Mongolia: Background & Geography

Introduction Mongolia
Background:
 The Mongols gained fame in the 13th century when under Genghis KHAN they conquered a huge Eurasian empire. After his death the empire was divided into several powerful Mongol states, but these broke apart in the 14th century. The Mongols eventually retired to their original steppe homelands and came under Chinese rule. Mongolia won its independence in 1921 with Soviet backing. A Communist regime was installed in 1924. During the early 1990s, the ex-Communist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) gradually yielded its monopoly on power to the Democratic Union Coalition (DUC), which defeated the MPRP in a national election in 1996. Over the next four years, the DUC put forward a number of key reforms to modernize the economy and to democratize the political system. The former Communists were a strong opposition that stalled additional restructuring and made implementation difficult. In 2000, the MPRP won an overwhelming victory in the legislature - with 72 of the 76 seats - and completely reshuffled the government. While it continues many of the reform policies, the MPRP has focused on social welfare and public order priorities.
Geography Mongolia
Location:
 Northern Asia, between China and Russia
Geographic coordinates:
 46 00 N, 105 00 E
Map references:
 Asia
Area:
 total: 1.565 million sq km
water: 9,600 sq km
land: 1,555,400 sq km
Area - comparative:
 slightly smaller than Alaska
Land boundaries:
 total: 8,162 km
border countries: China 4,677 km, Russia 3,485 km
Coastline:
 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions):
 none (landlocked)
Climate:
 desert; continental (large daily and seasonal temperature ranges)
Terrain:
 vast semidesert and desert plains, grassy steppe, mountains in west and southwest; Gobi Desert in south-central
Elevation extremes:
 lowest point: Hoh Nuur 518 m
highest point: Nayramadlin Orgil (Huyten Orgil) 4,374 m
Natural resources:
 oil, coal, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, phosphates, tin, nickel, zinc, wolfram, fluorspar, gold, silver, iron, phosphate
Land use:
 arable land: 0.84%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 99.16% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
 840 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
 dust storms, grassland and forest fires, drought, and "zud," which is harsh winter conditions
Environment - current issues:
 limited natural fresh water resources in some areas; the policies of former Communist regimes promoted rapid urbanization and industrial growth that had negative effects on the environment; the burning of soft coal in power plants and the lack of enforcement of environmental laws severely polluted the air in Ulaanbaatar; deforestation, overgrazing, and the converting of virgin land to agricultural production increased soil erosion from wind and rain; desertification and mining activities had a deleterious effect on the environment
Environment - international agreements:
 party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
 landlocked; strategic location between China and Russia

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