Mongolia
Country's history
Mongolia's history is extremely long; it spans over 5,000. "The Mongols has little inclination to ally with other nomadic peoples of northern Asia and, until the end of the 12th century, the Mongols were little more than a loose confederation of rival clans, It was in the late 12th century that a 20-year-old Mongol named Temujin emerged and managed to unite most of the Mongol tribes. In 1189 he was given the honorary name of Genghis Khan, meaning 'universal king'. No Mongolian leader before or since has united the Mongolians so effectively."
Manchu controlled Mongolia from the year 1691 to 1911. Thanks to the fall of the Manchu dynasty that controlled stopped. A group of Mongol princes "proclaimed" the living Buddha of Urga to be ruler. "Mongolians have always taken wholeheartedly to Tibetan Buddhism and the links between Mongolia and Tibet are old and deep." In 1921 there were 110,000 lamas or monks in Mongolia living in 700 monasteries. In the 1930s thousands of monks were arrested. Some believed that by the year 1939 3% of Mongolia's population, at the time, was executed or out of 27,000; 17,000 were monks.
Current Facts
Population:
2,992,908 (July 2015 est.)
Ethnic groups:
Khalkh 81.9%, Kazak 3.8%, Dorvod 2.7%, Bayad 2.1%, Buryat-Bouriates 1.7%, Zakhchin 1.2%, Dariganga 1%, Uriankhai 1%, other 4.6% (2010 est.)
Languages:
Khalkha Mongol 90% (official), Turkic, Russian (1999)
Religions:
Buddhist 53%, Muslim 3%, Christian 2.2%, Shamanist 2.9%, other 0.4%, none 38.6% (2010 est.)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.4%
male: 98.2%
female: 98.6% (2015 est.)
Health
Health expenditures:
6% of GDP (2013)
country comparison to the world: 105
Physicians density:
2.84 physicians/1,000 population (2011)
Hospital bed density:
6.8 beds/1,000 population (2012)
Drinking water source:
improved:
urban: 66.4% of population
rural: 59.2% of population
total: 64.4% of population
unimproved:
urban: 33.6% of population
rural: 40.8% of population
total: 35.6% of population (2015 est.)
Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 66.4% of population
rural: 42.6% of population
total: 59.7% of population
unimproved:
urban: 33.6% of population
rural: 57.4% of population
total: 40.3% of population (2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.04% (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 124
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
600 (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 124
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
fewer than 100 (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 115
Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
15.7% (2014)
country comparison to the world: 122
Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
1.6% (2013)
country comparison to the world: 92
Primary Education
Mongolia continues to adhere to the Soviet model of 10 years of school education of which 8 are compulsory, although this is being gradually extended in the direction of the European model. There is also an extensive pre-school education system, where children may enroll from age 3 onwards. Primary school iteslf begins at age 8 and lasts for 4 years.
Middle Education
The next 4 years are spent at middle school where a general academic curriculum is followed. These are more often than not found in denser populated areas and rural children may have to travel some distance to attend them. This is the 1st of many hurdles that lie before a peasant child aspiring to a better life.
Secondary Education
After completing their 8 years of compulsory education, students may stay on for a further 2 to 3 years of higher secondary education, although those not living in the urban hubs may have to stay in hostels. Students who do not attend a general school for 2 years may go on to vocational school instead, where they learn para-professional skills in for example primary school teaching or bookkeeping.