General information about Mongolia
The official name is Mongolia (from February 1992, before that from 1924 – the Mongolian People’s Republic). Located in Central Asia. The area is 1566.5 thousand km2, the population is 2.44 million people. (2002). The official language is Mongolian. The capital is the city of Ulaanbaatar (Ulan Bator) (until 1924 – Urga, 821 thousand people, 2003). National holiday – Naadam (Victory Day of the People’s Revolution) July 11-12. The monetary unit is the tugrik (equal to 100 mungu).
Member of the UN (since 1961), IMF (since 1990), Non-Aligned Movement (since 1991), WTO (since 1997), associate member of APEC (since 2000), etc.
Geography of Mongolia
Mongolia is located in the northern part of Central Asia, between 87°50′ and 119°54′ east longitude and 41°32′ and 52°16′ north latitude. It borders on the Russian Federation in the north (3543 km) and the PRC in the south (4673 km).
The world watershed divides Mongolia into two regions that are different in nature – the northern, which, according to natural conditions, is a continuation of the East Siberian landscapes, and the southern, belonging to the desert and semi-desert regions of Central Asia. Deserts occupy a relatively small territory of Mongolia, which is explained by its high location above sea level. Mountains occupy more than 40% of the total area of Mongolia. Most of the country’s territory is located at an altitude of 1000-3000 m. In the west and north-west of the country – the Mongolian Altai (altitude up to 4362 m), Gobi Altai, Khangai, in the east and southeast – the Gobi plains (altitude 1000-2000 m). Steppes predominate: semi-deserts and deserts in the south, forest-steppes and coniferous forests in places in the mountains.
Mongolia has more than 800 deposits of 80 types of minerals, of which there are almost 600, where there are more than 8,000 ore outcrops, incl. gold, copper and molybdenum, lead, tin, tungsten, iron, uranium, silver, magnesite, talc, mica, alabaster, asbestos, graphite, bitumen, hard and brown coal, saltpeter, phosphorite, fluorspar, semi-precious stones, crystal, building materials. Exploration and evaluation of mineral reserves are carried out at 70% of the deposits. In the central zone of the Oyu Tolgoi deposit (Southnobisky aimag), thick rock layers were found containing up to 3.5% copper and up to 0.40 g of gold per ton. In the western zone of the deposit, reserves of porphyry gold and copper mineralization of 821 million tons have been established, containing more than 390 tons of gold and 3.5 million tons of copper.
According to natural conditions, M. can be divided into four geographical zones: forest-steppe, steppe, semi-desert, and desert. In the first two zones, various chestnut soils are most widespread, accounting for almost 60% of all soils in the country. The semi-desert and desert zones are characterized by brown low-humus soils with a significant distribution of solonchaks, as well as sands.
According to bridgat, the climate is dry, sharply continental.
Main rivers: Selenga, Kerulen, Onon, Orkhon. Large lakes: Ubsu-Nur, Khubsugul.
On the territory of Mongolia there are plants of several thousand species; St. 500 species are valuable medicinal raw materials. There are approx. 130 species of mammals, St. 360 species of birds, 70 species of fish; many species are rare.
Population of Mongolia
The average population density is less than 2 people. per 1 km2; in Ulaanbaatar 162 people. per 1 km2. More than 50% of the population still live in yurts.
The share of the urban population, according to 2003 data, is 56%. There are more men among internal migrants. They migrate mainly to Ulaanbaatar and the central fertile regions of the country. In 2003, the population of Ulaanbaatar – St. 1/3 of the population of Mongolia. In 2002, 23,778 people moved to the capital from various regions; 600 people moved from Ulaanbaatar to the countryside. In total, 95.4 thousand people moved to Ulaanbaatar in 1998-2002. 40.6% of the total population of Mongolia and 71.6% of the total urban population live in Ulaanbaatar, as well as in the centers of the Orkhon, Darkhan-Ul, Eastern and Khubsugul aimags. The process of migration of rural residents to cities, especially to the capital, and the depopulation of outlying areas are associated with a difficult socio-economic situation in the regions.
According to unofficial data for 2002, the number of Mongols who went abroad is 300 thousand people.
In recent years, there has been a trend towards an increase in the birth rate in the country. Decreased overall mortality. In 2002, maternal mortality decreased by 7% compared to 1996-2000. In 1963 there were 99,700 people in Mongolia. over 60 years old, and in 2000 – 124.3 thousand. Retirement age: men – 60 years old, women – 55 years old.
Ethnic composition: Khalkha Mongols (81.5%), Kazakhs (4.3%), Derbets, Baits, Dariganga, Zakhchins, Buryats, Oolds and other nationalities. Languages: Mongolian, Kazakh (in Bayan-Ulgiysky aimag), dialects of the Mongolian language.
Main religions: Buddhism (Lamaism), Christianity. 70-80% of the population of Mongolia consider themselves Buddhist believers. In 2001, there were more than 180 officially registered religious organizations in the country, of which 110 were Buddhist, 60 were Christian, and others.