Mongolia

I

INTRODUCTION

Mongolia is a country in East Asia, landlocked between Russia and China. The country’s capital and largest city is Ulaanbaatar (Ulan Bator), located in the heartland of Mongol civilization. For thousands of years Mongolia has been the homeland of ethnic Mongols, who
make up 90 percent of the country’s people today. Mongols are traditionally nomadic animal herders, with complete freedom of movement, and many continue this way of life on the steppe, a swath of rolling grasslands extending across the country. Mongolia is a sparsely populated country, and domesticated animals outnumber people. Wild horses and many other animals also roam free on the steppe.

In the 13th century the Mongols were first united under Genghis Khan, who founded the largest land empire in history, the Mongol Empire. After the empire fell apart, Mongolia became a province of China known as Outer Mongolia. In 1924 a communist-led revolution won the independence of Outer Mongolia as the Mongolian People’s Republic. It maintained close ties with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Its name officially changed to Mongolia in 1992, after one-party communist rule was abolished.

II					POPULATION

Population	2,996,081 (2008 estimate)
Population density	1.9 persons per sq km 4.9 persons per sq mi (2008 estimate)
Urban population distribution	57 percent (2005 estimate)
Rural population distribution	43 percent (2005 estimate)
Largest cities, with population	Ulaanbaatar, 869,900 (2004 estimate) Darhan, 71,400 (1999 estimate) Erdenetsogt, 63,500 (1999 estimate)
Main language	Khalkha Mongolian
Chief religious affiliations	Indigenous beliefs, 31 percent Tibetan Buddhist (Lamaist), 23 percent Atheist, 9 percent
Life expectancy	67.3 years (2008 estimate)
Infant mortality rate	41 deaths per 1,000 live births (2008 estimate)
Literacy rate	99.2 percent (2005 estimate)

Mongolia is a sparsely inhabited country. The population is 2,996,081 (2008 estimate), yielding an overall population density of 1.9 persons per sq km (4.9 per sq mi). Traditionally a land of nomads, Mongolia had little urban settlement until the second half of the 20th century. The development of industries after World War II led to increasing urbanization. Today 57 percent of the population lives in urban areas. The country’s capital, Ulaanbaatar, is the only large city, with a population of 869,900 (2004 estimate). Initially, most industrialization occurred in Ulaanbaatar, and its population grew rapidly after 1950. Other industrial centers were created in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with Soviet assistance, including Darhan, Erdenetsogt, and Choybalsan.

A

Ethnic Groups and Languages

People of Mongol ethnicity make up 90 percent of the population. Khalkha (Halh) Mongols constitute the great majority, while other ethnic Mongols exist in smaller numbers. Kazakhs constitute the country’s largest ethnic minority. They speak a Turkic language and reside almost entirely in the western provinces of Mongolia. Other groups include Chinese and Russians.

The country’s official language is Mongolian, which is one of the Altaic languages. The traditional Mongol script is written vertically and from left to right. It was officially replaced in the 1940s by the Russian alphabet, Cyrillic, with several symbols added specifically for Mongolian. In 1990 the Mongolian government reinstated the traditional script as part of its efforts to promote Mongol culture, and the script began to be taught in schools. However, for everyday purposes the Cyrillic script is still widely used.

B

Religion

The traditional faith in Mongolia is Tibetan Buddhism, also called Lamaism. Tibetan Buddhism gained ascendancy in Mongolia in the 1500s. For centuries the Lamaist hierarchy, headed by a Living Buddha, held great power, both spiritually and in the aristocracy. However, in 1924 the last Living Buddha died and a communist government came to power. The government brutally suppressed the practice of religion and persecuted Buddhist leaders. Few monasteries were spared complete destruction, mainly to function as museums. Restrictions on religious practice were lifted in the late 1980s as part of broad political and social reforms, sparking a revival of Buddhism in Mongolia. Some of the surviving monasteries were subsequently restored and reopened.

C

Education

Mongolia has a high literacy rate: 99.2 percent in 2005. Education in Mongolia is compulsory between the ages of 8 and 16. In the 2006 school year 91 percent of primary-aged children attended school. The secondary school enrollment rate was 84 percent in 2002–2003. Several institutions of higher education are located in Ulaanbaatar. They include the National University of Mongolia (founded in 1942), the Mongolian University of Science and Technology (1969), and the Mongolian University of Arts and Culture (1990).

III					ECONOMY

Gross domestic product (GDP in U.S.$)	$3.13 billion (2006)
GDP per capita (U.S.$)	$1,211.90 (2006)
Monetary unit	1 tugrik (Tug), consisting of 100 mongo
Number of workers	1,258,570 (2006)
Unemployment rate	14.2 percent (2003)

Animal herding is the main economic activity and is practiced throughout the country. Manufacturing is devoted largely to the processing of agricultural and livestock products. Mining is also important, but most of the country’s mineral deposits remain unexploited. In 2006 the gross domestic product (GDP) was $3.13 billion or about $1,211.90 per capita.

During the communist period from 1924 to 1990, the state controlled all industry and trade, through either direct ownership or cooperatives. The government of Mongolia followed the economic model of the USSR, implementing a series of five-year plans beginning in 1948. Mongolia received large-scale Soviet aid to help it increase industrial and agricultural production. The development focused primarily on the industrial sector, and new cities were built near several new mining centers in northern Mongolia.

In 1990 Mongolia began a process of economic reform to phase out the state-controlled economic system in favor of a market-oriented economy. That year a foreign investment law was enacted, making possible the participation of foreigners in a variety of businesses, ranging from firms wholly owned by foreigners to joint ventures with Mongolian enterprises. Many new laws pertaining to taxation, banking, and debt were passed.

In 1991 a privatization law went into effect, by which state-owned property and enterprises began to be transferred to the citizens of Mongolia. Privatization focused primarily on small-scale enterprises, such as internal trade and services, and livestock herding. The government prohibited privatization of large, state-owned enterprises, including roads and railways, the national airline, oil and gold mines, and large irrigation systems.

A

Agriculture

Nomadism and animal herding have been central facts in Mongolian life for thousands of years, and herding is still the country’s main economic activity. Mongolia has one of the world’s highest ratios of livestock to people. Animals raised include sheep, goats, cattle, horses, and camels. Agriculture plays a minor role in Mongolian economic life. Less than 1 percent of the land is farmable. Crops are grown in the northern part of the country, some with the help of irrigation, and irrigation has been extended into some parts of the Gobi. Principal crops include wheat, potatoes, barley, and oats. The production of hay and fodder for livestock feed is also important.

In the 1920s the government made a rash attempt to imitate Soviet collectivization, whereby individual herders were forcibly organized into state-controlled groups. The program resulted in a disastrous loss of livestock and was largely abandoned until the late 1950s. At that time, a specifically Mongolian form of collectivization was formed, resembling Chinese communes in that the territory of each herder’s association was also an administrative region, equivalent to a county. Also in the late 1950s the government created large state-owned farms and increased the land area under cultivation. In 1990 the government removed all restrictions on private livestock ownership. Subsequently, the herders’ associations and state farms were broken up into smaller units and privatized.

B

Mining and Manufacturing

Mining and industrial enterprises are concentrated in the north central part of the country. The mining of copper and molybdenum began with Soviet aid and expertise in the late 1970s near Erdenet. The copper mine became Mongolia’s largest source of foreign exchange in the 1990s. Mongolia’s rich iron ore deposits are located near Darhan. Black coal is mined near Ulaanbaatar and Darhan, providing both cities with their own energy source. A cement and lime complex is located between Darhan and Erdenet. Mongolia is also a major producer of fluorspar, which is used in making steel and industrial acid. Gold mining is also significant, and the exploitation of recently discovered deposits has attracted foreign investment. Petroleum deposits in eastern Mongolia began to be tapped in the late 1990s.

Ulaanbaatar and Darhan are the largest industrial centers. Mongolia produces building materials such as bricks; metal products, including steel sheet and copper concentrate; processed food and beverages, including vodka, beer, and soft drinks; and leather and woolen goods, including carpets and footwear. Many manufacturing enterprises that were not commercially viable went out of business in the 1990s.

C

Energy

In 2003, Mongolia produced 3 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, all generated by thermal power plants burning coal. Major power stations are located at Ulaanbaatar, Darhan, Choybalsan, and Sühbaatar.

D

Currency and Foreign Trade

The country’s central bank is the Bank of Mongolia. Commercial banks also operate. The currency is the tugrik (tögrög), which consists of 100 möngö (1,165 tugriks equal U.S.$1; 2006 average).

Most of Mongolia’s trade was once with Soviet-bloc countries, but since the early 1990s the country has made efforts to expand its trade. Leading purchasers of exports are China, the United States, Russia, Singapore, and Australia; chief sources of imports are Russia, China, South Korea, Japan, and Germany. The principal exports are copper, cashmere, animal hides and furs, textiles, and gold. Imports consist mainly of machinery and transport equipment, mineral products (mostly refined petroleum), consumer goods, and industrial raw materials. In 2003 Mongolian imports were valued at $801 million and exports at $616 million.

E

Transportation

Mongolia is served by the Trans-Mongolian Railway, which connects Ulaanbaatar with Russia and China. Truck services operate throughout the country. Steamer services operate on the Selenge River and a tug and barge service on Hövsgöl Lake. The airport at Ulaanbaatar provides international flights.

F

Communications

In 2005 Mongolia had 61 telephone mainlines in use for every 1,000 inhabitants. In 1997 there were 142 radio receivers and 58 television sets per 1,000 people.

The formerly state-owned Mongolian Radio and Television was transformed into a public-service broadcaster as a result of a law passed in 2005. The country has several privately owned TV and radio stations, as well as satellite and cable services. The media are often critical of the authorities. All former state-run newspapers have been privatized. Daily newspapers include Ödriin Sonin (Daily News) and Önöödör (Today), both published in Ulaanbaatar.

IV				HISTORY
A			The Mongolian People’s Republic

The Mongolian People’s Republic was the world’s second communist state and was modeled on the world’s first, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), which the Bolsheviks had founded in 1922. Like the USSR, Mongolia was a one-party state; the communist MPRP was the only legal party. In 1929 the Mongolian government began a campaign to bring livestock under collective ownership, as was being done in the Soviet Union. But economic disorder and political unrest forced the Mongolian government to moderate its policies by 1932. Beginning in 1936 the country was dominated by Horlogiyn Choibalsan, who had been the most pro-Soviet revolutionary leader. Choibalsan became premier in 1939. His regime was in many ways patterned on that of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. In the late 1930s most Buddhist temples and monasteries were closed and many Buddhist monks were jailed or executed. Other victims of Choibalsan’s purges included eminent intellectuals and politicians. In 1939, during World War II, a Japanese invasion from Manchuria was repelled with assistance from the Soviet Union.

A1

Relations with China and the USSR

In August 1945 the USSR and China entered into a treaty in which China agreed to recognize Mongolian independence provided that the Mongols themselves indicated that this was their desire. Accordingly, in October 1945 a referendum was held, and the Mongolian people voted overwhelmingly for independence. In January 1946 China officially recognized the Mongolian People’s Republic, and the following month Mongolia concluded friendship treaties with both China and the Soviet Union. However, China’s split with the USSR in the late 1950s curtailed Chinese-Mongolian relations. The two countries concluded a border treaty in 1962, but Mongolia maintained its closest ties with the USSR, which in 1961 had sponsored its membership in the United Nations (UN). Although UN membership helped Mongolia widen its international contacts, it continued to look mainly to the USSR for guidance in its affairs.

In the 1960s ideological differences and political rivalries produced serious tensions between the communist regimes of the USSR and China. Mongolia, landlocked between them, sided with the Soviet Union. In 1966 Mongolia and the Soviet Union signed a treaty of friendship, trade, and mutual assistance (renewed in 1986). With the permission of the Mongolian government, Soviet troops were stationed in the country to serve as part of the Soviet military force on China’s northern frontier.

Mongolia intensified efforts to develop its economy in the decades after World War II. Aid from China ceased in the 1960s, and thereafter the USSR remained Mongolia’s leading trade partner and aid donor. Following Soviet models, Mongolia carried out a series of five-year economic plans from 1948 to 1990. The collectivization of livestock herding was restarted in the late 1940s and was virtually complete by the end of the 1950s. With large-scale funding from the USSR, Mongolia achieved economic expansion through the creation of new industries and the exploitation of its mineral resources, especially beginning in the 1960s.

Choibalsan died in 1952, and Yumzhagiyen Tsedenbal, the general secretary (leader) of the MPRP since 1940, became head of state. When Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev repudiated the excesses of the Stalin regime in 1956, Mongolia’s communist MPRP leadership followed suit, but little real liberalization of Mongolian society resulted.

In 1962 Mongolia celebrated the 800th anniversary of the birth of Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire, and the widespread enthusiasm revealed the strength of Mongol national pride. When the Soviet Union objected, however, the celebration was abruptly cancelled. Although Mongolia was an independent country, it was fully expected to assert the “correct” political line as defined by the Soviet Union. Strong feelings of nationalism were actively discouraged.

A2

Democratic Reforms

Tsedenbal was removed from office in 1984 and succeeded by Jambyn Batmonh as both head of state and general secretary of the MPRP. Following the course of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, Batmonh introduced Mongolian versions of glasnost (“openness”) and perestroika (“restructuring”) in the late 1980s. However, his reforms failed to improve economic production and planning, and so demands arose for more radical reforms to deal with the legacy of decades of mismanagement and inefficiency. Dissatisfaction with the slow pace of both economic and political reforms led to large protests in Ulaanbaatar in December 1989. For the first time since 1921 opposition parties were allowed to organize and hold public demonstrations.

From these developments, a broadly based movement for democracy arose in Mongolia. Opposition groups pressed in early 1990 for further democratic reforms. The strongest of the new opposition groups, the Democratic Union, was recognized by the government in January 1990 and was renamed the Democratic Party of Mongolia. Negotiations were then undertaken for opposition representation in the legislature. In March 1990, in response to public unrest, the entire leadership of the MPRP resigned, including Batmonh. He was replaced as head of state by Punsalmaagiyn Ochirbat, who carried out a reorganization of the MPRP. Some formerly prominent members, most notably Tsedenbal, were expelled, and many figures from the past were rehabilitated. Soon afterward the MPRP began preparations for the legislative elections scheduled for July. The constitution of 1960 was amended to rescind all references to the MPRP as the sole legal party and guiding force in politics. Although the MPRP won 357 of the 431 seats in the legislature, the opposition parties succeeded in competing in the elections in most areas of the country, thus breaking the MPRP’s monopoly on power.

In 1990 the Soviet Union agreed to begin a total withdrawal of its military forces from Mongolia. The withdrawal continued after the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991. Russian influence in Mongolia waned with the departure of Russian troops and technical advisers. However, the two countries agreed to maintain their long history of friendship and cooperation in a 1993 treaty that replaced the outdated Soviet treaty of 1986.

B

Democratic Republic of Mongolia

In September 1990 the Mongolian legislature elected Ochirbat to the newly created office of president. Ochirbat promoted political and economic liberalization in Mongolia. Privatization of state and collective property was begun in 1991, and a new, democratic constitution was adopted in early 1992. It provided for a unicameral legislature, the Great Hural, and changed the country’s official name from the Mongolian People’s Republic to Mongolia.

The existing legislature adopted a presidential election law in March 1993, and the first direct presidential elections were held in June, along with elections to the new Great Hural. The MPRP swept the legislative elections, while Ochirbat won the presidential election as the candidate backed by leading opposition parties. In Mongolia’s 1996 parliamentary elections, a coalition of opposition parties presented a platform of continued economic reform. The Democratic Alliance, as the coalition was called, won a resounding victory in the elections, taking 50 of the 76 seats in the Great Hural. The victory brought an end to the single-party, communist rule of the MPRP.

However, Mongolia’s transition to a free-market system generated mixed support among the country’s voters. Even with generous loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and individual donor countries, the economic reforms caused increased inflation and unemployment. In presidential elections held in 1997, voters replaced Ochirbat with the MPRP candidate, Natsagiyn Bagabandi, who campaigned on promises of slowing the pace of reform and increasing social services. In the 2000 legislative elections, the MPRP won a landslide victory, securing 72 seats in the Great Hural. Nambaryn Enkhbayar of the MPRP became prime minister. The new MPRP government also indicated it would pursue economic reform at a more cautious pace. In another show of public support for the MPRP, Bagabandi was reelected in the 2001 presidential elections. That year the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved nearly $40 million in low-interest loans to help the Mongolian government tackles poverty and boost economic growth. In 2003 Mongolia contributed 200 troops to the United States-led forces in Iraq.

The legislative election of 2004 produced no clear winner, with a near draw between the MPRP and the opposition Democratic Union Coalition. The ensuing political deadlock was eventually broken with a power-sharing deal, and a member of the opposition coalition, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, was named prime minister.

In 2005 former Prime Minister Enkhbayar was elected president of Mongolia. In November of that year, U.S. president George W. Bush stopped in Mongolia on a tour of Asia, becoming the first serving American leader to visit the country.

In early 2006 the MPRP withdrew from the coalition government, forcing Elbegdorj’s resignation. The Great Hural chose Miyeegombo Enkhbold of the MPRP as the new prime minister, but the MPRP ousted him as party leader in late 2007, forcing him to resign the premiership. The Great Hural chose the new chairperson of the MPRP, Sanj Bayar, as prime minister. The frequent changes in government enhanced the role of the presidency, a largely ceremonial position.