Demographics of Mongolia

This article is about the demographics of Mongolia, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Demographics of Mongolia
Demographics of Mongolia, Data of FAO, year 2015
Population	3,296,866[1] (2020 census)
Density	1.76/km^2
Growth rate	1.46%[1] (2010 census)
Birth rate	20.7 births/1,000 population[2] (2012 est.)
Death rate	6.01 deaths/1,000 population[2] (2012 est.)
Life expectancy	68.63 years[2] (2012 est.)
• male	66.16 years[2] (2012 est.)
• female	71.23 years[2] (2012 est.)
Fertility rate	2.19[2] (2012 est.)
Infant mortality rate	36 deaths/1,000 live births[2] (2012 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years	27.1%[2] (2012 est.)
15–64 years	68.9%[2] (2012 est.)
65 and over	4%[2] (2012 est.)
Sex ratio
Total	1 male(s)/female[2] (2012 est.)
At birth	1.05 male(s)/female[2] (2012 est.)
Under 15	1.04 male(s)/female[2] (2012 est.)
15–64 years	1 male(s)/female[2] (2012 est.)
65 and over	0.77 male(s)/female[2] (2012 est.)
Nationality
Nationality	Mongolian
Major ethnic	Mongol
Minor ethnic	Kazakh
Language
Official	Mongolian
Spoken	Mongolian, Kazakh

Vital statistics

UN estimates[3]

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR^1	CDR^1	NC^1	TFR^1	IMR^1
1950-1955	33 000	18 000	15 000	40.0	21.4	18.6	5.60	182.9
1955-1960	39 000	19 000	20 000	43.0	20.7	22.2	6.30	164.9
1960-1965	49 000	19 000	30 000	47.9	18.4	29.5	7.50	134.5
1965-1970	54 000	19 000	34 000	44.8	15.9	28.8	7.50	118.6
1970-1975	59 000	19 000	40 000	43.0	13.9	29.1	7.50	106.5
1975-1980	63 000	21 000	42 000	39.6	13.1	26.5	6.65	104.5
1980-1985	69 000	22 000	47 000	38.1	12.4	25.7	5.75	102.3
1985-1990	75 000	22 000	53 000	36.6	10.8	25.9	4.90	91.7
1990-1995	62 000	22 000	40 000	27.6	9.6	18.0	3.30	66.6
1995-2000	52 000	20 000	33 000	22.1	8.3	13.8	2.50	54.7
2000-2005	47 000	17 000	30 000	18.9	7.2	11.7	2.08	43.5
2005-2010	62 000	17 000	45 000	22.4	6.9	15.5	2.40	36.0
2010-2015				26.1	6.3	19.8	2.84
2015-2020				24.4	6.3	18.1	2.90
2020-2025				20.5	6.4	14.1	2.73
2025-2030				18.1	6.7	11.4	2.59
^1 CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births

Registered births and deaths

[4]

	Average population	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Total fertility rate
1996		51,806	17,550	34,256
1997		49,488	16,980	32,508
1998		49,256	15,799	33,457
1999		49,461	16,105	33,356
2000		48,721	15,472	33,249
2001		49,685	15,999	33,686	20.5	6.6	13.9
2002		46,922	15,857	31,065	19.1	6.4	12.7
2003		45,723	16,006	29,717	18.4	6.4	12.0
2004		45,501	16,404	29,097	18.1	6.5	11.6
2005		45,326	16,480	28,846	17.8	6.5	11.3
2006		49,092	16,682	32,410	19.0	6.5	12.5
2007	2,615,000	56,636	16,259	40,377	21.7	6.2	15.4	2.341
2008	2,659,000	63,768	15,413	48,355	24.0	5.8	18.2	2.595
2009	2,710,000	69,167	16,911	52,256	25.7	6.3	19.4	2.695
2010	2,758,000	63,270	18,293	44,977	23.1	6.7	16.4	2.390
2011		69,853	19,155	50,698	25.1	6.9	18.2	2.60
2012		73,839	17,761	56,078	26.0	6.3	19.7	2.70
2013		79,780	17,247	62,533	27.5	5.9	21.6	3.00
2014	2,959,000	82,839	16,521	66,318	28.0	5.6	22.4	3.10
2015	3,033,000	82,130	17,620	64,510	27.1	5.8	21.3	3.10
2016	3,098,000	79,920	17,763	62,157	25.4	5.2	20.2	3.00
2017	3,177,899	75,321	17,357	57,964	23.9	5.5	18.4	2.80
2018	3,238,479	78,444	17,864	60,580	24.5	5.6	18.9	2.90
2019		80,251	17,195	63,056	24.3	5.2	19.1	3.00

Life expectancy

Period	Life expectancy in Years	Period	Life expectancy in Years
1950–1955	43.2	1985–1990	59.6
1955–1960	46.1	1990–1995	60.8
1960–1965	50.7	1995–2000	61.8
1965–1970	53.9	2000–2005	64.1
1970–1975	56.4	2005–2010	66.1
1975–1980	56.9	2010–2015	68.5
1980–1985	57.3

Source: UN World Population Prospects[5]

Structure of the population[6]

2016 population pyramid of Mongolia via. CIA World Factbook

Structure of the population (11.11.2010) (Census) :

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	1 313 968	1 333 577	2 647 545	100
0-4	146 516	141 981	288 497	10,90
5-9	110 117	106 097	216 214	8,17
10-14	120 064	116 801	236 865	8,95
15-19	130 560	127 085	257 645	9,73
20-24	147 472	144 711	292 183	11,04
25-29	124 490	123 493	247 983	9,37
30-34	111 976	110 546	222 522	8,40
35-39	100 819	101 564	202 383	7,64
40-44	88 273	90 994	179 267	6,77
45-49	77 475	81 281	158 756	6,00
50-54	58 009	64 073	122 082	4,61
55-59	33 384	38 605	71 989	2,72
60-64	22 106	27 347	49 453	1,87
65-69	17 262	20 970	38 232	1,44
70-74	13 081	16 251	29 332	1,11
75-79	7 252	11 365	18 617	0,70
80-84	3 258	5 908	9 166	0,35
85-89	1 378	3 037	4 415	0,17
90-94	383	1 076	1 459	0,06
95-99	80	322	402	0,02
100+	13	70	83	<0,01

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0-14	376 697	364 879	741 576	28,01
15-64	894 564	909 699	1 804 263	68,15
65+	42 707	58 999	101 706	3,84

Structure of the population (01.07.2013) (Estimates) :

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	1 409 648	1 489 363	2 899 011	100
0-4	158 578	153 763	312 341	10,77
5-9	121 534	118 706	240 240	8,29
10-14	119 093	116 891	235 984	8,14
15-19	125 751	127 324	253 075	8,73
20-24	149 565	154 323	303 888	10,48
25-29	143 113	149 877	292 990	10,11
30-34	122 710	130 973	253 683	8,75
35-39	111 396	119 629	231 025	7,97
40-44	95 134	104 034	199 168	6,87
45-49	82 000	91 869	173 868	6,00
50-54	65 965	75 237	141 201	4,87
55-59	42 749	50 508	93 257	3,22
60-64	25 525	31 862	57 386	1,98
65-69	17 524	22 340	39 864	1,38
70-74	14 689	18 102	32 790	1,13
75-79	8 092	11 753	19 845	0,68
80-84	4 126	7 454	11 580	0,40
85-89	1 512	3 020	4 532	0,16
90-94	509	1 343	1 852	0,06
95-99	73	281	354	0,01
100+	15	80	95	<0,01

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0-14	399 205	389 360	788 565	27,20
15-64	963 903	1 035 630	1 999 533	68,97
65+	46 540	64 373	110 913	3,83

Ethnicity and languages

The demonym for the people of Mongolia is Mongolian. The name Mongol usually accounts for people of the Mongol ethnic group, thus excluding Turkic groups such as Kazakhs and Tuvans.

Ethnic Mongols account for about 97% of the population and consist of Khalkh and other groups, all distinguished primarily by dialects of the Mongolian language. The Khalkhs make up 86% of the ethnic Mongol population. The remaining 14% include Oirats, Buryats and others. Ethnic distinctions among the Mongol subgroups are relatively minor. Language or tribal differences are not a political or social issue.

Significant ethnic Turkic speaker Kazakhs constitute 3.9% of Mongolia's population. Khotons and Chantuu are Mongolized people with Turkic origin and speak in Mongolian.

In around 1860, part of the Middle jüz Kazakhs who sought refuge from Qing Empire massacre in Xinjiang came to Mongolia and were allowed to settle down in Bayan-Ölgii Province. There are smaller numbers of Russian, Chinese, Korean and American people working in Mongolia since 1990. 3,000 Westerners live in Mongolia, accounting for 0.1% of its total population.[7]

English is the most widely used foreign language followed by Russian. Lately, Chinese,[8] Japanese, Korean and German are gaining popularity.

Ethnicity

National censuses data[9]

Ethnic groups	Ethno-linguistic family	1956	1963	1969	1979	1989	2000	2010[10]
Khalkh	Mongolic	639,141	775,376	911,079	1,235,806	1,610,424	1,934,674	2,168,141
Kazakh	Turkic	36,729	47,735	62,812	84,305	120,506	102,983	101,526
Dörbet	Mongolic	25,667	31,339	34,725	45,053	55,208	66,706	72,403
Bayid	Mongolic	15,874	19,891	25,479	31,053	39,233	50,824	56,573
Buryat	Mongolic	24,625	28,523	29,772	29,802	35,444	40,620	45,087
Zakhchin	Mongolic	15,772	14,399	15,662	18,957	23,478	25,183	32,845
Dariganga	Mongolic	16,852	18,587	20,603	24,564	29,040	31,909	27,412
Altai Uriankhai	Turkic	10,833[11]	13,140	15,057	19,475	22,998	29,766	26,654
Darkhad	Mongolic		8,826	10,174	10,716	14,757	19,019	21,558
Khotogoid	Mongolic	...	...	...	...	...	7,237	15,460
Torguud	Mongolic	4,729	6,028	7,119	8,617	10,050	12,628	14,176
Khotons	Mongolic	2,603	2,874	4,056	4,380	6,076	9,014	11,304
Myangad	Mongolic	2,518	2,712	3,222	4,173	4,760	6,028	6,592
Tuvan	Turkic	...	...	...	...	...	4,778	5,169
Barga	Mongolic	2,458	2,343	2,305	1,999	2,130	2,506	2,989
Üzemchin	Mongolic	2,046	2,070	2,127	2,030	2,086	2,386	2,577
Eljigin	Mongolic	...	...	...	...	...	151	1,340
Sartuul	Mongolic	...	...	...	...	...	1,540	1,286
Hamnigan of Tungusic origin	Mongolic	...	...	...	...	...	565	537
Tsaatan	Turkic	...	...	...	...	...	303	282
Chantuu	Mongolic	...	...	...	...	...	380	260
Kharchin	Mongolic	...	...	...	...	...	266	152
Chahar	Mongolic	...	...	...	...	...	123	132
(Huuchid)[lower-alpha 1]	Mongolic	...	...	...	...	...	...	...
(Baarin)[lower-alpha 1]	Mongolic	...	...	...	...	...	...	...
(Khorchin)[lower-alpha 1]	Mongolic	...	...	...	...	...	...	...
(Tümed)[lower-alpha 1]	Mongolic	...	...	...	...	...	...	...
Russian nationals		13,444	8,905	1,433	196	140	2,020	2,474
Chinese nationals		16,157	21,981	725	344	247	3,374	8,688
Korean nationals		...	...	...	...	...	338	1,522
American nationals		...	...	...	...	...	303	656
Others		11,125	6,819	35,045	8,653	1,509	...	...
Mongolia		845,481	1,017,162	1,188,271	1,538,980	1,987,274	2,365,269	2,754,685

1. Not listed in the Censuses

Literacy

Literacy rate is the percentage of people over the age of 15 who can read and write.

Total population: 98.3%[12]

After a decline in enrollment ratios during the transition to a market economy in the 1990s, school attendance is now once more near-universal: primary school attendance rate is estimated at 97%, and adult literacy at 98%.[13]

Religions

Main article: Religion in Mongolia

A young Mongolian boy

Various forms of Shamanism have been widely practiced throughout the history of what is now Mongolia, as such beliefs were common among nomadic people in Asian history. Such beliefs gradually gave way to Tibetan Buddhism, but shamanism has left a mark on Mongolian religious culture, and continues to be practiced.

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 encountered a resurgence.

Religions in Mongolia
(population aged 15 and above)[12]

Religion	Population	%
Buddhism	909,357	53
Islam	190,702	3.0
Shamanism	155,174	2.9
Christianity	41,117	2.1
Other religions	6,933	0.4
Atheism	835,283	40
TOTAL	3,000,000	100.0

Urbanization

Life in sparsely populated Mongolia has become more urbanized. Nearly half of the people live in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, and in other provincial centers. Semi nomadic 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.

Key: For population growth 1979 - 2008

• Salmon cells indicate that the population has declined or experienced minimal (<1%) growth.
• Light green cells indicate a growth between 1-2%.
• Dark green cells indicate a growth of greater than or equal to 2%.

Rank	Name	Mongolian	Inhabitants (1979 est.[14][15][16])	Inhabitants (1989 est.[14][17])	Inhabitants (2000 census[14][18])	Inhabitants (est. 2008[14])	Change since 1979	Growth Percentage/Year	Administrative Unit
1.	Ulaanbaatar ^*	Улаанбаатар	396,300	540,600	711,900	1,008,738	612,438	+5.2%	Ulaanbaatar
2.	Erdenet	Эрдэнэт	29,100	-	68,310	86,866	57,766	+6.6%	Orkhon
3.	Darkhan	Дархан	49,100	-	65,791	74,300	25,200	+1.7%	Darkhan-Uul
4.	Choibalsan	Чойбалсан	28,500	37,300	40,123	38,150	9,650	+1.1%	Dornod
5.	Mörön	Мөрөн	16,500	21,300	28,903	36,082	19,582	+4.0%	Khövsgöl
6.	Nalaikh	Налайх	-	-	23,600	29,115	5,515	+3.0%	Ulaanbaatar
7.	Khovd	Ховд	17,500	24,100	25,765	28,601	11,101	+2.1%	Khovd
8.	Ölgii	Өлгий	18,700	27,200	25,791	27,855	9,155	+1.6%	Bayan-Ölgii
9.	Bayankhongor	Баянхонгор	16,300	21,200	22,066	26,252	9,952	+2.0%	Bayankhongor
10.	Baganuur	Багануур	-	-	21,100	25,877	4,777	+1.8%	Ulaanbaatar
11.	Arvaikheer	Багануур	12,300	16,900	19,058	25,622	13,322	+3.6%	Övörkhangai
12.	Ulaangom	Улаангом	17,900	22,900	25,993	21,406	3,506	+0.67%	Uvs
13.	Sükhbaatar	Сүхбаатар	14,300	19,600	22,374	19,626	5,326	+1.2%	Selenge
14.	Sainshand	Сайншанд	11,100	10,300	18,290	25,210	14,110	+4.2%	Dornogovi
15.	Dalanzadgad	Даланзадгад	10,000	14,300	14,050	16,856	6,856	+2.3%	Ömnögovi
16.	Tsetserleg	Цэцэрлэг	14,700	20,300	18,519	16,300	1,600	+0.37%	Arkhangai
17.	Uliastai	Улиастай	15,400	20,300	18,154	16,240	840	+0.17%	Zavkhan
18.	Altai	Алтай	13,700	18,800	15,741	15,800	2,100	+0.5%	Govi-Altai
19.	Züünkharaa	Зүүнхараа	11,400	-	15,000^(2004)	-	3,600	+1.1%	Selenge
20.	Öndörkhaan	Өндөрхаан	11,100	14,400	18,003	14,800	3,700	+1.1%	Khentii
21.	Zuunmod	Зуунмод	9,800	15,800	14,837	14,568	4,768	+1.6%	Töv
22.	Baruun-Urt	Баруун-Урт	11,600	16,100	15,133	12,994	1,394	+0.4%	Sükhbaatar
23.	Zamyn-Üüd	Замын-Үүд	-	-	5,486	11,527	6,041	+13.8%	Dornogovi
24.	Bulgan	Булган	11,300	12,800	12,681	11,198	-102	-0.03%	Bulgan
25.	Mandalgovi	Мандалговь	10,200	16,100	14,517	10,299	99	+0.03%	Dundgovi
26.	Kharkhorin	Хархорин	-	-	8,977^(2003)	-	-	n/a%	Övörkhangai
27.	Bor-Öndör	Бор-Өндөр	-	-	6,406^(2001)	8,902	2,496	+3.5%	Khentii
28.	Choir	Чойр	4,500	-	8,983	7,998	3,498	+2.6%	Govisümber
29.	Sharyngol	Шарынгол	-	-	8,902	7,798	-1,104	-2.8%	Darkhan-Uul
	Mongolia	Монгол улс	1,538,980	1,987,274	2,365,269	2,635,000	1,096,600	+2.38%

^* - city proper, Nalaikh, Baganuur, Bagakhangai not included in this figure, they are separated in the table.

From List of cities in Mongolia

Base demographic indicators for Mongolia

Base Demographic Indicators for Mongolia
Demography indicator	units	U.S. Census Bureau International Data Base 1 July 2007[19]	United Nations World Population Prospects: The 2007 Revision 1 July 2007[20]	United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific(ESCAP) 1 July 2006[21]	National Statistical Office of Mongolia 31 December 2007[22]
Population	person	2,951,786	2,629,000	2,605,000	2,635,200
Age structure: 0–14 years:	% of total population	28.72	27	28	28.58
Age structure: 15–59 years:	% of total population	65.56	67	n.a.	65.36
Age structure: 60 years and over:	% of total population	5.72	6	n.a.	6.06
Population growth rate :	%	1.486	1.20	0.9	1.545
Birth rate:	births/1,000 population	21.07	18.5	19.7 ^(2000–2005)	21.7
Death rate:	deaths/1,000 population	6.21	6.6	6.9 ^(2000–2005)	6.2
Net migration rate:	migrant(s)/1,000 population	0	0	-4.0 ^(2000–2005)	n.a.
Sex ratio: at birth:	male(s)/female	1.0500	1.01	1.0424	1.0310
Sex ratio: under 15 years:	male(s)/female	1.0408	n.a.	1.0153	1.0193
Sex ratio: 15–59 years:	male(s)/female	1.0003	n.a.	0.9414	0.9379
Sex ratio: 60 years and over:	male(s)/female	0.8169	0.80	n.a.	0.7933
Sex ratio: total population:	male(s)/female	1.0002	0.9947	n.a.	0.9508
Potential support ratio:	persons aged 15 to 64 per persons aged 65 or older	17.47	17	n.a.	16.33
Infant mortality rate:	deaths/1,000 live births	42.65	40	39 ^(2005)	15.4
Mortality under age 5:	deaths/1,000	n.a.	55	49 ^(2005)	22
Life expectancy at birth total population:	years	66.99	68	65.1 ^(2000–2005)	66.54
Life expectancy at birth male:	years	64.61	64	61.9 ^(2000–2005)	63.13
Life expectancy at birth female:	years	69.48	70	68.4 ^(2000–2005)	70.23
Total fertility rate:	children born/woman	2.2517	1.9	2.1 ^(2000–2005)	2.3
Age specific fertility rate:	ages 15–19 (per 1,000)	22.5	45	49.7 ^(2000–2005)	18.7
Urban population:	% of total population	n.a.	57	56.8	60.75
Gross secondary school enrolment ratio males:	%	n.a.	84	n.a.	92.1
Gross secondary school enrolment ratio females:	%	n.a.	95	n.a.	95.6
Contraceptive prevalence rate all methods:	% of women aged 15 to 49 who are married or in union	n.a.	67.4	n.a.	n.a.
Contraceptive prevalence rate modern methods:	% of women aged 15 to 49 who are married or in union	n.a.	54.3	n.a.	n.a.
Persons with disabilities:	% of total population	n.a.	3.5	n.a.	n.a.
National poverty rate:	% of total population	n.a.	35.6	36.1 ^(2002)	32.2
Human development index:	% of total population	n.a.	0.691	n.a.	0.720
Population projected to 2025:	person	3,725,352	3,112,000	n.a.	n.a.
Population projected to 2050:	person	4,340,496	3,388,000	n.a.	n.a.

See also

• Ethnic groups in East Asia
• Buddhism in East Asia
• Mongolia Human Development Report 1997, UNDP Mongolia Communications Office, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia 1997

References

1. Date (2020-06-12). "Mongolia National Census 2020 Results" (PDF). National Statistical Office of Mongolia. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
2. "CIA World Factbook". CIA. 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
3. World Population Prospects: The 2019 Revision
4. "Population". Mongolian Statistical Information Service. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
5. "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations". Retrieved 2017-07-15.
6. http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2.htm
7. https://chojbalsan.ucoz.ru/publ/2-1-0-17
8. ""Chinese language fever" in Mongolia on the upswing". english.hanban.org. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
9. "Монгол улсын ястангуудын тоо, байршилд гарч буй өөрчлөлтуудийн асуудалд" М.Баянтөр, Г.Нямдаваа, З.Баярмаа pp.57-70
10. Mongolia National Census 2010 Provision Results. National Statistical Office of Mongolia Archived September 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine (in Mongolian.)
11. In the 1956 National Census Darkhad were counted with Uriankhai
12. National Census 2010 Preliminary results Archived September 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine (in Mongolian)
13. For the 2000-2006 and 2000-2005 periods, respectively. UNICEF - At a glance: Mongolia, accessed June 15th, 2006
14. City Population - Historical population figures
15. Statistisches Bundesamt: Statistik des Auslands - Mongolei, 1985
16. Encyclopedia "Cartactual," published 01/01/85
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