The Mongolia lies in the northern part of the Central Asian plateau between the meridian of 87° 44’ and 119° 56’ eastern longitude and in latitudes 52° 09’ and 41° 35’ north. The distance between the country’s westernmost and easternmost points is 2.392 km (1.486.6 miles), and 1.259 km (782.5 miles) between its northernmost and southernmost points. Mongolia, total area is 1.566.500 sq.km (973.586.07 sq. miles) and is the 6-th largest country in Asia and 18-th in the world. Vast nearly 3 times the size France and more than 4 times the United Kingdom. The Mongolia borders on the Russian Federation and the China. The 8,158 km (5.070 mile) state border passes exclusively through land. To the north, Mongolia borders on the Russian federation along a 3.485 km (2.165.9 mile) line, and it has 4.673 km (2.904.3 mile) long common border with the China in the south. Mongolia is a country with a remarkable variety of natural contrasts. Eternally snow-capped mountain masses, rising high above sea-level, neighbor with vast hilly Plains covered with highland plants and marshy coniferous forests and deserts and semi-deserts and numerous clear-water lakes with solonchaks. Mongolia has an average altitude of 1.580 m (5.185.9 feet) above sea level. The highest point is the Khuiten peak (4.653 m or 15.272.4 feet) in the Tavan Bogd mountain range at a point where the state borders of the Mongolia the Russian and the China meet. The lowest point is the Hoh Nuur (Blue lake), lying at an altitude of 532 m (1.746 feet) above sea level.The territory of Mongolia is in three time-zones-the sixth, seventh and eighth, starting from the prime meridian of 0° . As of February 2014, the population of the country was 2.900.000. The country is divided into 21 administrative territorial units - aimag, including 3 big cities Darkhan, Erdenet, and Choir. The capital of Mongolia is Ulaanbaatar.



State Emblem.Today, when the entire state and political structure in Mongolia has changed, the state emblem has changed altogether.
The new coat-of-arms surrounded by a loop of swastikas (tumen nasan), and displaying the lotus flower, the eight-wheel chakra and the hadak - blue silk scarf, are all foreign elements. But as far as the Soyombo ideogram is concerned, it is a different matter. Altough it is a Sanskrit word, it was designed by the first Mongolian theocrat ruler Ondor Gegeen Zanabazar in the 18th century, symbolizing the independence of Mongolia. The Mongols, since ancient times, have held in great respect horses, but since it is a land-creature, it was never incorporated into the state emblem or banner.
Under socialism, horse was used to symbolize the unbreakable unity between a worker and a herder, similarly like the hammer and sickle of the former Soviet Union. The old coat-of-arms of Mongolia showed a man on horseback with a long lasso (1940-60) and without a lasso (1960-91) galloping towards "communism". With the promulgation of the new Constitution, communism was rejected and the new coat-of-arms was approved in 1992.



National Flag

The State Flag of the Mongolia is red-blue-red, arranged vertically with the State emblem-Soyombo- in the upper left-hand corner. The ratio of the flag’s width to length is 1:2.

Soyombo. Since ancient times the Soyombo ideogram has been the national emblem of freedom and independence of the Mongols. At the top of the ideogram is a flame, which symbolizes blossoming, revival, upgrading and continuation of the family. The three prongs of the flame signify the prosperity of the people in the past, the present and the future.
Below the sign of the flame are the sun and the crescent, traditionally symbolizing the origin of the Mongolian people. The combination of the flame, the sun and the crescent expresses the wish: May the Mongolian people live and prosper.
The triangles at the top and bottom of the Soyombo are a general expression of the people’s willingness to defend the freedom and independence of the country, while the rectangles are the symbols of honesty, justice and nobility. There are two at the top and bottom, personifying honesty and selfless service to the homeland.
The fish, in Mongolian folklore, is a creature that never closes its eyes, i.e. remains vigilant. The two fish in the emblem symbolize the unity of the people: men and women. The cumulative meaning is: May the whole people be united, wise and vigilant. The two vertical rectangles on the sides of the emblem signify fortress walls and are a graphic presentation of the ancient Mongolian saying: ‘Two men in friendship are stronger than walls of stone: ‘ In the Soyombo they have the meaning: May the whole people be united in friendship, and then it will be stronger than the stone walls of a fortress.

Administrative Areas
Mongolia is divided into capital city and aimags, with further division of aimags into soums, soums into bags, capital city into districts, and districts into horoo. There are 21 aimags (regions) with 3 ‘city regions’ - Darkhan-Uul, Orhon, and Gobi-Sumber - Erdenet and Choir respectively.
Local administration functions on the basis of "self - government and central guidance".
State power in the aimags and Ulaanbaatar is exercised for four - year terms by governors (zasag darga) nominated by the prime minister; local citizens elect hurals of representatives.
The average population density of Mongolia is very low (1.5 persons per 1 sq.km), and of Omnogovi Aimag is extremely low(0.2 persons per sq.km). Mongolia is a comparatively young country. Two-third of the Mongolian population is below 45 years of age.
Temperature Winter, temperature is averagely -20 to -35° C. In the Uvs Lake basin in northwestern Mongolia, known as one of the coldest places in all of Asia, the lowest temperature ever recorded is -58° C. By contrast, summer time temperatures in the Gobi desert climb as high as 40° C.
Sunshine. Mongolia is the country of the blue sky, as enjoying 250 sunny days a year.
Rainfall and Snow. Monthly and yearly amounts of precipitation are extremely changeable according to the territories and the seasons. Summer precipitation prevails over the entire territory of Mongolia, for 80-90 percent of the annual rainfall.
Enough rain usually occurs in July and August. The highest peaks have small glaciers. Annual precipitation ranges from 600 mm in the Mountain ranges but less than 100 mm in the Gobi. In some parts of the Gobi, no precipitation may fall for several years in a row.
Political Structure Mongolia is a multi-party, parliamentary democratic country. Presidential and Parliamentary elections take place once a four years.

Religion. Shamanism and Buddhism co-existed in Mongolian from the times of Chingis Khan. Khubilai Khan (grand son of Chingis) made Buddhism the state religion of the Yuan Empire. During the 16th century, Tibetan Lamaism came to Mongolia and numerous monasteries were built from the 17th century onwards, when Mongolia developed into a theocracy with strong links with Tibet. In the 1930’s and 40’s,following the Stalinist system, more than 740 temples and monasteries were destroyed. People couldn't express their feelings openly during that time.The 3 major Buddhist centers in Mongolia are Gandan, Erdene Zuu and Amarbayasgalant monasteries which built by the first theocrat ruler Ondor Gegeen Zanabazar.

Language. The modern Mongolian language, as the national language, developed on the basis of the . Today, the Mongolian language comprises several dialects, including Halh, Buryad, Oirat, Tsahar, Harchin, Horchin, Ordos and others.Over 90 % Khalha Mongol (Mongolian language). The official national language is Khalkhan Mongolian. Minor languages include Khazakh. Kazakh is spoken by 5% of the population.The Russian Cyrillic script was introducted in 1946,but in recent years the traditional Mongolian script has been taught again in primary and secondary schools.Today many other foreign languages are being studied and used among Mongolians, such us English, Russian, German, Japanese etc.

The Ger. The ger is ideally suited to the country’s sharply continental climate and the peoples nomadic life. This multi-purpose dwelling can be easily collapsed, transported and put up again. The Ger was developed by nomads in ancient times and is continually been used to the present day, although in recent decades it is rapidly giving way to permanent housing. History has preserved information about giant gers built on wheeled platforms. 22 oxen hauled the platform. Big gers of this kind were built for the nobility .The number of walls and poles determines the size of the ger. Most of the time herdmen’s gers have 5 walls, giving a living area of 16-18 sq.m. The gers of noblemen of olden times had 10-12 walls.
The ger has two key components: the wooden skeleton and the felt cover. The warped wooden walls (khana), the long spokes (uni), the smoke escape (toono), and its pillars (bagana). Two wooden pillars underpin the smoke escape. After the wooden assemblages of all this parts the ger takes its proper shape, the wooden framework of the ger bears a close resemblance to a put up umbrella. The inside wooden framework of the ger walls is a trellis of warped wood, each section of wall made up of a lattice of around 15 wooden poles.

From the top of the cylinder toward the apex of the pop-cone long light wooden spokes run concentrically. Thus, around it felt layers are laid out as a cover. In the center of the ger is the hearth which has a special significance for the Mongols. Apart from is utilitarian purpose, the hearth (golomt) symbolizes ties with the family’s ancestors. The entire outside surface of the ger is covered with felt, tied in place by ropes made of hair and wool. One layer is sufficient in the summer season. Two or three layers are necessary in winter. Smaller tables are always present, but play a less important role. Mongols never sit on a table. To the right of the bed is the traditional place for the Buddhist altar, sutras, or other religious objects. The area opposite the door, just in front of the marriage bed, is the honored spot in the ger where the head of the family usually takes his place. When visitors come to the ger, the host may seat himself to the right of the door and urge the guest to be seated in the honored place. Nomadic Mongol families sometimes had two or three gers, the largest for the family head is situated farthest west and the other gers extend to the east.The last one houses the kitchen facilities, foodstuff, milk and dairy products and so forth.