World Factbook
Mongolia
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
male
98.3% (2023 est.)
female
98.9% (2023 est.)
total population
98.6% (2023 est.)
Languages
Languages
Mongolian 90% (official, Khalkha dialect is predominant), Turkic, Russian (1999)
major-language sample(s)
Дэлхийн баримтат ном, үндсэн мэдээллийн зайлшгүй эх сурвалж. (Mongolian) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
Buddhist 51.8%, no religion 40.6%, Muslim 3.2%, Shaman 2.5%, Christian 1.3%, Other 0.6% (2020 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.94 male(s)/female
total population
0.95 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.67 male(s)/female
Birth rate
18.01 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
5.35 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
30.1 years
total
28.8 years (2025 est.)
female
32.8 years
Population
male
1,595,596
total
3,281,676 (2024 est.)
female
1,686,080
Nationality
noun
Mongolian(s)
adjective
Mongolian
Tobacco use
male
51.9% (2025 est.)
total
28.9% (2025 est.)
female
7.2% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
69.1% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
1.4% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
25.7% (male 429,867/female 412,943)
15-64 years
68.4% (male 1,087,487/female 1,156,547)
65 years and over
5.9% (2024 est.) (male 78,242/female 116,590)
Ethnic groups
Khalkh 83.8%, Kazak 3.8%, Durvud 2.6%, Bayad 2%, Buriad 1.4%, Zakhchin 1.2%, Dariganga 1.1%, other 4.1% (2020 est.)
Child marriage
men married by age 18
2.1% (2018)
women married by age 15
0.9% (2018)
women married by age 18
12% (2018)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
59.1 (2024 est.)
youth dependency ratio
50.2 (2024 est.)
potential support ratio
11.2 (2024 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
8.9 (2024 est.)
Physician density
4.13 physicians/1,000 population (2022)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
6.9% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
9.2% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-1.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
10.6 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate
2.6 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 59.7% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 83.5% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 94.2% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 40.3% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 16.5% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 5.8% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
3.7% of GDP (2023 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
13.8% national budget (2024 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
22.4 deaths/1,000 live births
total
8.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
16.2 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
1.08% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.27 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
population sparsely distributed throughout the country; the capital of Ulaanbaatar and the northern city of Darhan support the highest population densities
Life expectancy at birth
male
67.8 years
female
76.3 years
total population
71.9 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
41 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 78.7% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 91.9% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 97.8% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 21.3% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 8.1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 2.2% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
2.18 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
1.46 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
5.46 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
1.82 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
1.673 million ULAANBAATAR (capital) (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
20.6% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth
20.5 years (2008 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 20-24
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
60.2% (2020 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
1.9% (2023 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
13 years (2023 est.)
total
14 years (2023 est.)
female
14 years (2023 est.)