38 Facts About Mongolia

Mongolia, which borders China and Russia, is known for its vast, rugged landscapes and nomadic culture.

Its capital, Ulaanbaatar, is centred on Chinggis Khaan (Genghis Khan) Square, named after the notorious founder of the Mongol Empire in the 13th and 14th centuries.

The National Museum of Mongolia, which displays historic and ethnographic artefacts, and the restored 1830 Gandantegchinlen Monastery are also located in Ulaanbaatar.

The Ulaanbaatar Hotel was Mongolia's first hotel. This first opened in 1961. It was also the first public building to have running hot and cold water.

Mongolia has the world's lowest population density.

Mongolia's capital, Ulaanbaatar, is officially the world's coldest capital.

Ulaanbaatar means "red hero" in Mongolian.

Mongolia is the world's 18th largest country.

'Mongol' means brave in Mongolian.

The majority of Mongolians traditionally live in Gers (meaning home). Many Mongolians who live in cities still own or have access to gers, which they use as summer homes during the months of June, July, and August.

Naadam Festival is one of the most important holidays of the year. This is also the most important sporting event.

New Year is Mongolia's second most popular holiday.

The world's oldest national park is located in Mongolia.

The Gobi desert is Asia's biggest desert. It is unlike anything else in the world.

The Gobi Desert is also known for being the world's largest dinosaur fossil reserve.

Mongolia is known as "the land of the blue sky" because it has over 260 days of clear, blue sky.

Mongolia is home to the endangered 2-hump Bactrian camel.

There is a camel festival to honour and protect these famous camels. This camel festival was founded in 1997.

The snow leopard is also indigenous to Mongolia.

Mongolia is home to one-third of the world's snow leopard population.

The Mongolian people have a strong guest culture. They frequently greet their guests with a bowl of 'airag'. This is horse milk that has been fermented. Refusing a cup of this is considered impolite.

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital city, is home to nearly half of the country's population.

Mongolians enjoy eating ice cream even in the winter. During the winter, this is sold in paper boxes. In such cold weather, there's no need for a refrigerator...!

According to legend, Mongolian horsemen invented ice cream. They would travel long distances with animal intestines. The combination of being frozen and jolted around on the horse resulted in an ice cream-like substance. This made its way to China, Marco Polo, and finally Italy!

About 25-40% of Mongolians still follow nomadic lifestyles.

Mongolia as a country is "outer Mongolia". Inner Mongolia remains an autonomous region of China.

Mongolia is the second-largest landlocked country in the world.

Mongolia holds the Guinness World Record for the world's largest wrestling competition. This was for the 2011 Mongolian National Wrestling Match.

Mongolia has 13 times the number of horses as humans.

In Mongolia, sheep outnumber humans 35 to 1.

Mongolia joined the United Nations in 1961.

Many countries (including the United States) did not recognise Mongolia as a country until 1987. 

Despite the fact that Genghis Khan was illiterate, he introduced the first writing system to Mongolia in the early 13th century. He adapted this script from a Uyghur script. This script is written from left to right vertically.

In the 1930s, Mongolia adopted the Latin alphabet. In 1941, it was replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet, which added two letters (ö and ü sounds) not found in Russian.

Mongolian native horses are the world's last truly wild horses. They have one or two more chromosomes than the average horse.

A "Honoured Mother" is a mother who has five or more children in Mongolia.

Mongolian throat singers use the technique to sing through their throat and nose at the same time, producing two distinct sounds. This is popular while horseback riding.

Music is an important part of Mongolian culture, and it is used to express feelings about nature, the land, horses, and loved ones.