Mongolia is a huge, landlocked country about three times the size of France, squashed between China and Russia. It has a total area of 1,566,500 sq. km (604,830 sq. mi). It is one of the largest land-locked countries and the world's seventh largest country.

 

 

Mongolia's environment has a large variety of features. The northern part of the country is covered by forest mountain ranges and the southern part by desert, desert steppe and steppe areas with low mountains. The western part is dominated by high snow-capped mountains and glaciers and the eastern part by vast plains and wild heaths. Mongolia is one of the highest countries in the world, with an average elevation of 1,580m (5,180ft). About 81% of the country is higher than 1,000m (3,280ft) above sea level. The highest mountain is Tavanbogd Mountain in Bayan Ulgii Province at 4,370m (14,350ft) and the lowest point is Khukh Lake in the east at 560m (1,820ft).

 

 

Mongolia has comparatively high levels of surface and ground water resources. The rivers of Mongolia belong to the inland drainage basins of the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and Central Asia. The water network is of a greater density in the north of the country. The longest river is the Zavkhan River at 1,300 km (800 ml) in length. There are some 3000 rivers in total with a combined length of 67,000 km (41,200 ml). Mongolia has numerous saltwater and freshwater lakes, the largest of which is the Huvsgul Lake, which contains two per cent of the world's fresh water.

 

Area:	1,566,000 sq km (610,740 sq mi)
Population:	2.7 million (51% live in urban areas)
People:	Khalkha Mongols (86%), Kazaks (6%), Chinese (2%), Russian (2%), about a dozen other ethnic groups
Regions:	21 Aimags (provinces). Aimags subdivided into Sums (somon)
Capital:	Ulaanbaatar (Ulan Bator)
Languages:	Khalkha Mongol; most spoken languages: Russian, English, german, japanese, a little French
Religions:	Tibetan Buddhism, Muslim, Shamanism
Government:	Parliamentary with a president elected every 4 years
President:	Natsagiin Bagabandi
Prime Minister:	Nambariin Enkhbayar
Economy:	Traditionally based on agriculture, livestock breeding (camels, bovine, goats, horses and sheep); mining (coal, copper).

 

• Average summer temperature: +20C (+65F)
• Average winter temperature: -24C (-13F)
• Average precipitation: 25.4 cm

 

The Mongolian way of life is nomadic and intimately connected with the ways of animals. Despite urbanization, the traditions of the steppes live on. Even in the cities, most Mongolians continue to live in a ger, a large, white felt tent that can be moved easily and has a universal layout: the door always faces south; towards the back and a little to the west is the place of honour set aside for guests; the back of the ger, the khoimor, is the place for elders and most treasured possessions; and on the back wall is the family altar, with Buddhist images, family photos and suitcases. Get a local to explain the dozens of traditional, religious and superstitious rules and customs associated with gers.

 

Mongolians have always taken wholeheartedly to Tibetan Buddhism and the links between Mongolia and Tibet are old and deep. Once in a lifetime, every devout Buddhist Mongolian tries to reach the holy city of Lhasa; the Tibetans in turn have relied on various Mongolian tribes to sustain their power. In Mongolia at the time of the communist takeover in 1921, there were 110,000 lamas (monks) living in about 700 monasteries. Beginning in the 1930s, thousands of monks were arrested, sent to Siberian labor camps and never heard from again. Monasteries were closed and ransacked and all religious worship and ceremonies outlawed. Not until 1990 was freedom of religion restored. Since then, there's been a phenomenal revival of Buddhism (and other religions). Monasteries have reopened, and even some ex-Communist Party officials have become lamas. Monasteries and temples (sum) always have Tibetan names. There's a significant minority of Sunni Muslims in the far western regions of Mongolia, most of whom are ethnic Kazaks.

Mongolia's paintings, music and literature are dominated by Tibetan Buddhism and nomadism. Tsam dances are performed to exorcise evil spirits and are influenced by nomadism and Shamanism. Outlawed during communism, they're beginning to be performed again. Traditional music involves a wide range of instruments and singing styles. In Mongolian khoomi singing, carefully trained male voices produce harmonic overtones from deep in the throat, releasing several notes at once. Traditional music and dance performances aren't complete without a touch of contortionism, an ancient Mongolian tradition.

Mongolian, the official language, is a member of the Ural-Altaic family of languages, which includes Finnish, Turkish, Kazak, Uzbek and Korean. Since 1944, the Russian Cyrillic alphabet has been used to write Mongolian. The country has produced a huge literature, almost none of which is known to speakers of European languages. Only recently have scholars translated the most important text of all - Mongolun Nigucha Tobchiyan (The Secret History of the Mongols) - which celebrates Mongolia's days of greatness.

An old Mongolian saying goes something like: "Breakfast, keep for yourself; lunch, share with your friends; dinner, give to your enemies". The biggest and most important meals for Mongolians are breakfast and lunch, which will usually consist of boiled mutton with lots of fat and flour and maybe some dairy products or rice. The Kazaks in western Mongolia add variety to their diet with horse meat. The Mongolians are big tea drinkers and the classic drink is suutei tsai (salty tea with milk). Men who refuse to drink arkhi (vodka) are considered wimps, while herders make their own unique home brew airag, which is fermented horse's milk with an alcoholic content of about 3%. Many Mongolians distill it further to produce shimiin arkhi, which boosts the alcohol content to around 12%.

Mongolia is a huge, landlocked country about 3 times the size of France, squashed between China and Russia. It was immeasurably bigger during the period of Mongol conquest under Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan. Until the 20th century Mongolia was twice its present size and included a large chunk of Siberia and Inner Mongolia (now controlled by China).

 

Mongolia has a 3,000km (1,864ml) border with the Russian Federation in the north and a 4,670km (2,901ml) border with China in the south. From north to south it can be divided into four areas: mountain-forest steppe, mountain steppe and, in the extreme south, semi-desert and desert (the latter being about 3% of the entire territory).

 

Mongolia is one of the highest countries in the world, with an average elevation of 1,580m (5,180ft). Its highest mountains are in the far west. The Mongol Altai Nuruu are permanently snowcapped, and their highest peak, Tavanbogd Mountain (4,370m/14,350ft), has a magnificent glacier that towers over Mongolia, Russia and China. Between the peaks are stark deserts where rain almost never falls. The lowest point, Khuch Lake, in the east, lies at 560m (1,820ft). The extensive grasslands of the steppes covering the center and eastern part of the land with a 360° view are the heart of Mongolia. The south is the domain of the Gobi Desert (extending down to China) with large sand dune areas and canyons in Eastern Gobi, the "dinosaur graveyard". Much of the rest of Mongolia is grassland, home to Mongolia's famed takhi horses, which Genghis Khan used so successfully in his wars of conquest.

Mongolia is dotted with about 4,000 lakes (one of which is Lake Huvsgul, which contains 2% of the world's fresh water) and rivers where fishing is abundant.

21 provinces (aimags in Mongolian), the capital city (Ulaanbaatar), including 3 autonomous cities (Darkhan, Erdenet and Choir). The provinces are subdivided into sums, or district of which there are 298. The biggest province is South Gobi Province (Umnugobi aimag) which occupies an area of 165,000sq.km but due to its rigorous climatic conditions has the smallest population (only 42,400 people).