Mongolian demographics

Demographic developments in Mongolia.

Over the years, Mongolia's population has become increasingly urban. Approximately 68.5% of the population lives in urban areas; half of Mongolians now live in the capital Ulaanbaatar, and in other provincial capitals. The semi-nomadic way of life still predominates in rural areas, although agricultural settlements are becoming more common. The birth rate is estimated at 1.4% (2000). Approximately two thirds of the population are under 30 years of age; 36% of those two-thirds are under 14. Mongolia's population density, 1.73 inhab/km², is one of the lowest in the world.

Ethnically, Mongols make up about 85% of the population and are divided into groups such as the Khalkha and others. They all have the Mongolian language in common. Mongolian belongs to the Mongolian language family, a family that has common features with the Turkic languages (Uzbek, Turkish, Kazakh) and also with Korean and Japanese.

Khalkha Mongols are about 90% ethnic Mongols. The remaining 10% includes the Durbet and other Mongols in the north, and the Dariganga Mongols in the east. 7% of Mongolians are Turkish-speaking, and the rest are Tungusic-speaking, Chinese, and Russian. Most of the Russians who lived in Mongolia left the country after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and only a handful remain, virtually all of whom live in the capital. Traditionally, Tibetan Buddhism was the predominant religion.

Some four million Mongolians live outside of Mongolia; approximately 3.4 million of them live in China, in the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia, and another 500,000 live in Russia, mainly in Buryatia and Kalmykia.