From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A young Mongolian boy

Life in sparsely populated Mongolia has become more urbanized. Nearly half of the people live in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, and in other provincial centers. Seminomadic life still predominates in the countryside, but settled agricultural communities are becoming more common. Mongolia's population growth rate is estimated at 1.54% (2000 census). About two-thirds of the total population is under age 30, 36% of whom are under 14.

Ethnic Mongols account for about 85% of the population and consist of Khalkha and other groups, all distinguished primarily by dialects of the Mongol language. Mongol is an Altaic language--named after the Altay Mountains of Central Asia, a language family comprising the Turkic, Tungusic, and Mongolic subfamilies--and is related to Turkic (Uzbek, Turkish, Tatar, and Kazakh), Manchu, and possibly Korean or Japanese. The Khalkha make up 90% of the ethnic Mongol population. The remaining 10% include Durbet Mongols and others in the north and Dariganga Mongols in the east. Turkic speakers (Kazakhs, Tuvans, and Uyghurs) constitute 7% of Mongolia's population, and the rest are Tungusic-speakers, Chinese, and Russians. Most Russians left the country following the withdrawal of economic aid and collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Traditionally, Tibetan Buddhism was the predominant religion. However, it was suppressed under the communist regime until 1990, with only one showcase monastery allowed to remain. Since 1990, as liberalization began, Buddhism has enjoyed a resurgence.

About 4 million Mongols live outside Mongolia; about 3.4 million live in China, mainly in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and some 500,000 live in Russia, primarily in Buryatia and Kalmykia.

Demographics of Mongolia, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

Population: 2,751,314 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 34% (male 461,719; female 447,426)
15-64 years: 62% (male 816,851; female 816,651)
65 years and over: 4% (male 46,682; female 61,623) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.46% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 21.53 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 6.14 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 41.22 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 67.25 years
male: 64.98 years
female: 69.64 years (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.4 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Mongolian(s)
adjective: Mongolian

Ethnic groups: Mongol 90%, Kazakh 4%, other 6%

Religions: Buddhist 98%, Muslim 2%, 20,000 Christians [1]
note: previously limited religious activity because of communist regime

Languages: Khalkha Mongol 90%, Turkic (Qazaq, Tuvin), Russian

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 82.9%
male: 88.6%
female: 77.2% (1988 est.)