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Asia and Oceania

Mongolia
Last reviewed: 17 August 2011

Country information

Area:  1,564,116 sq km (602,829 sq mi)
Population: 3,133,318 (July 2011 estimate)
Capital City: Ulaanbaatar (literally, “Red Hero”) Population: 949,000
People:  94.9% Khalkha Mongols, 5% Turkic (mostly Kazakh), 0.1% other (inc Chinese and Russian)
Language(s): Khalkha Mongol (90%), Kazakh, Russian
Religion(s): Buddhist Lamaist 50%, Shamanist and Christian 6%, Muslim 4%, None 40%.
Currency: Togrog (MNT)
Major Political Parties:  13 political parties took part in the last general election, which took place in June 2008. The next election for Great Khural seats will be in June 2012. The last presidential election took place in May 2009 and the next will take place in May 2013.The Mongolians People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP) won 45 seats, the Democratic Party (DP) won 28 seats and the Civil Movement, the Civil Will Party and an Independent MP won one seat each.  After lengthy negotiations the MPRP and the DP formed a coalition government.  The MPRP dropped the word “Revolutionary” from their title in late 2010 and are now the Mongolian People’s Party (MPP) (see HISTORY AND POLITICS below).  The MPP currently hold eleven Ministerial portfolios (including the Prime Minister), the DP seven.
Government: Supreme legislative power is vested in the (unicameral) Parliament, the Great Khural.  The 76 members are elected by universal adult suffrage for four years.  They recognise the President on his election and appoint the Prime Minister (subject to the President's agreement) and members of the Cabinet, which is the highest executive body.  The President is the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and is directly elected for a term of four years.  The last Presidential elections took place in May 2009. The Cabinet is nominated by the President in consultation with the Prime Minister and confirmed by the Great Khural. President: Tsakhia Elbegdorj (DP) (since 18 June 2009)
Prime Minister: Sukhbaatar Batbold (MPP) (since 29 October 2009)
Foreign Minister: Gombojav Zandanshatar (MPP)
Membership of International Groupings/Organisations: Asian Development Bank (ADB), Asia –Europe Meeting (ASEM), Customs Co-operation Council (CCC), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL), International Development Association (IDA), International Finance Corporation (IFC), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), International Labour Organisation (ILO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), United Nations (UN), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Universal Postal Union (UPU), World Health Organisation (WHO), International Federation of Red Cross and red Crescent Societies, World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).

Mongolia entered into a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with the European Union in December 2010.

Country information

Travel Advice

Travel Advice: Mongolia  

Useful links

• BBC News Country Timeline: Mongolia
 

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