World Factbook
Mongolia
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Area
land
1,553,556 sq km
water
10,560 sq km
total
1,564,116 sq km
Climate
desert; continental (large daily and seasonal temperature ranges)
Terrain
vast semidesert and desert plains, grassy steppe, mountains in west and southwest; Gobi Desert in south-central
Land use
other
21.9% (2023 est.)
forest
9.1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
69% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 0.7% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 0% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 68.2% (2023 est.)
Location
Northern Asia, between China and Russia
Coastline
0 km (landlocked)
Elevation
lowest point
Hoh Nuur 560 m
highest point
Nayramadlin Orgil (Khuiten Peak) 4,374 m
mean elevation
1,528 m
Irrigated land
796 sq km (2022)
Map references
Asia
Land boundaries
total
8,082 km
border countries
China 4,630 km; Russia 3,452 km
Maritime claims
none (landlocked)
Natural hazards
dust storms; grassland and forest fires; drought; "zud," which is harsh winter conditions
Geography - note
landlocked; strategic location between China and Russia
Natural resources
oil, coal, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, phosphates, tin, nickel, zinc, fluorspar, gold, silver, iron
Area - comparative
slightly smaller than Alaska; more than twice the size of Texas
Geographic coordinates
46 00 N, 105 00 E
Population distribution
population sparsely distributed throughout the country; the capital of Ulaanbaatar and the northern city of Darhan support the highest population densities
Major lakes (area sq km)
salt water lake(s)
Uvs Nuur - 3,350 sq km; Hyargas Nuur - 1,360 sq km
fresh water lake(s)
Hovsgol Nuur - 2,620 sq km; Har Us Nuur - 1,760 sq km;
Major rivers (by length in km)
Amur (shared with China [s] and Russia [m]) - 4,444 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth