M O N G O L I A

Traditions• Tsagaan Sar (meaning White Month)

– symbolizes an abundance of milk and for Mongolians is the reason they have always revered white.

• Mongolians believe that success and luck for the coming year will be reflected in how people spend the Tsagaan Sar holiday.

• The date varies between late January and early March as Mongolia follows the 12 animal cycles of the lunar calendar with other Eastern and central Asian countries.

Religion

• Buddhists: 53% of Country

• People without Religion/other: 41.6% of country

• Muslim: 4% of country

• Christian: 0.7% of country (Not very much is there…)

Population and Major Cities• 2,632,387 people reside in

Mongolia• Ulaanbaatar, Darkan, Erdenet

are three major cities in Mongolia

• Ulaanbaatar consists of 812,000 people, being the Capital of Mongolia

• Darkan is the second largest city in the country consisting of 75,000 people

• Erdenet is the third largest city of Mongolia. It is like a mining town with little interest for visitors wishing to discover the cultural riches of Central Asia.

Physical features with Climate and Vegetation

• Location: Northern Asia, between China and Russia

• Climate: desert; continental, Large daily and seasonal temperature ranges

• Terrain: vast semi desert and desert plains, grassy steppe, mountains in west and southwest, Gobi Desert in south-central

• Natural hazards: dust storms; grassland and forest fires; drought; “Zud," which is harsh winter conditions

• The northern part of the country is covered by forest mountain ranges

• The southern part is covered by desert, desert meadows, and meadow areas with low mountains.

Could not find climate map on the interweb

Government and Current Issues• Government type: parliamentary• Legal System:

– Blend of Soviet and German systems that employ "continental" or "civil" code

• Current issues in Mongolia:– Issue 1: The converting of virgin land to agricultural production

increased soil erosion from wind and rain– Issue 2: Desertification and mining activities had a deleterious effect

on the environment

Environmental Issues• Environmental Issues:

– Limited natural fresh water resources in some areas– The policies of former Communist regimes promoted rapid

urbanization and industrial growth that had negative effects on the environment

– The burning of soft coal in power plants and the lack of enforcement of environmental laws severely polluted the air in Ulaanbaatar

– Deforestation, overgrazing

Educational Opportunity• School year attendance

– Males: 12 years– Females: 14 years (as of 2006)

• At this time approximately 8,056 Mongolian students are studying abroad thanks to the education fair held in Mongolia by The International Education Exhibition Mongolia 2009

Major Industries

• construction and construction materials• mining (coal, copper, molybdenum, fluorspar, tin, tungsten,

and gold); oil• food and beverages• processing of animal products, cashmere and natural fiber

manufacturing

Animals Located in Mongolia that we have in the zoo

• Brown bears, snow leopards, and wild boars

• Squirrels, elk, and sables

• Maral (Asiatic red deer)