Local name Mongol Ard Uls
Timezone GMT +7 (W), +8 (C), +9 (E) Area 1 566 500 km²/604 800 sq mi population total (2002e) 2 457 000 Status State Date of independence 1911 Capital Ulaanbaatar Languages Khalka (official), Russian and Chinese spoken by respective minorities Ethnic groups Mongol (Khalka, Dorbed, Buryat, Dariganga) (90%), Kazakh (4%), Russian (2%), other (4%) Religions Formerly Tibetan Buddhist (now only a single monastery remains in UlaanBaator); unreliable data on current situation as a result of religious suppression in 20th-c Physical features Landlocked mountainous country; highest point, Tavan-Bogdo-Uli, 4373 m/14 347 ft; high ground mainly in W, with mountains lying NWSE to form Mongolian Altai chain; lower SE area runs into the Gobi Desert; lowland plains; mainly arid grasslands. Climate Extreme continental climate, with hard and long-lasting frosts in winter; arid desert conditions prevail in the S; average annual temperatures -26°C (Jan), 16°C (Jul); average annual rainfall 208 mm/18·2 in. Currency 1 Tugrik (MNT) = 100 möngö Economy Traditionally a pastoral nomadic economy; series of 5-year plans aiming for an agricultural-industrial economy; 70% of agricultural production derived from cattle raising; foodstuffs, animal products; coal, gold, uranium, lead. GDP (2002e) $5·06 bn, per capita $1900 Human Development Index (2002) 0·655 History Originally the homeland of nomadic tribes, which united under Genghis Khan in the 13th-c to become part of the great Mongol Empire; assimilated into China, and divided into Inner and Outer Mongolia; Outer Mongolia declared itself an independent monarchy, 1911; changed name to Mongolian People's Republic, 1924, not recognized by China until 1946; governed by a people's Great Hural (unicameral legislature), a Council of Ministers, and a Presidium; chairman of Presidium is Head of State; changed name to State of Mongolia, 1992, and new constitution established.|
Монгол Улс Mongol Uls Mongolia |
|||||
|
|||||
|
Motto: "Даяар Монгол" "Dayar Mongol" |
|||||
| Anthem: Bügd Nairamdakh Mongol | |||||
|
Capital (largest city) |
Ulaanbaatar 47°55′N 106°53′E |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Official language | Mongolian | ||||
| Government | Parliamentary democracy | ||||
| - President | Nambaryn Enkhbayar | ||||
| - Prime minister | Miyeegombo Enkhbold | ||||
| Formation | |||||
| - National Foundation Day | 1206 | ||||
| - Independence | July 11, 1921 | ||||
| Area | |||||
| - Total |
1,564,116 km² (19th) 603,909 sq mi |
||||
| - Water (%) | 0.6 | ||||
| Population | |||||
| - July 2005 estimate | 2,646,000 (139th) | ||||
| - 2000 census | 2,650,952 | ||||
| - Density |
1.7/km² (227th) 4.4/sq mi |
||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2005 estimate | ||||
| - Total | $5.56 billion (147th) | ||||
| - Per capita | $2,175 (137th) | ||||
| HDI (2003) | 0.679 (medium) (114th) | ||||
| Currency | Tugrug (MNT) | ||||
| Time zone | (UTC+7) | ||||
| - Summer (DST) | (UTC+8) | ||||
| Internet TLD | .mn | ||||
| Calling code | +976 | ||||
Mongolia (Mongolian: Монгол Улс) is the largest fully landlocked country typically classified as being a part of East Asia, though it is sometimes considered as being a part of Central Asia instead.
Mongolia was the center of the Mongol Empire in the thirteenth century and was later ruled by China during the Manchu Qing Dynasty from the end of the seventeenth century until 1911, when an independent government was formed with Russian assistance. Following the end of the Cold War, and after the fall of communism in Mongolia in 1990, Mongolia adopted a new, democratic constitution which was ratified in 1992. This officially marked the birth of Mongolia as a democratic country, making it one of the world's youngest democracies.
At 1,564,116 square kilometres, Mongolia is the nineteenth largest country in the world. The predominant religion in Mongolia is Tibetan Buddhism, and the majority of the state's citizens are of the Mongol ethnicity, though Kazakhs and Tuvans also live in the country, especially in the west.
History
A large number of ethnicities have inhabited Mongolia since prehistoric times. After the Xiongnu migrated west, Rouran, a close relative of the Mongols, came to power before being defeated by the Gokturks, who then dominated Mongolia for centuries.
Early history
During the seventh and eighth centuries, Mongolia was controlled by Gokturks, who were succeeded by the ancestors of today's Uigur and then by the Khitan and Jurchen.
In the late twelfth century, a chieftain named Temujin united the Mongol tribes to the Naiman and Jurchen after a long struggle and took the name of Genghis Khan. After more than a century of power, the Yuan Dynasty was replaced by the Ming Dynasty in 1368, and the Mongol court fled north. The Ming armies pursued and defeated them in Mongolia, but did not conquer Mongolia.
During the next few centuries, Mongolia was split between the Oirad in the west and the Khalkha in the east.
During the seventeenth century, the Manchus rose to prominence in the east, they conquered Inner Mongolia in 1636.
With the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Mongolia declared independence in 1911. The new country's territory was approximately that of the former Outer Mongolia. In 1924, after the death of the religious leader Bogd Khan, the Mongolian People's Republic was proclaimed and was backed by the Soviets.
Alignment with the Soviet Union
The Mongolian People's Republic was aligned closely with the Soviet Union.
During the Soviet-Japanese Border War of 1939, the USSR defended Mongolia against Japan. Mongolian forces also took part in the Soviet offensive against Japanese forces in Inner Mongolia in August 1945 (see Operation August Storm). The (soviet) threat of Mongolian forces seizing parts of Inner Mongolia induced the Republic of China to recognize Outer Mongolia's independence, provided that a referendum was held.
After Choybalsan died in Moscow on January 26, 1952, Yumjaagiyn Tsedenbal took power. Mongolia continued to align itself closely with the Soviet Union, especially after the Sino-Soviet split of the late 1950s.
1990 Democratic Revolution
The introduction of perestroika and glasnost in the USSR by Mikhail Gorbachev strongly influenced Mongolian politics even though Mongolia was a sovereign nation. The collapse of communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, combined with these two policies, were enough to lead to a peaceful democratic revolution in Mongolia in 1990.
Government and politics
Until June 27, 2004, the predominant party in Mongolia was the ex-communist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, or MPRP.
From 2000 to 2004, the MPRP was back in power, but results of the 2004 elections required the establishing of the first ever coalition government in Mongolia between the MPRP and MDC (Motherland Democratic Coalition).
President
Mongolia's president has a symbolic role. Mongolia's Constitution provides three requirements for taking office as President: the individual must be a native-born Mongolian, who is at least 45 years of age, and who has resided in Mongolia for five years prior to taking office.
The State Great Hural
Mongolia uses a unicameral parliamentary system in which the president has a symbolic role and the government chosen by the legislature exercises executive power.
On January 14, 2006, the parliament's thirty-nine members, mostly MPRP but including four Democratic Party members (Mendsaikhan Enkhsaikhan, Narantsatsralt, Mishig Sonompil, and J.
Prime minister and cabinet
The prime minister is elected by the State Great Hural.
The cabinet is nominated by the prime minister in consultation with the president, and confirmed by the State Great Hural.
Foreign relations and military
Mongolia maintains friendly relations with the United States, Russia, Japan, the People's Republic of China, and virtually all countries in the world.
Geography and climate
At 604,209 mi² (1,565,000 km²), Mongolia is the world's nineteenth-largest country (after Iran).
The Mongolian heartland consists of relatively flat steppes.
Most of the country is hot in the summer and extremely cold in the winter, with January averages dropping as low as -30ºC (-22ºF).
Mongolia is high, cold, and windy. Mongols distinguish Gobi from desert proper, although the distinction is not always apparent to outsiders unfamiliar with the Mongolian landscape.
Administrative divisions
Mongolia is divided into twenty-one aymguud (provinces; aimag or aymag) and one municipality (khot) with provincial status:
| Arhangay Bayan-Ölgiy Bayanhongor Bulgan Darhan-Uul Dornod Dornogovĭ Dundgovĭ Govĭ-Altay Govĭsümber Hentiy | Hovd Hövsgöl Ömnögovĭ Orhon Övörhangay Selenge Sühbaatar Töv Ulaanbaatar* Uvs Zavhan |
|
* municipality
The aymguud are further divided into 315 somon ("districts";
Economy
Mongolia's economy is centered on agriculture and mining.
There are currently over 30,000 independent businesses in Mongolia, chiefly centered around the capital city .
GDP per capita in 2005 was $1,900 .
Industrial sector
Industry currently accounts for 21.4% of GDP, approximately equal to the weight of the agriculture sector (20.4%).
Science and technology
Mongolia has increasingly started to develop its technology industry since the democratic revolution of the early 1990s, and many new technology companies have been founded. Also, some technology companies in nearby countries, such as South Korea and the People's Republic of China, have started to open offices in Mongolia.
Service sector
After the democratic revolution of the early 1990s, Mongolian domestic production has picked up providing basic food production to its residents through increasing competition among companies.
However, investment from Korea and other countries have helped add more paved roads and [?] to China, Korea, Japan, Germany, Russia, and other countries.
Petroleum products are to a large part (80%) imported from Russia, which makes Mongolia vulnerable to supply side shocks.
Demographics
Though the majority of Mongolian citizens are of Mongol descent there are small populations of Kazakh, Tuvan and Tungus peoples. This relatively young and rapidly growing population has, as in many developing countries, placed strains on Mongolia's economy. According to the World Factbook, 50% of Mongolia's population are Buddhist-Lamaist, which is related to Tibetan Buddhism.
Life in sparsely populated Mongolia has become more urbanized.
Ethnic Mongols account for about 85% of the population and consist of Khalkha and other groups, all distinguished primarily by dialects of the Mongol language. The remaining 10% include Durbet Mongols and others in the north and Dariganga Mongols in the east.
Language
The official language of Mongolia is Khalkha Mongol, which uses the Cyrillic alphabet, but there are variety of different dialects across the country.
Religion
Aside from brief periods of Islam and Christianity, various forms of shamanism have been widely practiced throughout the history of what is now modern day Mongolia, as such beliefs were common among nomadic people in Asian history.
Throughout much of the twentieth century, the communist government ensured that the religious practices of the Mongolian people were largely repressed. The fall of communism in 1991 restored the legality of public religious practice, and Tibetan Buddhism, which had been the predominant religion in the region before the rise of Communism, again rose to become the most widely practiced religion in Mongolia.
Education
During the state-socialist period, education was one of the areas of significant achievement.
Primary and secondary education used to last for ten years, but has been expanded to eleven years recently and is set to be expanded further to twelve years.
Mongolian national universities are all spin-offs from the National University of Mongolia.
The broad liberalization of the 1990s led to a boom in private institutions of higher education, although many of these establishments have a hard time living up to their nomer of "college" or "university".
Health
Health care in Mongolia is rapidly improving, leading to a higher life expectancy.
Childbirth is 2.26 per woman, and the increase rate is high.
The health sector is comprised of 17 specialized hospitals and centers, 4 regional diagnostic and treatment centers, 12 district and 21 aimag general hospitals, 323 soum hospitals, 18 feldsher posts, 233 family group practices, and 536 private hospitals and 57 drug supply companies/pharmacies.
Culture
The culture of Mongolia can be described as homogeneous. Mongolia has its own ethnic group, which comprises 85% of the country's population.
The main festival is Naadam, which celebrates the anniversary of Mongolian independence from China. It is held on July 11 to July 13, and consists of three Mongolian traditional sports: archery, horse-racing (over long stretches of open country, not the short racing around a track practiced in the West), and wrestling.
In Mongolia, the khoomii, or throat singing, style of music is popular, particularly in Western Mongolia.
The ornate symbol in the leftmost bar of the national flag is a Buddhist icon called a soyombo.
Sports and recreation
Mongolia's Naadam festival takes place over three days in the summer and includes horse racing, archery, and Mongolian wrestling.
Horse riding is especially central to Mongolian culture.
Skiing and other winter sports, many of which were introduced during the communist era, are also common.
Other sports such as table tennis, basketball, and soccer are increasingly getting popular.
Wrestling is the most popular of all Mongol sports.
Wrestling There are no weight categories or age limits.
The winners are honored with ancient titles: the winner of the fifth round gets the honorary title of nachin (falcon), of the seventh and eighth rounds zaan (elephant), and of the tenth and eleventh rounds arslan (lion).
Beginning in 2003, the Mongolian parliament adopted a new law on Naadam, making amendments to some the wrestling titles.
The traditional wrestling costume includes an open-fronted jacket, tied around the waist with a string.
Mongolian Ger or Yurt
A round wooden-framed felt tent covered in durable while canvas seems to be the most simple description of this portable home, familiar to many from Russian word yurt.
The Mongolian ger has a 2500-3000 year history.
During ancient times , people made shelters from dry branches and animal skins.
The Mongolian ger has two key components, the wooden wall shell is called khana, the upper wooden poles (uni) usually measure 1.5-3 meters, the central supporting two columns are known as bagana and the uppermost smoke hole is toono.
Kazakh yurts are generally larger in diameter than gers, and a little taller.
There are several felt layers covering the wooden framework and an outer white canvas which is designed to make the ger look prettier and protect the felt covers from rain and snow.
While modern and western style houses are being built in Ulaanbaatar and other cities, rural Mongolians have retained their traditional lifestyle of which the ger is an integral part.
User Comments Add a comment…