Mongolia (2001) | Reunion (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 18 provinces (aymguud, singular - aymag) and 3 municipalities* (hotuud, singular - hot); Arhangay, Bayanhongor, Bayan-Olgiy, Bulgan, Darhan*, Dornod, Dornogovi, Dundgovi, Dzavhan, Erdenet*, Govi-Altay, Hentiy, Hovd, Hovsgol, Omnogovi, Ovorhangay, Selenge, Suhbaatar, Tov, Ulaanbaatar*, Uvs
note: there may be a new province named Gobi-Sumber; further, there may now be 21 provinces and 1 capital city instead of 18 provinces and 3 municipalities |
none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
32.99% (male 445,252; female 430,758) 15-64 years: 63.13% (male 837,771; female 838,384) 65 years and over: 3.88% (male 44,436; female 58,398) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 31.3% (male 121,119; female 115,501)
15-64 years: 62.8% (male 233,607; female 240,502) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 18,036; female 26,406) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, potatoes, forage crops; sheep, goats, cattle, camels, horses | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn |
Airports | 34 (2000 est.) | 2 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
26 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
- |
Area | total:
1.565 million sq km land: 1.565 million sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Alaska | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
Background | Long a province of China, 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. In 1996, the Democratic Union Coalition (DUC) defeated the MPRP in a national election. Over the next four years the Coalition implemented a number of key reforms to modernize the economy and institutionalize democratic reforms. However, the former communists were a strong opposition that stalled additional reforms and made implementation difficult. In 2000, the MPRP won 72 of the 76 seats in Parliament and completely reshuffled the government. While it continues many of the reform policies, the MPRP is focusing on social welfare and public order priorities. | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. |
Birth rate | 21.8 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 20.17 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$262 million expenditures: $328 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $1.26 billion
expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
Capital | Ulaanbaatar | Saint-Denis |
Climate | desert; continental (large daily and seasonal temperature ranges) | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 207 km |
Constitution | 12 February 1992 | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Mongolia local long form: none local short form: Mongol Uls former: Outer Mongolia |
conventional long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
Currency | togrog/tugrik (MNT) | euro (EUR) |
Death rate | 7.1 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $760 million (2000 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador John DINGER embassy: inner north side of the Big Ring, just west of the Selbe Gol, Ulaanbaatar mailing address: United States Embassy in Mongolia, P. O. Box 1021, Ulaanbaatar 13; PSC 461, Box 300, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [976] (11) 329095 FAX: [976] (11) 320776 |
none (overseas department of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Jalbuugiyn CHOINHOR chancery: 2833 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 333-7117 FAX: [1] (202) 298-9227 consulate(s) general: New York |
none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $200 million (1998 est.) | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France |
Economy - overview | Economic activity traditionally has been based on agriculture and breeding of livestock. Mongolia also 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 1990-91, at the time of the dismantlement of the USSR. Mongolia was driven into deep recession, which was prolonged by the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party's (MPRP) reluctance to undertake serious economic reform. The Democratic Coalition (DC) government has embraced free-market economics, easing price controls, liberalizing domestic and international trade, and attempting to restructure the banking system and the energy sector. Major domestic privatization programs were undertaken, as well as the fostering of foreign investment through international tender of the oil distribution company, a leading cashmere company, and banks. Reform was held back by the ex-communist MPRP opposition and by the political instability brought about through four successive governments under the DC. Economic growth picked up in 1997-99 after stalling in 1996 due to a series of natural disasters and declines in world prices of copper and cashmere. In August and September 1999, the economy suffered from a temporary Russian ban on exports of oil and oil products, and Mongolia remains vulnerable in this sector. Mongolia joined the World Trade Organization (WTrO) in 1997. The international donor community pledged over $300 million per year at the last Consultative Group Meeting, held in Ulaanbaatar in June 1999. The MPRP government, elected in July 2000, is anxious to improve the investment climate; it must also deal with a heavy burden of external debt. | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.767 billion kWh (1999) | 1.005 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 80 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 363 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 2.671 billion kWh (1999) | 1.08 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 55.5%
hydro: 44.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Hoh Nuur 518 m highest point: Nayramadlin Orgil (Huyten Orgil) 4,374 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources in some areas; policies of the former communist regime promoting rapid urbanization and industrial growth have raised concerns about their negative effects on the environment; the burning of soft coal in power plants and the lack of enforcement of environmental laws have severely polluted the air in Ulaanbaatar; deforestation, overgrazing, the converting of virgin land to agricultural production have increased soil erosion from wind and rain; desertification and mining activities have also had a deleterious effect on the environment | NA |
Environment - international 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 |
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Ethnic groups | Mongol (predominantly Khalkha) 85%, Turkic (of which Kazakh is the largest group) 7%, Tungusic 4.6%, other (including Chinese and Russian) 3.4% (1998) | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian |
Exchange rates | togrogs/tugriks per US dollar - 1,097.00 (December 2000), 1,076.67 (2000), 1,072.37 (1999), 840.83 (1998), 789.99 (1997), 548.40 (1996) | euros per US dollar - 1.06 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Natsagiyn BAGABANDI (since 20 June 1997) head of government: Prime Minister Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR (since 26 July 2000) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the State Great Hural in consultation with the president elections: president nominated by parties in the State Great Hural and elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 20 May 2001 (next to be held NA May 2005); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by the State Great Hural; election last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Natsagiyn BAGABANDI reelected president; percent of vote - NA%; Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR elected prime minister by a vote in the State Great Hural of 68 to 3 |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Gonthier FRIEDERICI (since NA)
head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
Exports | $454.3 million (f.o.b., 1999) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | copper, livestock, animal products, cashmere, wool, hides, fluorspar, other nonferrous metals | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) |
Exports - partners | China 60%, US 20%, Russia 9%, Japan 2% (2000 est.) | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | 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) | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.7 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4.174 billion (1999 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
36% industry: 22% services: 42% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,780 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,600 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -1% (2000 est.) | 2.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 46 00 N, 105 00 E | 21 06 S, 55 36 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; strategic location between China and Russia | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean |
Highways | total:
3,387 km paved: 1,563 km unpaved: 1,824 km note: there are also 45,862 km of rural roads that consist of rough, unimproved, cross-country tracks (2000) |
total: 2,724 km
paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km (1994) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.9% highest 10%: 24.5% (1995) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $510.7 million (c.i.f., 1999) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, fuels, food products, industrial consumer goods, chemicals, building materials, sugar, tea | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Russia 33%, China 21%, Japan 12%, South Korea 10%, US 4% (1999) | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000) |
Independence | 11 July 1921 (from China) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.4% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | construction materials, mining (particularly coal and copper); food and beverages, processing of animal products | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction |
Infant mortality rate | 53.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 8.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.89 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.6% (1999) | NA% |
International organization participation | ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (observer), CCC, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | FZ, InOC, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 5 (2001) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 800 sq km (1993 est.) | 120 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | 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 for approval by the president) | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 1.3 million (1999) | 309,900 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | primarily herding/agricultural | agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000) |
Land boundaries | total:
8,161.9 km border countries: China 4,676.9 km, Russia 3,485 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
5.7% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 81% forests and woodland: 11.4% other: 1.9% (2000 est.) |
arable land: 13.2%
permanent crops: 2% other: 84.8% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Khalkha Mongol 90%, Turkic, Russian (1999) | French (official), Creole widely used |
Legal system | blend of Russian, Chinese, Turkish, and Western systems of law that combines aspects of a parliamentary system with some aspects of a presidential system; constitution ambiguous on judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | French law |
Legislative branch | unicameral State Great Hural (76 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA July 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MPRP 72, other 4 |
unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 19, UDF 9, RPR 8, various right-wing candidates 4, various left-wing candidates 5 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
64.26 years male: 62.14 years female: 66.5 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 73.43 years
male: 70.03 years female: 77 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 98% female: 97.5% (2000) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern Asia, between China and Russia | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
Map references | Asia | World |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Mongolian Armed Forces (includes General Purpose Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Civil Defense Troops); note - Border Troops are under Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs in peacetime | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $25.5 million (FY01) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.3% (FY01) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
748,779 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 198,341 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
486,491 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 101,116 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
30,230 (2001 est.) |
males: 6,795 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day/Revolution Day, 11 July (1921) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun:
Mongolian(s) adjective: Mongolian |
noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
Natural hazards | dust and snow storms, grassland and forest fires, drought and "zud", which is a combination of drought followed by harsh winter conditions | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano |
Natural resources | oil, coal, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, phosphates, tin, nickel, zinc, wolfram, fluorspar, gold, silver, iron, phosphate | fish, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Citizens' Will Party or CWP (also called Civil Will Party) [Sanjaasurengyn OYUN]; Democratic Party or DP [D. DORLIGAN]; Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party or MPRP [Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR]; Mongolian Democratic New Socialist Party or MDNSP [B. ERDENEBAT]; Mongolian Republican Party or MRP [B. JARGALSAIHAN]
note: the MPRP is the ruling party |
Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 2,654,999 (July 2001 est.) | 755,171 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 40% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.47% (2001 est.) | 1.47% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Le Port, Pointe des Galets |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2001) | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Radios | 155,900 (1999) | - |
Railways | 1,815 km
broad gauge: 1,815 km 1.524-m gauge (2001) |
0 km |
Religions | Tibetan Buddhist Lamaism 96%, Muslim (primarily in the southwest), Shamanism, and Christian 4% (1998) | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 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 (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
very low density: about 3.5 telephones for each thousand persons domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean Region) |
general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 104,100 (1999) | 268,500 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 110,000 (2001) | 197,000 (September 2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (plus 18 provincial repeaters and many low powered repeaters) (1999) | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | vast semidesert and desert plains, grassy steppe, mountains in west and southwest; Gobi Desert in south-central | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast |
Total fertility rate | 2.39 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.53 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 36% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | 400 km (1999) | none |