Mongolia - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Mongolia. Landlocked; strategic location between China and Russia. Mother's mean age at first birth is 20.5 years (2008 est.) (Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 20-24), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 39 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Geographical data of Mongolia
Location Northern Asia, between China and Russia
Geographic coordinates 46 00 N, 105 00 E
Map references Asia
Tarrain vast semidesert and desert plains, grassy steppe, mountains in west and southwest; Gobi Desert in south-central
Natural Resources oil, coal, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, phosphates, tin, nickel, zinc, fluorspar, gold, silver, iron
Natural Hazards dust storms; grassland and forest fires; drought; "zud," which is harsh winter conditions
Irrigated Land 602 sq km (2020)
Major rivers (by length in km) Amur (shared with China [s] and Russia [m]) - 4,444 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Major aquifers
Land Boundaries 8,082 km
Border Countries China 4,630 km; Russia 3,452 km
Coastline 0 km (landlocked)
Climate desert; continental (large daily and seasonal temperature ranges)
Area
Total Area
Land Area 1,553,556 sq km
Water Area 10,560 sq km
comparative Area slightly smaller than Alaska; more than twice the size of Texas
Maritime Claims
Elevations
Highest point Nayramadlin Orgil (Khuiten Peak) 4,374 m
Lowest point Hoh Nuur 560 m
Mean elevation 1,528 m
Land Use
Agricultural land 73% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land arable land: 0.4% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture permanent pasture: 72.6% (2018 est.)
Forest 7% (2018 est.)
Other 20% (2018 est.)
Population Distribution

Sparsely distributed population throughout the country; the capital of Ulaanbaatar and the northern city of Darhan support the highest population densities

People and Society

In Mongolia, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Khalkh 83.8%, Kazak 3.8%, Durvud 2.6%, Bayad 2%, Buriad 1.4%, Zakhchin 1.2%, Dariganga 1.1%, other 4.1% (2020 est.)

Population
Pop growth rate 0.78% (2024 est.)
Birth rate 14.9 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate 6.4 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Health expenditure 4.9% of GDP (2020)
Physicians Density
Hospital bed Density 8 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Total fertility rate 1.87 children born/woman (2024 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 0.91 (2024 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate 48.1% (2018)
Est married women (ages 15-49) 58.9% (2023 est.)
Literacy age 15 and over can read and write
Education expenditures 4.7% of GDP (2020 est.)
Net Migration rate -0.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Nationality Mongolian | Mongolian(s)
Languages
Religions Buddhist 51.7%, Muslim 3.2%, Shamanist 2.5%, Christian 1.3%, other 0.7%, none 40.6% (2020 est.)
Age Structure
0-14 years 25.7% (male 429,867/female 412,943)
15-64 years 68.4% (male 1,087,487/female 1,156,547)
65 years and over 5.9% (2024 est.) (male 78,242/female 116,590)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 58.4
Youth dependency ratio 51.4
Elderly dependency ratio 7
Potential support ratio 14.3 (2021 est.)
Median Age
Total 31.5 years (2024 est.)
Male 30.1 years
Female 32.8 years
Urbanization
Urban population 69.1% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 1.4% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 1.673 million ULAANBAATAR (capital) (2023).
Sex Ratio
At birth 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.67 male(s)/female
Total population 0.95 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 19.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male 22.4 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 16.2 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 71.9 years (2024 est.)
Male 67.8 years
Female 76.3 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 98.4% of population
Improved: rural rural: 64.2% of population
Improved: total total: 87.6% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 1.6% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 35.8% of population
Unimproved: total total: 12.4% of population (2020 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 97.4% of population
Improved: rural rural: 69.9% of population
Improved: total total: 88.8% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 2.6% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 30.1% of population
Unimproved: total total: 11.2% of population (2020 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
Total 5.46 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer 2.18 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine 1.46 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits 1.82 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
Total 29.4% (2020 est.)
Male 51.7% (2020 est.)
Female 7.1% (2020 est.)
Child marriage
Women married by age 15 0.9%
Women married by age 18 12%
Men married by age 18 2.1% (2018 est.)
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Mongolia

Want to know more about Mongolia? Check all different factbooks for Mongolia below.

Mongolia is found in Eastern Asia