Ethnic divisions: Mongol 90%, Kazakh 4%, Chinese 2%, Russian 2%, other 2%
Principal languages: Khalkha Mongol used by over 90% of population; minor languages include Turkic, Russian, and Chinese
Principal religions: (note: previously limited religious activity due to Communist regime); predominantly Tibetan Buddhist, Muslim (about 4%); indigenous
Rank of affluence among U.N. members: 80/183
One of the most thinly populated places in the world, Mongolia is landlocked and remote--a land of extreme temperatures and vast, treeless grassland (steppes) perfect for grazing. Siberia lies directly to the north, and much of the Gobi desert occupies the southeast. Traditionally Mongolians have been nomadic herders of sheep, goats, cattle, horses, yaks and camels, moving with the seasons. Mining and fur trading are also important to the country's economy.
Mongolia first became a nation when Genghis Khan united its scattered tribes in the early 13th century. At its peak his empire stretched from the Danube river (in Eastern Europe) to the South China Sea. From the late 17th century until the early 20th China ruled, only to be replaced by the Soviet Union following World War II. Under the Communists, industrialization and huge collective farms shifted the majority of the population from the traditional nomadic lifestyle to a more settled and urban one.
With the breakup of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, the Communist party resigned power, renounced its ideology, changed its name, and held elections, which it won. The transition to a market system has been difficult, with falling output and rising unemployment made even worse by a series of unusually devastating winters. International aid was needed to keep the lights on in Ulaanbaatar. With some support from the West, the nation is now trying to raise its standard of living while cleaning up Ulaanbaatar's dirty air and controlling the erosion that often accompanies animal grazing.
