Country · Asia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a country in Eastern Asia. About 3.2 million people live there, in an area of 1 564 110 square kilometres. Its capital city is Ulan Bator.
Picture credit: Bernard Gagnon (CC0) · Alex Ang (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Zazaa Mongolia (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Bernard Gagnon (CC0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Mongolia?
Mongolia lies in Eastern Asia, on the continent of Asia.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 5 121 km from the equator.
Mongolia is landlocked: it has no coast at all, so you cannot reach the sea without crossing another country.
It shares a border with 2 countries: China and Russia.
How big is Mongolia?
Mongolia covers 1 564 110 square kilometres.
That is about 4.4 times the size of Germany.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 18th largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 2 people on every square kilometre.
That is emptier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Mongolia?
About 3.2 million people live in Mongolia.
That is the 132nd biggest population in the world.
People here speak Mongolian.
They pay with the Mongolian tögrög (₮).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 67 years.
The land of Mongolia
The land of Mongolia sits on average 1 528 metres above sea level — high enough that much of it counts as mountain country.
Because it is landlocked, anything that comes by ship has to cross one of its 2 neighbours to get here.
It lies between the tropics and the poles, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Mongolia different?
A dish the country is known for: Buuz.
Websites from here often end in .mn.
Mongolia and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about one lives in Mongolia.
It takes up about 1.2 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Asia the country ranks 7th of 46 by size, and 39th by population.
Mongolia and its neighbours
Russia, its largest neighbour, is about 10.9 times bigger.
Russia has more people: 144.5 million against 3.2 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 6 live wild in Mongolia: Snow leopard, Grey wolf, Bactrian camel, Golden eagle, Horse and Elk. The highest mountain in the country is Khüiten Peak, at 4 356 metres. The longest river in the country is the Orkhon. The largest lake in the country is Uvs Lake.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Mongolia compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 6 times as big as Mongolia: 9 372 610 km² against 1 564 110 km². See both on one map
- Mongolia is about 6.4 times as big as the United Kingdom: 1 564 110 km² against 242 900 km². See both on one map
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Mongolia?
The capital of Mongolia is Ulan Bator. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Mongolia?
About 3.2 million people live in Mongolia, which makes it the 132nd most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
How big is Mongolia?
Mongolia covers 1 564 110 square kilometres, making it the 18th largest country in the world. That is about 4.4 times the size of Germany.
What is the highest mountain in Mongolia?
The highest mountain in Mongolia is Khüiten Peak, 4 356 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Mongolia?
The longest river in Mongolia is the Orkhon, about 1 124 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in Mongolia?
The largest lake in Mongolia is Uvs Lake. The whole lake covers about 3 350 km², and part of it belongs to neighbouring countries.
Which continent is Mongolia in?
Mongolia is in Asia, in the part called Eastern Asia.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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