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Mongolia
AsiaEastern Asia
1.56 Million km²
Quick Facts
Capital
Ulan Bator
Area
1,564,110 km²
Language
Mongolian
Currency
Mongolian Tugrik (MNT)
Calling Code
+976
Drives On
Right
Internet
.mn
Timezone
ULAT (UTC+8)
Script
Cyrillic (& Traditional Mongolian)
Government
Unitary Semi-presidential Republic
Independence
1911
Map tiles by CARTO. Data by OpenStreetMap.
Mongolia is the most sparsely populated country on Earth that is not mostly ice or sand. Three million people in a territory three times the size of France. Half of them live in one city - Ulaanbaatar. The rest are scattered across a landscape so vast and empty that you can drive for hours and see nothing but grass, sky, and the occasional herd of horses. It is one of the last places on the planet where nomadic herding is not a historical curiosity but a living, breathing way of life.
And then there is Genghis Khan. The boy called Temujin, born on the steppe around 1162, united the warring Mongol tribes and built the largest contiguous land empire in human history - stretching from Korea to Hungary, from Siberia to Vietnam. The Mongol Empire reshaped the world: it created the Silk Road trading network, introduced the first international postal system, and connected civilizations that had never known each other existed. Today Mongolia lives between two giants - Russia and China - fiercely independent, proudly nomadic at heart, and still defined by the endless sky that the Mongols call the Eternal Blue Heaven.
Largest Cities in Mongolia
1
Ulaanbaatar
Capital holding half the nation's population, a collision of Soviet architecture, modern towers, Buddhist monasteries, and ger districts
1,600,000
2
Erdenet
Mongolia's second city built around one of the world's largest copper mines, a Soviet-planned industrial town in the northern forests
100,000
3
Darkhan
Third largest city and industrial center in northern Mongolia, a relatively modern town founded in 1961
85,000
4
Choibalsan
Remote eastern city named after a communist-era leader, gateway to the vast untouched eastern steppe
40,000
5
Murun
Gateway to Lake Khovsgol in the mountainous northwest, a frontier town between the steppe and Siberian taiga
40,000
6
Karakorum
Ancient capital of the Mongol Empire, now a small town beside the ruins of Genghis Khan's legendary seat of power
12,000
Famous People from Mongolia
Genghis Khan
PoliticsUnited the Mongol tribes and built the largest contiguous land empire in history, reshaping the political map of Eurasia
Kublai Khan
PoliticsGrandson of Genghis who founded the Yuan Dynasty in China, hosted Marco Polo, and attempted the largest naval invasions in history
Sukhbaatar
PoliticsFather of modern Mongolia who led the 1921 revolution for independence, the national hero whose name graces the capital's main square
Byambasuren Davaa
FilmDirector of The Story of the Weeping Camel and The Cave of the Yellow Dog, bringing Mongolian nomadic life to global audiences
Dolgorsurengiin Dagvadorj
SportFirst Mongolian sumo wrestler to reach yokozuna, the highest rank in sumo, competing as Asashoryu in Japan
Natsagiin Bagabandi
PoliticsPresident who guided Mongolia's transition to democracy in the 1990s, helping establish one of Asia's most stable democracies
Zanabazar
ArtFirst Jebtsundamba Khutuktu and greatest Mongolian sculptor, whose bronze Buddhist works are considered masterpieces of Asian art
Khutulun
SportLegendary 13th-century princess who demanded any suitor beat her in wrestling - she reportedly won 10,000 horses and never lost
Traditional Cuisine of Mongolia
Buuz
Steamed dumplings filled with minced mutton and onion, Mongolia's most beloved dish, eaten by the thousands during Tsagaan Sar
Khuushuur
Deep-fried meat pies with a crispy shell and juicy lamb filling, the essential festival food during Naadam celebrations
Airag
Fermented mare's milk with a slightly sour, fizzy taste, the national drink of Mongolia consumed in vast quantities on the steppe
Tsuivan
Stir-fried noodles with mutton and vegetables, hearty comfort food cooked in every Mongolian household and ger
Boodog
Whole marmot or goat cooked from the inside with hot stones, a traditional nomadic cooking method unique to Mongolia
Suutei Tsai
Mongolian milk tea made with green tea, milk, water, salt, and sometimes butter - salty, not sweet, drunk all day long
Boortsog
Deep-fried butter cookies shaped in various forms, offered to guests with tea as a sign of Mongolian hospitality
Chanasan Makh
Boiled mutton served on the bone with a side of broth, the simplest and most fundamental Mongolian meal
Nature & Landmarks in Mongolia
Gobi Desert
DesertOne of the world's great deserts stretching across southern Mongolia, home to dinosaur fossils, Bactrian camels, and the singing sand dunes of Khongoryn Els
Lake Khovsgol
LakeMongolia's largest freshwater lake called the Younger Sister of Baikal, holding 2% of the world's fresh water surrounded by forested mountains
Altai Mountains
MountainWestern Mongolia's snow-capped peaks reaching 4,374 meters, where Kazakh eagle hunters still hunt with golden eagles
Orkhon Valley
LandmarkUNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape along the Orkhon River, heart of the ancient Mongol Empire with ruins and waterfalls
Terelj National Park
National ParkDramatic granite formations, alpine meadows, and nomadic ger camps just 80 km from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's most accessible wilderness
Khustain Nuruu
National ParkNational park where the takhi - the world's last truly wild horse - was successfully reintroduced after going extinct in the wild
Flaming Cliffs
DesertRed sandstone formations in the Gobi where Roy Chapman Andrews discovered the first dinosaur eggs in 1923
Tsaatan Reindeer Herders
LandmarkRemote northern taiga where the Dukha people - fewer than 300 - still live as nomadic reindeer herders in tepee-like shelters
Sports in Mongolia
Wrestling
Mongolia's most revered sport, central to the annual Naadam festival, with champions elevated to legendary status
Horse Racing
Child jockeys as young as six race horses across the steppe during Naadam in races covering 15-30 kilometers
Archery
Third pillar of Naadam's Three Manly Games, with a tradition stretching back to Genghis Khan's military training
Sumo Wrestling
Mongolians have dominated Japanese sumo, producing multiple yokozuna champions despite the country's tiny population
Did You Know?
1
Mongolia is the least densely populated country on Earth with just 2 people per square kilometer
2
There are 13 times more horses than people in Mongolia - roughly 4 million horses for 3.5 million humans
3
The Mongol Empire was the largest contiguous land empire in history, covering 24 million square kilometers at its peak
4
Mongolian nomads still move their ger homes 2-4 times a year following seasonal pastures, as they have for millennia
5
Naadam, Mongolia's national festival of wrestling, horse racing, and archery, has been celebrated for over 800 years
6
The Gobi Desert is one of the world's greatest dinosaur fossil sites - the first dinosaur eggs ever discovered were found here
7
Mongolia became a democracy in 1990 through a peaceful revolution, one of the few countries to transition without bloodshed
8
The traditional Mongolian script, written vertically, is one of the few vertical scripts still in occasional use today
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