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Mongolia is in northern Asia between the Russian Republic and the People's
Republic of China; about a two and a half hour plane ride from Beijing.
The land area is over 1.5 million square km, slightly smaller than Alaska,
over twice the size of Texas and three times the size of France.
Population is approximately 2.8 million as of July 2006.
Mongolia has the world’s lowest population density at only 1.4 people per
square km.
Currency is the togrog; the exchange rate is around 1100 to the dollar.
The country is divided into 21 aimags (counties or provinces) served by
soum centers (county seats).
It is one of the highest countries in the world, with an average elevation
of around 1580m.
The ethnic groups are the Kalkha Mongols, almost 95%; Turkic (mostly
Kazakh), 5%: and other .1%.
Literacy is almost 98%.
42% of the population are herders or working in agriculture.
50% are Buddhists (Tibetan); Shamanist and Christian, 6%; Muslim, 4%;
none, 40%.
1724 km of paved road; 47,526 km of unpaved road.
There are almost 270,000 internet users and 272 internet hosts.
There are 557,200 cell phones.
About half the population lives in gers (known in other countries as
"yurts", a Russian word of turkic origin).
The average salary in Ulaanbaatar is $100 a month and rising.
Other than the tracks along the railroad, the land is open and unfenced.
The yearly temperatures range from over 100F in the Gobi in the summer to
-40F in the winter.
Mongolia has 260 days of sunshine a year, which is why the Mongols call
their home "The Land of Blue Skies".
This information is from the CIA World Factbook and
the Lonely Planet Guide: Mongolia
Environment and Wildlife
While it certainly has its issues, Mongolia has, within its borders some
of the largest areas of unspoiled land left in Asia.
Lakes:
Khovsgol Nur, in northern Mongolia, the second oldest lake in the world
contains 2% of the world's fresh water (and 65% of Mongolia's).
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