Laos (2001) | Mongolia (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 16 provinces (khoueng, singular and plural), 1 municipality* (kampheng nakhon, singular and plural), and 1 special zone** (khetphiset, singular and plural); Attapu, Bokeo, Bolikhamxai, Champasak, Houaphan, Khammouan, Louangnamtha, Louangphabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Salavan, Savannakhet, Viangchan*, Viangchan, Xaignabouli, Xaisomboun**, Xekong, Xiangkhoang | 21 provinces (aymguud, singular - aymag) and 1 municipality* (singular - hot); Arhangay, Bayanhongor, Bayan-Olgiy, Bulgan, Darhan Uul, Dornod, Dornogovi, Dundgovi, Dzavhan, Govi-Altay, Govi-Sumber, Hentiy, Hovd, Hovsgol, Omnogovi, Orhon, Ovorhangay, Selenge, Suhbaatar, Tov, Ulaanbaatar*, Uvs |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
42.75% (male 1,212,577; female 1,196,795) 15-64 years: 53.94% (male 1,494,927; female 1,544,851) 65 years and over: 3.31% (male 85,632; female 101,185) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 28.7% (male 407,547/female 392,440)
15-64 years: 67.7% (male 943,418/female 945,063) 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 44,413/female 58,391) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry | wheat, barley, vegetables, forage crops, sheep, goats, cattle, camels, horses |
Airports | 51 (2000 est.) | 46 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 15
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
43 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 25 (2000 est.) |
total: 31
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
236,800 sq km land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total: 1,564,116 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Utah | slightly smaller than Alaska |
Background | In 1975 the communist Pathet Lao took control of the government, ending a six-century-old monarchy. Initial closer ties to Vietnam and socialization were replaced with a gradual return to private enterprise, an easing of foreign investment laws, and the admission into ASEAN in 1997. | The Mongols gained fame in the 13th century when under Chinggis KHAN they conquered a huge Eurasian empire. After his death the empire was divided into several powerful Mongol states, but these broke apart in the 14th century. The Mongols eventually retired to their original steppe homelands and later came under Chinese rule. Mongolia won its independence in 1921 with Soviet backing. A Communist regime was installed in 1924. During the early 1990s, the ex-Communist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) gradually yielded its monopoly on power to the Democratic Union Coalition (DUC), which defeated the MPRP in a national election in 1996. Since then, parliamentary elections returned the MPRP overwhelmingly to power in 2000 and produced a coalition government in 2004. |
Birth rate | 37.84 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 21.52 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$211 million expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.) |
revenues: $582 million
expenditures: $602 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Vientiane | Ulaanbaatar |
Climate | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) | desert; continental (large daily and seasonal temperature ranges) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | promulgated 14 August 1991 | 12 February 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Lao People's Democratic Republic conventional short form: Laos local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao local short form: none |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Mongolia local long form: none local short form: Mongol Uls former: Outer Mongolia |
Currency | kip (LAK) | - |
Death rate | 13.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.03 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.46 billion (1998 est.) | $1.191 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affairs Karen Brevard STEWART embassy: 19 Rue Bartholonie, B. P. 114, Vientiane mailing address: American Embassy, Box V, APO AP 96546 telephone: [856] (21) 212581, 212582, 212585 FAX: [856] (21) 212584 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Pamela J. SLUTZ
embassy: Micro Region 11, Big Ring Road, C.P.O. 1021, Ulaanbaatar 13 mailing address: PSC 461, Box 300, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [976] (11) 329095 FAX: [976] (11) 320776 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador VANG Rattanavong chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416 FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Ravdangiyn BOLD
chancery: 2833 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 333-7117 FAX: [1] (202) 298-9227 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | parts of the border with Thailand are indefinite | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $345 million (1999 est.) | $215 million (2003) |
Economy - overview | The government of Laos - one of the few remaining official communist states - began decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise in 1986. The results, starting from an extremely low base, were striking - growth averaged 7% during 1988-97. Reform efforts subsequently slowed, and GDP growth dropped an average of 3 percentage points. Because Laos depends heavily on its trade with Thailand, it was damaged by the regional financial crisis beginning in 1997. Government mismanagement deepened the crisis, and from June 1997 to June 1999 the Lao kip lost 87% of its value. Laos' foreign exchange problems peaked in September 1999 when the kip fell from 3,500 kip to the dollar to 9,000 kip to the dollar in a matter of weeks. Now that the currency has stabilized, however, the government seems content to let the current situation persist, despite limited government revenue and foreign exchange reserves. A landlocked country with a primitive infrastructure, Laos has no railroads, a rudimentary road system, and limited external and internal telecommunications. Electricity is available in only a few urban areas. Subsistence agriculture accounts for half of GDP and provides 80% of total employment. For the foreseeable future the economy will continue to depend on aid from the IMF and other international sources; Japan is currently the largest bilateral aid donor; aid from the former USSR/Eastern Europe has been cut sharply. | Economic activity in Mongolia has traditionally been based on herding and agriculture. Mongolia has extensive mineral deposits; copper, coal, molybdenum, tin, tungsten and gold account for a large part of industrial production. Soviet assistance, at its height one-third of GDP, disappeared almost overnight in 1990 and 1991 at the time of the dismantlement of the USSR. The following decade saw Mongolia endure both deep recession due to political inaction and natural disasters, as well as economic growth due to reform embracing free-market economics and extensive privatization of the formerly state-run economy. Severe winters and summer droughts in 2000, 2001, and 2002 resulted in massive livestock die-off and zero or negative GDP growth. This was compounded by falling prices for Mongolia's primary sector exports and widespread opposition to privatization. Growth improved from 2002 at 4% to 2003 at 5%, due largely to high copper prices and new gold production, with the government claiming a 10.6% growth rate for 2004 that is unconfirmed. Mongolia's economy continues to be heavily impacted by its neighbors. For example, Mongolia purchases 80% of its petroleum products and a substantial amount of electric power from Russia, leaving it vulnerable to price increases. China is Mongolia's chief export partner and a main source of the "shadow" or "grey" economy. The World Bank and other international financial institutions estimate the grey economy to be at least equal to that of the official economy. The actual size of this grey - largely cash - economy is difficult to calculate since the money does not pass through the hands of tax authorities or the banking sector. Remittances from Mongolians working abroad both legally and illegally constitute a sizeable portion. Money laundering is growing as an accompanying concern. Mongolia settled its $11 billion debt with Russia at the end of 2003 on very favorable terms. Mongolia, which joined the World Trade Organization in 1997, seeks to expand its participation and integration into Asian regional economic and trade regimes. |
Electricity - consumption | 173.6 million kWh (1999) | 2.209 billion kWh (2004 est.) |
Electricity - exports | 705 million kWh (1999) | 8.2 million kWh (2004 est.) |
Electricity - imports | 142 million kWh (1999) | 130.5 million kWh (2004 est.) |
Electricity - production | 792 million kWh (1999) | 2.692 billion kWh (2004 est.) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
2.78% hydro: 97.22% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Mekong River 70 m highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m |
lowest point: Hoh Nuur 518 m
highest point: Nayramadlin Orgil (Huyten Orgil) 4,374 m |
Environment - current issues | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water | 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, and the converting of virgin land to agricultural production increased soil erosion from wind and rain; desertification and mining activities had a deleterious effect on the environment |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong ("Meo") and the Yao (Mien) 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1% | Mongol (mostly Khalkha) 94.9%, Turkic (mostly Kazakh) 5%, other (including Chinese and Russian) 0.1% (2000) |
Exchange rates | kips per US dollar - 7,578.00 (December 2000), 7,102.03 (1999), 3,298.33 (1998), 1,259.98 (1997), 921.02 (1996) | togrogs/tugriks per US dollar - 1,185.3 (2004), 1,146.5 (2003), 1,110.3 (2002), 1,097.7 (2001), 1,076.7 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Gen. KHAMTAI Siphandon (since 26 February 1998) and Vice President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI Saignason (since NA March 2001) head of government: Prime Minister BOUNGNANG Volachit (since NA March 2001); Deputy Prime Ministers THONGLOUN Sisolit (since NA March 2001), SOMSAVAT Lengsavat (since 26 February 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president, approved by the National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 21 December 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); prime minister appointed by the president with the approval of the National Assembly for a five-year term election results: KHAMTAI Siphandon elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - NA% |
chief of state: President Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR (since 24 June 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Tsakhi ELBEGDORJ (since 20 August 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Chultem ULAAN (since 28 September 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the State Great Hural (parliament) in consultation with the president elections: presidential candidates nominated by political parties represented in State Great Hural and elected by popular vote for a four-year term; presidential tenure limited to two four-year terms; election last held 22 May 2005 (next to be held in May 2009); following legislative elections, leader of majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by State Great Hural election results: Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR elected president; percent of vote - Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR (MPRP) 53.44%, Mendsaikhanin ENKHSAIKHAN (DP) 20.05%, Bazarsadyn JARGALSAIKHAN (MRP) 13.92%, Badarchyn ERDENEBAT (M-MNSDP) 12.59%; Tsakhi ELBEGDORJ elected prime minister by the State Great Hural 74 to 0 |
Exports | $323 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 497 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Exports - commodities | wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin | copper, apparel, livestock, animal products, cashmere, wool, hides, fluorspar, other nonferrous metals |
Exports - partners | Vietnam, Thailand, Germany, France, Belgium | China 47.8%, US 17.9%, UK 15.7% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band | three equal, vertical bands of red (hoist side), blue, and red; centered on the hoist-side red band in yellow is the national emblem ("soyombo" - a columnar arrangement of abstract and geometric representation for fire, sun, moon, earth, water, and the yin-yang symbol) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $9 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
51% industry: 22% services: 27% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 20.6%
industry: 21.4% services: 58% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | 10.6% according to official estimate (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 00 N, 105 00 E | 46 00 N, 105 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked | landlocked; strategic location between China and Russia |
Heliports | - | 2 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total:
14,000 km paved: 3,360 km unpaved: 10,640 km (1991) |
total: 49,256 km
paved: 8,874 km unpaved: 40,376 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
4.2% highest 10%: 26.4% (1992) |
lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 37% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | world's third-largest illicit opium producer (estimated cultivation in 1999 - 21,800 hectares, a 16% decrease over 1998; estimated potential production in 1999 - 140 metric tons, about the same as in 1998); potential heroin producer; transshipment point for heroin and methamphetamine produced in Burma; illicit producer of cannabis | - |
Imports | $540 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 11,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel | machinery and equipment, fuel, cars, food products, industrial consumer goods, chemicals, building materials, sugar, tea |
Imports - partners | Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, China, Singapore, Hong Kong | Russia 33.3%, China 23.6%, Japan 7.4%, South Korea 6%, US 4.6% (2004) |
Independence | 19 July 1949 (from France) | 11 July 1921 (from China) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.5% (1999 est.) | 4.1% (2002 est.) |
Industries | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism | construction and construction materials; mining (coal, copper, molybdenum, fluorspar, and gold); oil; food and beverages; processing of animal products, cashmere and natural fiber manufacturing |
Infant mortality rate | 92.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 53.79 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 57.25 deaths/1,000 live births female: 50.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 33% (2000 est.) | 11% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | ARF, AsDB, CP, EBRD, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OPCW, OSCE (partner), SCO (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 1,250 sq km (1993 est.)
note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.) |
840 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | People's Supreme Court (the president of the People's Supreme Court is elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the National Assembly Standing Committee; the vice president of the People's Supreme Court and the judges are appointed by the National Assembly Standing Committee) | Supreme Court (serves as appeals court for people's and provincial courts but rarely overturns verdicts of lower courts; judges are nominated by the General Council of Courts and approved by the president) |
Labor force | 1 million - 1.5 million | 1.488 million (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80% (1997 est.) | herding/agriculture 42%, mining 4%, manufacturing 6%, trade 14%, services 29%, public sector 5%, other 3.7% (2003) |
Land boundaries | total:
5,083 km border countries: Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China 423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km |
total: 8,220 km
border countries: China 4,677 km, Russia 3,543 km |
Land use | arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 54% other: 40% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0.77%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.23% (2001) |
Languages | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages | Khalkha Mongol 90%, Turkic, Russian (1999) |
Legal system | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and Socialist practice | blend of Soviet, German, and US systems that combine "continental" or "civil" code and case-precedent; constitution ambiguous on judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (99 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - by presidential decree, on 27 October 1997, the number of seats increased from 85 to 99)
elections: last held 21 December 1997 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LPRP or LPRP-approved (independent, non-party members) 99 |
unicameral State Great Hural 76 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms
elections: last held 27 June 2004 (next to be held in June 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - MPRP 48.78%, MDC 44.8%, independents 3.5%, Republican Party 1.5%, others 1.42%; seats by party - MPRP 36, MDC 34, others 4; note - following June 2004 election, two seats in dispute and unoccupied |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
53.48 years male: 51.58 years female: 55.44 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 64.52 years
male: 62.3 years female: 66.86 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 57% male: 70% female: 44% (1999 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8% male: 98% female: 97.5% (2002) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam | Northern Asia, between China and Russia |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,370 GRT/3,000 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 65 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 339,423 GRT/533,853 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 54, liquefied gas 2, passenger/cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 38 (China 2, Lebanon 1, Philippines 1, Russia 10, Singapore 10, South Korea 1, Syria 1, Thailand 1, Ukraine 1, UAE 4, Vietnam 6) (2005) |
Military branches | Lao People's Army (LPA; includes riverine element), Air Force, National Police Department | Mongolian Armed Forces: Mongolian People's Army (MPA), Mongolian People's Air Force (MPAF) (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $55 million (FY98) | $23.1 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.2% (FY96/97) | 2.2% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,319,537 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
710,627 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
64,437 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Republic Day, 2 December (1975) | Independence Day/Revolution Day, 11 July (1921) |
Nationality | noun:
Lao(s) or Laotian(s) adjective: Lao or Laotian |
noun: Mongolian(s)
adjective: Mongolian |
Natural hazards | floods, droughts, and blight | dust storms, grassland and forest fires, drought, and "zud," which is harsh winter conditions |
Natural resources | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones | oil, coal, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, phosphates, tin, nickel, zinc, fluorspar, gold, silver, iron |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products 136 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president]; other parties proscribed | Citizens' Will Republican Party or CWRP (also called Civil Courage Republican Party or CCRP) [Sanjaasurengiin OYUN]; Democratic Party or DP [R. GONCHIKDORJ]; Motherland-Mongolian New Socialist Democratic Party or M-MNSDP [Badarchyn ERDENEBAT]; Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party or MPRP [Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR]; Mongolian Republican Party or MRP [Bazarsadyn JARGALSAIKHAN]
note: DP and M-MNSDP formed Motherland-Democracy Coalition (MDC) in 2003 and with CWRP contested June 2004 elections as single party; MDC's leadership dissolved coalition in December 2004 |
Political pressure groups and leaders | noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 | NA |
Population | 5,635,967 (July 2001 est.) | 2,791,272 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 46.1% (1993 est.) | 36.1% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.48% (2001 est.) | 1.45% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 7, FM 62, shortwave 3 (2004) |
Radios | 730,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 1,810 km
broad gauge: 1,810 km 1.524-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% | Buddhist Lamaist 50%, none 40%, Shamanist and Christian 6%, Muslim 4% (2004) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
service to general public is poor but improving, with over 20,000 telephones currently in service and an additional 48,000 expected by 2001; the government relies on a radiotelephone network to communicate with remote areas domestic: radiotelephone communications international: satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) |
general assessment: network is improving with international direct dialing available in many areas
domestic: very low density of about 6.5 telephones for each thousand persons; two wireless providers cover all but two provinces international: country code - 976; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean Region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (1997) | 142,300 (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,915 (1997) | 404,400 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (1999) | 52 (plus 21 provincial repeaters and many low power repeaters) (2004) |
Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus | vast semidesert and desert plains, grassy steppe, mountains in west and southwest; Gobi Desert in south-central |
Total fertility rate | 5.12 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.26 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.7% (1997 est.) | 6.7% (2003) |
Waterways | 4,587 km approximately
note: primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m |
580 km
note: only waterway in operation is Lake Khovsgol (135 km); Selenge River (270 km) and Orkhon River (175 km) are navigable but carry little traffic; lakes and rivers freeze in winter, are open from May to September (2004) |