_27 = Sharyn Gol{{!}}Sharyngol, Darkhan-Uul | div_27 = Darkhan-Uul Province{{!}}Govisümber | pop_27 = 7,889
-->
}}{{refbegin}}<sup>*</sup>Under Ulaanbaatar administration{{refend}}

== Economy ==
{{Main|Economy of Mongolia}}
[[File:GDP_per_capita_development_of_Mongolia.svg|thumb|Historical development of real GDP per capita in Mongolia]]
[[File:UB downtown.jpg|thumb|View of Ulaanbaatar with the [[Blue Sky Tower]] ]]

Economic activity in Mongolia has long been based on herding and agriculture, although development of extensive mineral deposits of copper, coal, [[molybdenum]], tin, [[tungsten]] and gold have emerged as a driver of industrial production.<ref name="stategov">{{Cite web |title=Background Note: Mongolia |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2779.htm |publisher=Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs |access-date=21 May 2019 |archive-date=17 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217133623/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2779.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> Besides mining (21.8% of GDP) and agriculture (16% of GDP), dominant industries in the composition of GDP are wholesale and retail trade and service, transportation and storage, and real estate activities.<ref name=stategov/> Also, Mongolia produces one-fifth of the world's raw cashmere.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Adiya |first=Amar |date=2020-04-25 |title=Cashmere conflict: Politicians, Herders, Middlemen and Factories |url=https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/cashmere-conflict-politicians-herders-middlemen-and-factories |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=Mongolia Weekly |language=en |archive-date=25 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325205150/https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/cashmere-conflict-politicians-herders-middlemen-and-factories |url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[informal economy]] is estimated to be at least one-third the size of the official economy.<ref name="stategov" /> {{As of|2022}}, 78% of Mongolia's exports went to the [[People's Republic of China|PRC]], and the PRC supplied 36% of Mongolia's imports.<ref name="CIA World Factbook, Mongolia">{{cite web |title=CIA World Factbook, Mongolia |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mongolia/#economy |website=CIA World Factbook |date=28 May 2024 |publisher=CIA |access-date=28 May 2024 |archive-date=9 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109221145/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mongolia#economy |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[World Bank]] has stated that Mongolia's development prospects are promising due to an expansion of mining and large public investment, although challenges remain from inflation, weaker external demand from China, and persistent fiscal risks due to sizable contingent liabilities.<ref>{{cite web |title=The World Bank in Mongolia |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/mongolia/overview |website=The World Bank |access-date=28 May 2024 |archive-date=28 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240528014029/https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/mongolia/overview |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the Asian Development Bank, 27.1% of Mongolia's population lived below the national poverty line in 2022.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mongolia and ADB |url=https://www.adb.org/where-we-work/mongolia/poverty#:~:text=Poverty%20Data%3A%20Mongolia&text=In%20Mongolia%2C%2027.1%25%20of%20the,die%20before%20their%205th%20birthday. |website=Asian Development Bank |date=21 May 2021 |access-date=28 May 2024 |archive-date=28 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240528015529/https://www.adb.org/where-we-work/mongolia/poverty#:~:text=Poverty%20Data%3A%20Mongolia&text=In%20Mongolia%2C%2027.1%25%20of%20the,die%20before%20their%205th%20birthday. |url-status=live }}</ref> In the same year, GDP per capita was estimated at $12,100.<ref name="CIA World Factbook, Mongolia"/>

Mongolia's real GDP grew by 7% in 2023 due to record-high coal production, driven by strong demand from China.<ref name="IMF April">{{cite web |title=Mongolia-Assessment Letter for the Asian Development Bank |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/Policy-Papers/Issues/2024/04/01/Mongolia-Assessment-Letter-for-the-Asian-Development-Bank-547032 |website=International Monetary Fund |access-date=28 May 2024 |archive-date=28 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240528014029/https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/Policy-Papers/Issues/2024/04/01/Mongolia-Assessment-Letter-for-the-Asian-Development-Bank-547032 |url-status=live }}</ref> Inflation in early 2024 dropped to 7% due to lower global food and fuel prices.<ref name="IMF April"/> Despite a robust increase in import volumes, Mongolia recorded a current account surplus due to the sharp increase in coal exports. Mining sector growth is expected to continue driving GDP growth, although the [[International Monetary Fund]] predicts the current account balance will revert to a sizable deficit due to declining coal prices.<ref name="IMF April"/>

In 2011, [[Citigroup]] analysts determined Mongolia to be one of the "[[3G (countries)|global growth generating]]" countries, which are countries with the most promising growth prospects for 2010–2050.<ref>{{Cite news |date=22 February 2011 |title=Forget The BRICs: Citi's Willem Buiter Presents The 11 "3G" Countries That Will Win The Future |work=Business Insider |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/willem-buiter-3g-countries-2011-2?slop=1 |url-status=live |access-date=2013-06-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111122092723/http://www.businessinsider.com/willem-buiter-3g-countries-2011-2?slop=1 |archive-date=22 November 2011}}</ref> The [[Mongolian Stock Exchange]], established in 1991 in Ulaanbaatar, is among the world's smallest stock exchanges by [[market capitalization]].<ref name="Jeffs">{{Cite news |last=Jeffs |first=Luke |date=12 February 2007 |title=Mongolia earns a sporting chance with fledgling operation |work=Dow Jones Financial News Online |url=http://www.efinancialnews.com/content/1047180747 |access-date=2007-09-11 |archive-date=6 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906124830/https://www.fnlondon.com/content/1047180747 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="IHT">{{Cite news |last=Cheng |first=Patricia |date=19 September 2006 |title=Mongolian bourse seeks foreign investment |work=International Herald-Tribune |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/09/19/bloomberg/bxmongol.php |access-date=2007-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070820205402/http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/09/19/bloomberg/bxmongol.php |archive-date=20 August 2007}}</ref> As of 2024, it has 180 companies listed with a total market capitalization of US$3.2&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mongolia Market Capitalization |url=https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/mongolia/market-capitalization |website=CEIC Data |access-date=28 May 2024}}</ref> The [[International Finance Corporation]] (IFC) currently ranks Mongolia as 81st globally in its ease of doing business scoring.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ease of Doing Business rankings |url=https://archive.doingbusiness.org/en/rankings |website=Doing Business |publisher=World Bank |access-date=28 May 2024}}</ref>

Mongolia was ranked 78th in the [[Global Innovation Index]] in 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |title=GII Innovation Ecosystems & Data Explorer 2025 |url=https://www.wipo.int/gii-ranking/en/mongolia |access-date=2025-10-16 |website=WIPO}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dutta |first1=Soumitra |url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2025/en/index.html |title=Global Innovation Index 2025: Innovation at a Crossroads |last2=Lanvin |first2=Bruno |publisher=[[World Intellectual Property Organization]] |year=2025 |isbn=978-92-805-3797-0 |page=19 |language=en |doi=10.34667/tind.58864 |access-date=2025-10-17}}</ref>

=== Mineral industry ===
{{main|Mining in Mongolia}}
[[File:Oyu Tolgoi 23.JPG|thumb|[[Oyu Tolgoi]] employs 21,000 workers and produced 168,000 tons of copper in 2023.<ref name="Rio">{{cite web |title=Oyu Tolgoi |url=https://www.riotinto.com/en/operations/mongolia/oyu-tolgoi |website=Rio Tinto |access-date=3 July 2024 |archive-date=6 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706045938/https://www.riotinto.com/en/Operations/mongolia/oyu-tolgoi |url-status=live }}</ref>]]

Minerals represent more than 80% of Mongolia's exports, a proportion expected to eventually rise to 95%. Fiscal revenues from mining represented 21% of government income in 2010 and rose to 24% in 2018.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lkhagva |first1=Davaajargal |last2=Wang |first2=Zheng |last3=Liu |first3=Changxin |date=2019-05-29 |title=Mining Booms and Sustainable Economic Growth in Mongolia—Empirical Result from Recursive Dynamic CGE Model |journal=Economies |volume=7 |issue=2 |page=51 |doi=10.3390/economies7020051 |issn=2227-7099 |doi-access=free|hdl=10419/256983 |hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Mongolian Statistical Yearbook 2018 |publisher=National Statistics Office of Mongolia |year=2018 |location=Ulan Bator}}</ref> About 3,000 mining licences have been issued.<ref name="econ-mam">{{Cite news |date=21 January 2012 |title=Booming Mongolia: Mine, all mine |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/briefing/2012/01/21/mine-all-mine |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121132118/http://www.economist.com/node/21543113 |archive-date=21 January 2012}}</ref> Mining continues to rise as a major industry of Mongolia as evidenced by the number of Chinese, Russian and Canadian firms starting mining businesses in Mongolia.<ref name="cia" />

In 2009, the Mongolian government negotiated an agreement with [[Rio Tinto Group|Rio Tinto]] and [[Turquoise Hill Resources|Ivanhoe Mines]] to develop the [[Oyu Tolgoi]] copper and gold deposit,<ref name=stategov/> the biggest foreign-investment project in Mongolia at the time. The mine is now a major producer of copper and gold, with plans to further develop underground production and reach an output of 500,000 tons of copper per year.<ref name=Rio/> Mongolian's gold production in 2015 is 15 metric tons.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gold production |url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/gold-production?tab=table |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129233804/https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/gold-production?tab=table |archive-date=29 November 2023 |access-date=2024-12-19 |website=Our World in Data |url-status=live }}</ref> Mongolian lawmakers have also attempted to finance the development of the [[Tavan Tolgoi]] area, the world's largest untapped coal deposit. However, proposed international partnerships failed in 2011 and 2015, with Mongolia further cancelling an international [[initial public offering]] in 2020, citing financial and political difficulties.<ref name="tavan">{{cite web |last1=Jamasmie |first1=Cecilia |title=Mongolia cancels Tavan Tolgoi's $1 billion IPO plan |url=https://www.mining.com/mongolia-cancels-tavan-tolgois-1bn-ipo-plan/ |website=Mining.com |date=28 April 2020 |access-date=3 July 2024 |archive-date=19 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241219032241/https://www.mining.com/mongolia-cancels-tavan-tolgois-1bn-ipo-plan/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In September 2022, Mongolia built and launched a 233-km direct rail link to China, which is a milestone in Mongolia's plan to become China's leading supplier of high-quality coal from the Tavan Tolgoi mine, which has more than six billion tonnes of coal reserves.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Adiya |first=Amar |date=2022-09-08 |title=New Coal Rail Network Comes Online Connecting Mongolia With China |url=https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/new-coal-rail-network-comes-online-connecting-mongolia-with-china |access-date=2022-09-25 |website=Mongolia Weekly |language=en |archive-date=11 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220911183801/https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/new-coal-rail-network-comes-online-connecting-mongolia-with-china |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Agriculture ===
{{excerpt|Agriculture in Mongolia}}

== Infrastructure ==

=== Communications ===
{{excerpt|Telecommunications in Mongolia}}

Postal services are provided by state-owned [[Mongol Post]] and 54 other licensed operators.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Odgerel |first1=U. |last2=International Chinese Transportation Professional Association |date=2011 |title=White Paper 2011 Mongolia |url=http://workspace.unpan.org/sites/internet/Documents/UNPAN048133.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809121920/http://workspace.unpan.org/sites/internet/Documents/UNPAN048133.pdf |archive-date=9 August 2016 |access-date=20 June 2016 |publisher=[[United Nations Public Administration Network]]}}</ref>

=== Energy ===
[[File:Thermal Power Plant No. 4 (Ulaanbaatar).jpg|thumb|[[Thermal Power Plant No. 4 (Ulaanbaatar)|Thermal Power Plant No. 4]] in Ulaanbaaatar is Mongolia's largest power station.]]
{{excerpt|Energy in Mongolia}}

Mongolia imports 98% of its fuel and is building its first ever oil refinery to reduce its foreign energy dependency.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Adiya |first=Amar |date=2020-06-08 |title=Khurelsukh drives Mongolia to energy independence |url=https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/mongolia-will-become-an-oil-producing-country-says-prime-minister-khurelsukh |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=Mongolia Weekly |language=en |archive-date=24 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124180524/https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/mongolia-will-become-an-oil-producing-country-says-prime-minister-khurelsukh |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Transportation ===
{{Main|Transport in Mongolia}}
[[File:Zamyn Uud traders.jpg|thumb|Train in [[Zamyn-Üüd]] station in [[Dornogovi Province|Dornogovi aimag]]]]
[[File:Rider in Mongolia, 2012.jpg|thumb|While the [[Mongolian horse]] continues to be revered as the national symbol, they are rapidly being replaced by motorized vehicles.]]
[[File:Байкал и Хубсугул 332.jpg|thumb|Mongolian ferry ''Sukhbaatar'' on [[Lake Khovsgol]] in Khovsgol Province]]

The [[Trans-Mongolian Railway]] is the main rail link between Mongolia and its neighbors. It begins at the [[Trans-Siberian Railway]] in Russia at the town of [[Ulan-Ude]], crosses into Mongolia, runs through Ulaanbaatar, then passes into China at [[Erenhot]] where it joins the Chinese railway system. A separate railroad link connects the eastern city of [[Choibalsan (city)|Choibalsan]] with the Trans-Siberian Railway. However, that link is closed to passengers after the Mongolian town of [[Chuluunkhoroot]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lonely Planet Mongolia: Choibalsan transport |url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/mongolia/eastern-mongolia/choibalsan/transport/getting-there-away |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514101526/http://www.lonelyplanet.com/mongolia/eastern-mongolia/choibalsan/transport/getting-there-away |archive-date=14 May 2011 |access-date=2010-05-02 |publisher=Lonelyplanet.com}}</ref> Mongolia also has a 233&nbsp;km-long cargo rail link from the Tavan Tolgoi coal mine to Chinese border.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Adiya |first=Amar |date=2022-09-08 |title=New Coal Rail Network Comes Online Connecting Mongolia With China |url=https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/new-coal-rail-network-comes-online-connecting-mongolia-with-china |access-date=2022-09-11 |website=Mongolia Weekly |language=en |archive-date=11 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220911183801/https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/new-coal-rail-network-comes-online-connecting-mongolia-with-china |url-status=live}}</ref>

Mongolia has a number of domestic airports, with some of them having international status. However, the main international airport is [[Chinggis Khaan International Airport]], located approximately {{convert|52|km|abbr=on}} south of the capital Ulaanbaatar. Direct flight connections exist between Mongolia and South Korea, mainland China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan, Russia, Germany, and Turkey. [[MIAT Mongolian Airlines]] is Mongolia's national air carrier, operating international flights, while air carriers such as Aero Mongolia and Hunnu Airlines serve domestic and short international routes.

Many overland roads in Mongolia are only gravel roads or simple cross-country tracks. There are paved roads from Ulaanbaatar to the Russian and Chinese borders, from Ulaanbaatar east- and westward (the so-called Millennium Road), and from Darkhan to [[Bulgan (city)|Bulgan]]. A number of road construction projects are currently underway. Mongolia has {{convert|4800|km|abbr=on}} of paved roads, with {{convert|1800|km|abbr=on}} of that total completed in 2013 alone.<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 December 2013 |title=Tough challenges in 2014 &#124; UBPost News |url=http://ubpost.mongolnews.mn/?p=7086 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401041502/http://ubpost.mongolnews.mn/?p=7086 |archive-date=1 April 2014 |access-date=2014-05-05 |publisher=Ubpost.mongolnews.mn}}</ref>

=== Education ===
{{main|Education in Mongolia}}
During the state socialist period, education was one of the areas of significant achievement in Mongolia. Before the [[Mongolian People's Republic|People's Republic]], literacy rates were below one percent. By 1952, illiteracy was virtually eliminated,<ref>{{Cite news |title=Mongolian People's Republic |work=TheFreeDictionary.com |url=http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Mongolian+People's+Republic |url-status=live |access-date=2016-11-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212105459/http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Mongolian+People%27s+Republic |archive-date=12 February 2017}}</ref> in part through the use of seasonal boarding schools for children of nomadic families. Funding to these boarding schools was cut in the 1990s, contributing to slightly increased illiteracy.

Primary and secondary education formerly lasted ten years, but was expanded to eleven years. Since the 2008–2009 school year, new first-graders are using the 12-year system, with a full transition to the 12-year system in the 2019–2020 school year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Зургаан настнууд зутрах шинжтэй |url=http://www.olloo.mn/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1134602 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525093517/http://www.olloo.mn/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1134602 |archive-date=25 May 2013 |access-date=2013-06-28 |publisher=Olloo.mn |language=mn}}</ref>

{{As of|2006}}, English is taught in all secondary schools across Mongolia, beginning in fourth grade. English has taken over from Russian as the dominant foreign language in Mongolia, particularly in Ulaanbaatar.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dovchin |first=Sender |date=2021-10-04 |title=The Rise of English in Mongolia |url=https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/the-rise-of-english-in-mongolia |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=Mongolia Weekly |language=en |archive-date=25 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325212203/https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/the-rise-of-english-in-mongolia |url-status=live}}</ref>

Mongolian national universities are all spin-offs from the [[National University of Mongolia]] and the [[Mongolian University of Science and Technology]]. Almost three in five Mongolian youths now enroll in university. There was a six-fold increase in students between 1993 and 2010.<ref>Jakob Engel and Annalisa Prizzon, with Gerelmaa Amgaabazar, July 2014, From decline to recovery: Post-primary education in
Mongolia, {{Cite web |title=Development Progress |url=http://www.developmentprogress.org/sites/developmentprogress.org/files/case-study-summary/mongolia_summary_digi.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016014354/http://www.developmentprogress.org/sites/developmentprogress.org/files/case-study-summary/mongolia_summary_digi.pdf |archive-date=16 October 2014 |access-date=2014-10-10}}</ref>

=== Health ===
{{Excerpt|Health in Mongolia|paragraphs=1-4}}

== Culture ==
{{Main|Culture of Mongolia}}

The symbol in the left bar of the national flag is a Buddhist icon called [[Soyombo symbol|Soyombo]]. It represents the sun, moon, stars, and heavens per standard cosmological symbology abstracted from that seen in traditional [[thangka]] paintings.

=== Visual arts ===
Before the 20th century, most works of the fine arts in Mongolia had a religious function, and therefore Mongolian fine arts were heavily influenced by religious texts.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Terese Tse Bartholomew |year=1995 |title=Introduction to the Art of Mongolia |url=http://www.asianart.com/mongolia/introduct.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130306134950/http://www.asianart.com/mongolia/introduct.html |archive-date=6 March 2013 |access-date=2013-03-22 |publisher=asianart.com}}</ref> [[Thangkas]] were usually painted or made in [[appliqué]] technique. Bronze sculptures usually showed Buddhist deities. A number of great works are attributed to the first [[Jebtsundamba Khutuktu]], [[Zanabazar]].

In the late 19th century, painters like [[Marzan Sharav|"Marzan" Sharav]] turned to more realistic painting styles. Under the [[Mongolian People's Republic]], [[socialist realism]] was the dominant painting style,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Veronika Ronge |title=Die Mongolen: Beiträge zu ihrer Geschichte und Kultur |publisher=Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft |year=1986 |isbn=978-3-534-03579-3 |editor-last=Michael Weiers |pages=125–148 |chapter=Kunst und Kunstgewerbe}}</ref> however traditional ''thangka''-like paintings dealing with secular, nationalist themes were also popular, a genre known as "[[Mongol zurag|Mongol ''zurag'']]".

Among the first attempts to introduce [[modernism]] into the fine arts of Mongolia was the painting ''Ehiin setgel'' (''Mother's love'') created by Tsevegjav in the 1960s. The artist was purged as his work was censored.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

All forms of fine arts flourished only after [[perestroika]] in the late 1980s. Otgonbayar Ershuu is arguably one of the most well-known Mongolian modern artists in the Western world, he was portrayed in the film "ZURAG" by Tobias Wulff.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ZURAG – a movie about Otgonbayar Ershuu |url=http://www.zurag.de/zurag-film.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729204853/http://www.zurag.de/zurag-film.html |archive-date=29 July 2013 |access-date=2013-06-28 |publisher=Zurag.de}}</ref>

=== Architecture ===
{{Main|Architecture of Mongolia}}{{More citations needed section|date=April 2025}}[[File:Gurvger.jpg|thumb|A [[yurt|''ger'']] in front of the [[Gurvan Saikhan Uul|Gurvan Saikhan Mountains]]]]

The traditional Mongolian dwelling is known as a ''ger''. In the past it was known by the Turkic term ''[[yurt]]'', but this has been changing as the Mongolian term becomes better known in English-speaking countries. According to Mongolian artist and art critic [[N. Chultem]], the ''ger'' was the basis for development of traditional Mongolian architecture. In the 16th and 17th centuries, lamaseries were built throughout the country. Many of them started as ''ger''-temples. When they needed to be enlarged to accommodate the growing number of worshippers, the Mongolian architects used structures with 6 and 12 angles{{clarify|r=is sides or corners meant?|date=April 2011}} with pyramidal roofs to approximate to the round shape of a ''ger''. Further enlargement led to a quadratic shape of the temples. The roofs were made in the shape of marquées.<ref name="Chultem">{{Cite book |title=Искусство Монголии |year=1984 |location=Moscow}}</ref> The trellis walls, roof poles and layers of felt were replaced by stone, brick, beams and planks, and became permanent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cultural Heritage of Mongolia |url=http://www.indiana.edu/~mongsoc/mong/heritage.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070702015556/http://www.indiana.edu/~mongsoc/mong/heritage.htm |archive-date=2 July 2007 |access-date=2007-07-07 |publisher=[[Indiana University]]}}</ref>

Chultem distinguished three styles in traditional Mongolian architecture: Mongolian, [[Tibetan architecture|Tibetan]] and [[Chinese architecture|Chinese]] as well as combinations of the three. Among the first quadratic temples was Batu-Tsagaan (1654) designed by [[Zanabazar]]. An example of the ''ger''-style architecture is the lamasery Dashi-Choiling in Ulaanbaatar. The temple Lavrin (18th century) in the [[Erdene Zuu]] lamasery was built in the Tibetan tradition. An example of a temple built in the Chinese tradition is the lamasery Choijing Lamiin Sume (1904), which is a museum today. The quadratic temple Tsogchin in lamasery Gandan in Ulaanbaatar is a combination of the Mongolian and Chinese tradition. The temple of Maitreya (disassembled in 1938) is an example of the Tibeto-Mongolian architecture.<ref name="Chultem" /> Dashi-Choiling monastery has commenced a project to restore the temple and the {{convert|25|m|ft}} sculpture of Maitreya.

=== Music ===
{{Main|Music of Mongolia}}
[[File:Mongolian Musician.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Musician playing the traditional Mongolian musical instrument [[morin khuur]]]]

The music of Mongolia is strongly influenced by nature, nomadism, shamanism, and also Tibetan Buddhism. The traditional music includes a variety of instruments, famously the [[morin khuur]], and also the singing styles like the [[Long song|urtyn duu]] ("long song"), and throat-singing ([[Tuvan throat singing#Khoomei|khoomei]]). The "tsam" is danced to keep away evil spirits and it was seen as reminiscent of [[shamanism]].

=== Media ===
{{Main|Media of Mongolia}}
[[File:Mongolia media.jpg|thumb|right|Mongolian media interviewing the opposition [[Mongolian Green Party]] in 2008. The media has gained significant freedoms since democratic reforms initiated in the 1990s.]]

Mongolian press began in 1920 with close ties to the Soviet Union under the Mongolian Communist Party, with the establishment of the ''Unen'' ("Truth") newspaper similar to the Soviet ''[[Pravda]]''.<ref name="pr">{{Cite web |title=Mongolia media |url=http://www.pressreference.com/Ma-No/Mongolia.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130415220841/http://www.pressreference.com/Ma-No/Mongolia.html |archive-date=15 April 2013 |access-date=2013-06-28 |publisher=Press reference}}</ref> Until reforms in the 1990s, the government had strict control of the media and oversaw all publishing, in which no independent media were allowed.<ref name=pr/> The [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] had a significant impact on Mongolia, where the [[one-party state]] grew into a [[Multi-party system|multi-party]] democracy, and with that, media freedoms came to the forefront.

A new law on press freedom, drafted with help from international NGOs on 28 August 1998, and enacted on 1 January 1999, paved the way for media reforms.<ref name="bruun">{{Cite book |last1=Ole Bruun |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vEvbqA5PInIC |title=Mongolia in Transition |last2=Ole Odgaard |publisher=Routledge |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-7007-0441-5 |access-date=2013-06-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111083322/http://books.google.com/books?id=vEvbqA5PInIC |archive-date=11 January 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Mongolian media currently consists of around 300 print and broadcasting outlets.<ref name="bbc">{{Cite news |title=Country Profile: Mongolia |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15460525 |url-status=live |access-date=2013-06-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206003152/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1235560.stm#media |archive-date=6 February 2009}}</ref>

Since 2006, the media environment has been improving with the government debating a new [[Freedom of information laws by country|Freedom of Information Act]], and the removal of any affiliation of media outlets with the government.<ref name="baner">{{Cite book |title=Asian communication handbook 2008 |publisher=AMIC |year=2008 |isbn=978-981-4136-10-5 |editor-last=Indrajit Banerjee |editor-last2=Stephen Logan}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The World Trade Organization legal, economic and political analysis |publisher=Springer |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-387-22685-9 |editor-last=Patrick F.J. Macrory |location=New York |editor-last2=Arthur E. Appleton |editor-last3=Michael G. Plummer}}</ref> Market reforms have led to an annually increasing number of people working in the media, along with students at journalism schools.<ref name=baner/>

In its 2013 World Press Freedom Index report, [[Reporters Without Borders]] classified the media environment as 98th out of 179, with 1st being most free.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2013 |title=2013 World Press Freedom Index: Dashed Hopes After Spring |url=http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2013,1054.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130215183842/http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2013%2C1054.html |archive-date=15 February 2013 |publisher=Reporters Without Borders}}</ref> In 2016, Mongolia was ranked 60th out of 180.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2016 |title=2016 World Press Freedom Index |work=RSF |url=https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314000216/https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016 |archive-date=14 March 2017 |publisher=Reporters Without Borders}}</ref>

According to 2014 Asian Development Bank survey, 80% of Mongolians cited television as their main source of information.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Enkhbold |first=Enerelt |year=2016 |title=TV drama promotes financial education in Mongolia |url=http://blogs.adb.org/blog/tv-drama-promotes-financial-education-mongolia |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160530104121/http://blogs.adb.org/blog/tv-drama-promotes-financial-education-mongolia |archive-date=30 May 2016 |website=Asian Development Bank Blog}}</ref>

===Mongolian cuisine===
{{excerpt|Mongolian cuisine|only=paragraphs}}

=== Sports and festivals ===
{{Main|Mongolia at the Olympics}}
[[File:Naadam Festival 2024 Opening Ceremony.jpg|thumb|[[Naadam]] is the largest summer celebration.]]

The main national festival is [[Naadam]], which has been organized for centuries and takes place over three days in the summer, consisting of three Mongolian traditional sports, archery, cross-country horse-racing, and wrestling, traditionally recognized as the Three Manly Games of Naadam. In modern-day Mongolia, Naadam is held from 11 to 13 July in the honor of the anniversaries of the National Democratic Revolution and foundation of the Great Mongol State.

Another very popular activity called Shagaa is the "flicking" of sheep ankle bones at a target several feet away, using a flicking motion of the finger to send the small bone flying at targets and trying to knock the target bones off the platform. At Naadam, this contest is popular among older Mongolians.
[[File:Three Naadam riders.jpg|thumb|left|Riders during [[Naadam]] festival]]

[[Horse culture in Mongolia|Horse riding]] is especially central to Mongolian culture. The long-distance races that are showcased during Naadam festivals are one aspect of this, as is the popularity of trick riding. One example of trick riding is the legend that the Mongolian military hero [[Damdin Sükhbaatar]] scattered coins on the ground and then picked them up while riding a horse at full gallop.

[[Mongolian wrestling]] is the most popular of all Mongol sports. It is the highlight of the Three Manly Games of Naadam. Historians claim that Mongol-style wrestling originated some seven thousand years ago. Hundreds of wrestlers from different cities and aimags around the country take part in the national wrestling competition.

Other sports such as basketball, [[Olympic weightlifting|weightlifting]], [[powerlifting]], association football, athletics, gymnastics, table tennis, [[jujutsu]], [[karate]], [[aikido]], [[kickboxing]], and [[mixed martial arts]] have become popular in Mongolia. More Mongolian table tennis players are competing internationally.

[[Freestyle wrestling]] has been practiced since 1958 in Mongolia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Монголын Чөлөөт Бөхийн Холбоо |url=http://wrestling.mn/page/show/19 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150330025955/http://wrestling.mn/page/show/19 |archive-date=30 March 2015}}</ref> Mongolian freestyle wrestlers have won the first and the most Olympic medals of Mongolia.

[[Naidangiin Tüvshinbayar]] won Mongolia's first ever Olympic gold medal in the men's 100-kilogram class of judo.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mark Bixler |date=15 August 2008 |title=Mongolia wins first-ever gold medal |publisher=CNN.com/world sport |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SPORT/08/15/mongolia.medal/index.html |access-date=2008-08-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080822162813/http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SPORT/08/15/mongolia.medal/index.html |archive-date=22 August 2008}}</ref>

[[Amateur boxing]] has been practiced in Mongolia since 1948.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Д.Батмєнх: Анх дээлтэй, монгол гуталтай бокс тоглодог байлаа |trans-title=D. Batmunkh: The first Mongolian boxer was dressed in Mongolian boots |url=http://www.olloo.mn/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=108135 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031203607/http://www.olloo.mn/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=108135 |archive-date=31 October 2013 |language=mn}}</ref> The Mongolian Olympic boxing national team was founded in 1960. The Communist government of Mongolia banned boxing from 1964 to 1967 but the government soon ended the ban. [[Professional boxing]] began in Mongolia in the 1990s.

[[Mongolia national basketball team]] enjoyed some success recently, especially at the [[Basketball at the East Asian Games|East Asian Games]].

Association football is also played in Mongolia. The [[Mongolia national football team]] began playing national games again during the 1990s; but has not yet qualified for a major international tournament. The [[Mongolian Premier League|Mongolia Premier League]] is the top domestic competition.

Several Mongolian women have excelled in [[shooting sports|pistol shooting]]: [[Otryadyn Gündegmaa]] is a silver medalist of the 2008 Olympic Games, [[Munkhbayar Dorjsuren]] is a double world champion and Olympic bronze medal winner (now representing Germany), while [[Tsogbadrakhyn Mönkhzul]] is, as of May 2007, ranked third in the world in the [[25-metre pistol|25-meter pistol]] event.<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 May 2007 |title=World ranking: 25 m Pistol Women |url=http://www.issf-shooting.org/update/worldranking.asp?mode=allbyevent&event=SP |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070425032544/http://www.issf-shooting.org/update/worldranking.asp?mode=allbyevent&event=SP |archive-date=25 April 2007 |access-date=4 June 2007 |publisher=[[International Shooting Sport Federation]]}}</ref>

Mongolian [[sumo]] wrestler [[Dolgorsürengiin Dagvadorj]] won 25 top division tournament championships, placing him fourth on the [[List of sumo record holders#Most career championships|all-time list]]. In January 2015, [[Mönkhbatyn Davaajargal]] took his 33rd top division championship, giving him the most in the history of sumo.

[[Bandy]] is the only sport in which Mongolia has finished higher than third place at the [[Asian Winter Games]], which happened in [[Bandy at the 2011 Asian Winter Games|2011]] when [[Mongolia national bandy team|the national team]] captured the silver medal. It led to being chosen as the best Mongolian sports team of 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ocasia.org/News/IndexNewsRM.aspx?WKegervtea1MGkNnT6j12w==|title=Mongolia NOC announces sports press awards|access-date=2 November 2022|archive-date=19 April 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140419105406/http://www.ocasia.org/News/IndexNewsRM.aspx?WKegervtea1MGkNnT6j12w==}}</ref> Mongolia won the bronze medal of the B division at the [[2017 Bandy World Championship]] after which the then [[President of Mongolia]], [[Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj]], held a reception for the team.<ref>{{Cite web |title= PressReader – the UB Post: 2017-02-06 – President praises national bandy team|url=https://www.pressreader.com/mongolia/the-ub-post/20170206/281663959744789 |via=PressReader |access-date=28 May 2018 |archive-date=28 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180528215525/https://www.pressreader.com/mongolia/the-ub-post/20170206/281663959744789 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Ulaanbataar holds an annual marathon in June. 2015 was the sixth marathon that has been organized by Ar Mongol. The race starts at Sukhbataar Square and is always open to residents and runners who come especially for this event.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MongoliaTourism – Мэдээ, мэдээлэл – 6th International Ulaanbaatar Marathon – June 2015 |url=http://www.mongoliatourism.info/1/news/6 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015162724/http://mongoliatourism.info/1/news/6 |archive-date=15 October 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Eagles and Hunters.JPG|thumb|[[Kazakhs|Kazakh]] hunters in Mongolia with eagles]]
Mongolia holds other traditional festivals throughout the year. The [[Golden Eagle Festival]], held annually, draws about 400 eagle hunters on horseback, including the traveler {{lang|mn-Cyrl|Мөнхбаярт Батсайхан}} ({{transliteration|mn|Mönkhbayart Batsaikhan}}), to compete with their birds.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Adiya |first1=Amar |title=Most Important Thing You Need To Know About Golden Eagle Hunting Festival in Mongolia |url=https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/most-important-thing-you-need-to-know-about-golden-eagle-hunting-festival-in-mongolia |website=Mongolia Weekly |language=en |date=4 September 2022 |access-date=25 March 2023 |archive-date=25 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325211154/https://www.mongoliaweekly.org/post/most-important-thing-you-need-to-know-about-golden-eagle-hunting-festival-in-mongolia |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Ice Festival]] and the [[Thousand Camel Festival]] are amongst many other traditional Mongolian festivals.

==In film==
{{see also|List of Mongolian films}}
''[[The Eagle Huntress]]'' is a 2016 internationally co-produced [[Kazakh language|Kazakh-language]] documentary feature film directed by Otto Bell that follows the story of Aisholpan Nurgaiv, a 13-year-old Kazakh girl from Mongolia, as she attempts to become the first female eagle hunter to compete in the eagle festival at [[Ölgii (city)|Ulgii]], Mongolia.<ref>{{cite web | last=Silman | first=Anna | title=This 15-Year-Old Mongolian Eagle Huntress Deserves to Be the Next Elsa | website=[[The Cut (publication)|The Cut]] | date=4 November 2016 | url=https://www.thecut.com/2016/11/the-eagle-huntress-is-an-empowering-feminist-fable.html | access-date=6 July 2025}}</ref>

In winter 2023, Australian filmmakers Ben Golotta and Morgan Wright travelled with and filmed two horse herders, Batbold, aged 18, and Tsagana, aged 22, herding around 2000 animals across the [[Tsakhir|Tsaikhir Valley]], in a traditional journey to take the horses to safer grazing. The practice is diminishing owing to climate change and young Mongolians moving to the cities for work. Batbold's father, Bayankhangai, had undertaken ten such grueling trips. The resulting documentary film, titled ''[[Iron Winter (film)|Iron Winter]]'', was screened in the [[Melbourne International Film Festival]] in August 2025<ref>{{cite web | title='It could be the last time': baptism of ice for Adelaide filmmakers' Mongolian epic | website=[[InDaily]]| first= Penelope| last= Debelle | date=3 July 2025 | url=https://www.indailysa.com.au/inreview/film-tv/2025/07/03/adelaide-filmmakers-mongolian-epic-iron-winter | access-date=6 July 2025}}</ref> and is being screened in the [[Adelaide Film Festival]] in October 2025.<ref>{{cite web | title=Iron Winter | website=[[Adelaide Film Festival]] | date=23 September 2025 | url=https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/program/2025/iron-winter | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250923134209/https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/program/2025/iron-winter | archive-date=23 September 2025 | url-status=live | access-date=8 October 2025}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{portal|Asia|Geography}}
* [[Index of Mongolia-related articles]]
* [[Outline of Mongolia]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |first = Baasanjav |last = Terbish |title = Humans, Dogs and Other Beings: Myths, Stories, and History in the Land of Genghis Khan |url=https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0450 |isbn=978-1-80511-519-9 |year=2025 |publisher=[[Open Book Publishers]]}}
* [https://www.britannica.com/nations/Mongolia ''Mongolia''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080614161810/http://www.britannica.com/nations/Mongolia |date=14 June 2008 }}, Encyclopædia Britannica
* [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mongolia/ Mongolia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109221145/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mongolia |date=9 January 2021 }}. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]]
* [https://2009-2017.state.gov/p/eap/ci/mg/ ''Background notes on Mongolia''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604160514/https://2009-2017.state.gov/p/eap/ci/mg/ |date=4 June 2019 }}, US Department of State
* [http://www.nbr.org/research/activity.aspx?id=245 Mongolia: Growth, Democracy, and Two Wary Neighbors] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131025084557/http://www.nbr.org/research/activity.aspx?id=245 |date=25 October 2013 }} (Q&A with [[Alan M. Wachman|Alan Wachman]], May 2012)
{{refend}}

== External links ==
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{{Sister project links|voy=Mongolia}}
; Government
* [https://www.gov.mn Government of Mongolia] {{in lang|en|mn}}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20101210081632/http://www.pmis.gov.mn/pmis_eng/index.php Mongolia Government Overview]}} {{in lang|mn}}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090114082958/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/world-leaders-1/world-leaders-m/mongolia.html Chief of State and Cabinet Members]}}

; General information
* [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mongolia/ Mongolia]. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]]
* [https://www.amicusmongolia.com/mongolia-travel-guide/ Mongolia Travel Guide]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080607085250/http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/mongolia.htm Mongolia]}} at ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15460525 Mongolia profile] from the [[BBC News]]
* [https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/389335/Mongolia Mongolia] at ''Britannica.com''
* {{cite EB1911 |wstitle = Mongolia |volume= 18 |last= Kropotkin |first= Peter Alexeivitch |author-link= Peter Kropotkin| pages = 711–712 |short=1}}
* {{wikiatlas|Mongolia}}
* [http://wrestlingroots.org/ Wrestling Roots]
* [http://www.countryreports.org/country/mongolia.htm Mongolia, Facts and Culture on CountryReports.org]
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{{Clear}}
{{Mongolia topics}}
{{Mongol ethnic groups |state=collapsed}}
{{Countries of Asia}}
{{East Asian topics}}
{{Shanghai Cooperation Organisation}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mongolia| ]]
[[Category:Mongol states]]
[[Category:Countries in Asia]]
[[Category:East Asian countries]]
[[Category:Eurasian Steppe]]
[[Category:Inner Asia]]
[[Category:Landlocked countries]]
[[Category:Member states of the United Nations]]
[[Category:Northeast Asian countries]]
[[Category:Republics]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1911]]