POPULATION 2,694,432
TIBETAN BUDDHIST 96 percent
OTHER (BAHAI, CHRISTIAN, JEHOVAH'S WITNESS, MUSLIM, SHAMANIST) 4 percent

Country Overview

Introduction

Mongolia is a landlocked country on the Mongolian Plateau in Inner Asia. It is sandwiched between Russia to the north and China to the south. The Gobi Desert covers much of southern Mongolia, and the Siberian taiga (coniferous forest) extends across the mountainous north. Dzuds, natural disasters caused by a lack of rain in summer or heavy snowfall in winter, are a constant threat to the livelihood of most Mongols, who are nomadic herders.

For centuries the Mongolian steppes were home to nomadic tribes that later migrated to the West: Scyts, Sarmats, Alans, Xiongnu, and Avars. Turkic tribes began building empires in Mongolia in the sixth century C.E. By the twelfth century both Turkic and Mongolian nomadic tribes inhabited the Mongolian Plateau. Thanks to the energetic efforts of the progenitors of...