Demographics of Mongolia

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

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

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.

Ethnicity and Languages

Nationality:
noun: Mongolian(s)
adjective: Mongolian

Ethnic Mongols account for about 95% of the population and consist of Kalkh 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 and the other Tuvan, Khoton, Chantuu, Tsaatan are Mongolized people with Turkic origin and speak in Mongolian. Smaller numbers of Russian, Chinese, Korean and American people working in Mongolia, since 1990.

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

Ethnic Composition in Mongolia, in 2010 National Census
Ethnic groups			percent
Mongols			94.95%
Khalkh			82.40%
Dörbet			2.75%
Bayid			2.15%
Buryat			1.71%
Zakhchin			1.25%
Other Mongols (Dariganga, Uriankhai, Darkhad, Torguud, Ööld, Khotogoid, etc..)			4.68%
Non-Mongols			5.06%
Kazakh			3.86%
Other Turkics (Khoton, Tuvan, Sartuul, Chantuu)			0.70%
Chinese, Russian, Korean and American			0.50%

Ethnic groups of Mongolia^[1]
national censuses data, 1956-2010

Ethnic groups	1956	1963	1969	1979	1989	2000	2007[2]	2010[3]
Khalkh	639,141	775,376	911,079	1,235,806	1,610,424	1,934,674	2,134,493	2,168,141
Kazakh	36,729	47,735	62,812	84,305	120,506	102,983	140,152	101,526
Dörbet	25,667	31,339	34,725	45,053	55,208	66,706	70,252	72,403
Bayid	15,874	19,891	25,479	31,053	39,233	50,824	53,246	56,573
Buryat	24,625	28,523	29,772	29,802	35,444	40,620	44,211	45,087
Zakhchin	15,772	14,399	15,662	18,957	23,478	25,183	31,196	32,845
Dariganga	16,852	18,587	20,603	24,564	29,040	31,909	34,680	27,412
Uriankhai	10,833[4]	13,140	15,057	19,475	22,998	29,766	24,111	26,654
Darkhad	...	8,826	10,174	10,716	14,757	19,019	20,060	21,558
Khotogoid	...	...	...	...	...	7,237	...	15,460
Torguud	4,729	6,028	7,119	8,617	10,050	12,628	12,950	14,176
Khoton	2,603	2,874	4,056	4,380	6,076	9,014	6,904	11,304
Myangad	2,518	2,712	3,222	4,173	4,760	6,028	8,222	6,592
Tuvan	...	...	...	...	...	4,778	...	5,169
Barga	2,458	2,343	2,305	1,999	2,130	2,506	2,392	2,989
Üzemchin	2,046	2,070	2,127	2,030	2,086	2,386	1,995	2,577
Eljigin	...	...	...	...	...	151	...	1,340
Sartuul	...	...	...	...	...	1,540	...	1,286
Hamnigan	...	...	...	...	...	565	...	537
Tsaatan	...	...	...	...	...	303	...	282
Chantuu (Uzbeks)	...	...	...	...	...	380	...	260
Kharchin	...	...	...	...	...	266	...	152
Chahar	...	...	...	...	...	123	...	132
Russian nationals	13,444	8,905	1,433	196	140	2,020	1,345	2,474
Chinese nationals	16,157	21,981	725	344	247	3,374	249	8,688
Korean nationals	...	...	...	...	...	338	...	1,522
American nationals	...	...	...	...	...	303	...	656
Others	11,125	6,819	35,045	8,653	1,509	...	1,140	...
Mongolia	845,481	1,017,162	1,188,271	1,538,980	1,987,274	2,365,269	2,601,789	2,754,685

About 4.5 million Mongols live outside Mongolia; about 4 million live in China, mainly in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and some 500,000 live in Russia, primarily in Buryatia and Kalmykia.

Literacy:^[5]
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8%
male: 98%
female: 97.5%

After a decline in enrollment ratios during the transition to a market economy in the 1990, school attendance is now once more near-universal: primary school attendance rate is estimated at 97%, and adult literacy at 98%^[6].

Religions

A young Mongolian boy

Various forms of Tengriism and Shamanism have been widely practiced throughout the history of what is now modern day 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 enjoyed a resurgence.

Religions in Mongolia
(population aged 15 and above)^[7]

Religion	Population	Share %
Buddhism	1,009,357	53.0
Islam	57,702	3.0
Shamanism	55,174	2.9
Christianity	41,117	2.1
Other religions	6,933	0.4
Atheism	735,283	38.6
TOTAL	1,905,566	100.0

Mongolian Urbanisation

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%.

List of Mongolian Cities 

Rank	Name	Mongolian	Inhabitants (1979 est.[8][9][10])	Inhabitants (1989 est.[8][11])	Inhabitants (2000 census[8][12])	Inhabitants (est. 2008[8])	Change since 1979	Growth Percentage/Year	Administrative Unit
1.	Ulan Bator *	Улаанбаатар	396,300	540,600	711,900	1,008,738	612,438	+5.2%	Ulan Bator
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%	Ulan Bator
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%	Ulan Bator
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%	Darkhan-Uul

^* - 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[13]	United Nations World Population Prospects: The 2007 Revision 1 July 2007 [14]	United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific(ESCAP) 1 July 2006 [15]	National Statistical Office of Mongolia 31 December 2007[16]
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.

References

1. ^ "Монгол улсын ястангуудын тоо, байршилд гарч буй өөрчлөлтyyдийн асуудалд" М.Баянтөр, Г.Нямдаваа, З.Баярмаа pp.57-70
2. ^ State Center for Civil Registration and Information
3. ^ Mongolia National Census 2010 Provision Results. National Statistical Office of Mongolia (in Mongolian.)
4. ^ In the 1956 National Census Darkhad were counted with Uriankhai
5. ^ CIA World Factbook, accessed Dec. 9th, 2008
6. ^ For the 2000-2006 and 2000-2005 periods, respectively. UNICEF - At a glance: Mongolia, accessed June 15th, 2006
7. ^ National Census 2010 Preliminary results (in Mongolian])
8. ^ ^{a b c d} City Population - Historical population figures
9. ^ Statistisches Bundesamt: Statistik des Auslands - Mongolei, 1985
10. ^ Encyclopedia "Cartactual," published 01/01/85
11. ^ http://www.nso.mn/eng/index.php National Statistical Office of Mongolia (accessed May, 2 2007)
12. ^ (2000) PADCO: Mongolia Urban Development and Housing Sector Strategy, Final Report, Vol. 2, published 2005.
13. ^ U.S. Census Bureau International Data Base - Mongolia Country Summary
14. ^ United Nations World Population Prospects: The 2007 Revision
15. ^ United Nations ESCAP 2007 Statistical Yearbook
16. ^ Statistical Yearbook of Mongolia 2007, National Statistical Office, Ulaanbaatar, 2008