10 FACTS ABOUT MONGOLIA: By the numbers

Mongolia, the land of eternal blue sky and the Great Genghis Khan (also known as Chingis Khan) has attracted the interest of people all over the world to travel to Mongolia because of its remoteness, various types of landscapes, and nomadic lifestyle. Mongolian nomads are known as one of the last nomadic people on the earth. Let us introduce 10 facts about Mongolia in an interesting style in numbers 1 to 10.

1: Lake Khovsgol in Northern Mongolia contains about 1 percent of the world freshwater and 70 percent of Mongolia’s fresh water. The lake is called “The Blue Pearl” by Mongolia. With an area of 1,012 square miles (2,620 square km), it is Mongolia’s largest freshwater lake in Mongolia, with depths exceeding 800 feet (244 m). Lake Khovsgol is one of the top destinations to travel on Mongolia for both domestic and international tourists.

2: Number of neighboring countries of Mongolia, including the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation. Mongolia is the second-largest landlocked country in the world after Kazakhstan.

3: Number of games Mongolians compete in Naadam Festival or also known as “Games of Three Men”. Those games are wrestling, horse racing, and archery, which have had an important place in Mongolian culture since the foundation of the Mongol Empire. The strength of the Mongol Empire army was tested and strengthened through these three sports.

4: Presidential and Parliamentary elections are held every 4 years, but they are held separately. Mongolia is a democratic country with a parliamentary system.

5: Mongolian people herd 5 kinds of livestock, including horse, camel, sheep, goat, and cow (yak is considered as a cow). The number of livestock has reached 71,000,000 million, which is about 22 times as big as the population of Mongolia.

6: Gobi Desert is the 6th largest desert in the world. It also holds the record of being the coldest desert in the world. Gobi Desert is one of the top reasons to visit Mongolia because it is consists of beautiful Sand dunes, mysterious canyons, and spectacular mountains. It is also known as a home of the largest dinosaur fossils in the world due to the findings of a large number of dinosaur fossils.

7: Mongolia is the 7th largest country in Asia and the 19th  largest in the world by area and the third most sparsely populated. The landscape is largely steppe, desert, and semidesert, and 75% of the land is used for livestock grazing.

8: The most of Mongolia sits on the timezone of GMT +8 hour. Only the western 3 provinces (out of 21) have a one-hour prior timezone, which is GMT+7 hour. Be sure to remember this fact if you plan to travel to Western Mongolia.

9: Nine white banners, which are used as a symbol of the eternal prosperity of the Mongolian state and the people since the foundation of the Mongol Empire, are kept and protected in the Government Palace of Mongolia and only taken out during Naadam Festival and carried as a marker of the beginning of Naadam. Once banners are planted in the main area, the Naadam Festival is allowed to begin.

10: Mongolia became the 10th country to send its citizen to outer space when Gürragchaa Jügderdemid, who was awarded as the hero of both Mongolia and Russia, flew to outer space with Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Dzhanibekov on Soyuz 39 on 22 March 1981. While in orbit, astronauts carried out experiments on earth science. After 124 orbits and 7 days, 20 hours, and 42 minutes in space, they came back to earth.

/Left Photo: 1981  &  Right Photo: 2019/

Hope you enjoyed these facts about Mongolia. A wonderful opportunity to experience the beautiful landscape and unique culture of Mongolia awaits you.

“It is better to see something once than to hear about it a thousand times.”