#ᠮᠤᠩᠭᠤᠯ ᠤᠯᠤᠰ | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

gwendolynlerman · 6 years ago

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Discovering the world

Mongolia 🇲🇳

Basic facts

Official name: ᠮᠤᠩᠭᠤᠯ ᠤᠯᠤᠰ/Монгол Улс (Mongol Uls) (Mongolia)

Capital city: Ulaanbaatar

Population: 3.5 million (2023)

Demonym: Mongolian

Type of government: unitary semi-presidential republic

Head of state: Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh (President)

Head of government: Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene (Prime Minister)

Gross domestic product (purchasing power parity): $52.98 billion (2023)

Gini coefficient of wealth inequality: 32.7% (medium) (2018)

Human Development Index: 0.741 (high) (2022)

Currency: tögrög (MNT)

Fun fact: The Mongolian Empire was the largest contiguous land empire in the world.

Etymology

The country’s name means “land of the Mongols” and comes from mongol, a word of uncertain origin. It could be a corruption of the Mongolian Mongkhe-tengri-gal (“eternal sky fire”) or a derivation from Mugulü, the founder of the Rouran Khaganate.

Geography

Mongolia is located in East Asia and borders Russia to the north and China to the east, south, and west.

There are five main climates: monsoon-influenced subarctic and monsoon-influenced warm-summer humid continental in the north and east, cold steppe in the center and east, cold desert in the south, and tundra in the west. Temperatures range from −25 °C (−13 °F) in winter to 26 °C (78.8 °F) in summer. The average annual temperature is 7 °C (44.6 °F).

The country is divided into twenty-one provinces (aimguud), which are further divided into 330 districts (sumd). The largest cities in Mongolia are Ulaanbaatar, Erdenet, Darkhan, Choibalsan, and Mörön.

History

7th-3rd centuries BCE: Chandman culture

6th-3rd centuries BCE: Pazyryk culture

3300-2500 BCE: Afanasievo culture

3rd century BCE-1st century CE: Xiongnu

3rd century BCE-3rd century CE: Xianbei Confederation

2750-1900 BCE: Chemurchek culture

2nd century BCE-5th century CE: Bulan-Koba culture

1800-1600 BCE: Munkhkhairkhan culture

1500-1000 BCE: Sagsai culture

1450-1000 BCE: Ulaanzuukh culture

1400-700 BCE: Deer stones culture

1300-300 BCE: Slab-Grave culture

3rd-5th centuries CE: Kok-Pash culture

330-555: Rouran Khaganate

539-1207: State of the Kyrgyz

552-603: Turkic Khaganate

603-645: Eastern Turkic Khaganate

603-742: Western Turkic Khaganate

682-744: Second Turkic Khaganate

8th century-1202: Tatar confederation

744-840: Uyghur Khanate

916-1125: Khitan Empire

1130-1206: Mongol Confederation

1206-1294: Mongol Empire

1266-1347: Chagatai Khanate

1271-1368: Great Yuan

1368-1635: Northern Yuan

1399-1634: Four Oirat

1634-1758: Dzungar Khanate

1642-1717: Khoshut Khanate

1691-1911: Qing dynasty

1911-1914: Republic of Uryankhay

1911-1915, 1921-1924: Great Mongolian State

1919-1921: Outer Mongolia

1924-1992: Mongolian People’s Republic

1990: Mongolian Revolution

1992-present: Mongolia

Economy

Mongolia mainly imports from and exports to China, Russia, and Japan. Its top exports are animal hair, copper ore, and coal.

It has coal, copper, and gold reserves. Services represent 49.7% of the GDP, followed by industry (38.2%) and agriculture (12.1%).

Mongolia is a member of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Demographics

Mongols represent 95.6% of the population, and Kazakhs 3.8%. The main religion is Buddhism, practiced by 51.7% of the population, specifically Tibetan Buddhism.

It has a negative net migration rate and a fertility rate of 2.8 children per woman. 69% of the population lives in urban areas. Life expectancy is 68.6 years and the median age is 27.1 years. The literacy rate is 98.3%.

Languages

The official language of the country is Mongolian. Kazakh and Tuvan are also spoken.

Culture

Horses play a very important role in Mongolian life. People believe that misfortune might be attracted by talking about negative things or by people that are often talked about.

Men and women traditionally wear a long, loose gown with a high collar (deel), a sash, upturned boots (gutal), and a cone-shaped velvet hat with or without upturned brims (malgai).

Architecture

Traditional houses in Mongolia are known as yurts and are rounded structures with wooden frames covered with wool felt.

Cuisine

The Mongolian diet is based on dairy products and meat. Typical dishes include buuz (steamed dumplings filled with meat), khuushuur (a deep-fried pastry in the shape of a half moon filled with minced meat), sülen (a boiled pot dish of chives, mutton, and onions), tsuivan (a noodle dish with meat and vegetables), and ul boov (a cookie assembled in layers with a unique design on top).

Holidays and festivals

Like other Buddhist countries, Mongolia celebrates Buddha’s Birthday. It also commemorates New Year’s Day, Lunar New Year, International Women’s Day, Children’s Day, and Labor Day.

Specific Mongolian holidays include State Great Khural election day on June 28, Genghis Khan Day on November 16, Republic Day on November 26, and Independence Day on December 29.

Genghis Khan Day

Other celebrations include the Danshig Naadam Festival, which features archery, horse racing, and wrestling; the Golden Eagle Festival, which showcases eagle hunting, and the Khövsgöl Ice Festival, which features ice skating, ice sumo wrestling, and ice yurt building.

Khövsgöl Ice Festival

Landmarks

There are six UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Deer Stone Monuments and Related Bronze Age Sites, Great Burkhan Khaldun Mountain and its surrounding sacred landscape, Landscapes of Dauria, Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape, Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Altai, and Uvs Nuur Basin.

Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape

Other landmarks include the Amarbayasgalant Monastery, the Erdene Zuu Monastery, the Genghis Khan Statue Complex, the Karakorum ruins, and Terelj National Park.