Who is Mongolia?

This is a very cool link. It goes to a wikipedia page that ranks countries by population density. I know, I know, it's wikipedia, but the source for the data is linked right in the table (and the Mongolia numbers are accurate, so . . . ).

The most densely populated country? Macau (though it's part of China in the same way Hong Kong is). The United Kingdom is 15th. The U.S? 180th, with about 84 people per square mile. 

Mongolia is 238 of 242, with about 4 1/2 people for every square mile of land. To say it's mostly rural is putting it pretty mildly, I think.

Here's a pretty (empty) map:

So who lives in this mostly rural, isolated place? Almost 3 million people live in the country, and more than a million of them live in the capital city of Ulaan Baatar.  That is 40% of the overall population! In fact, nearly 70% of the population lives in urban areas. The other 30% are nomadic, herding sheep, cows, goats, and horses.

This is the population pyramid of Mongolia (from the World Factbook again):

The average age of a Mongolian person is 27.1 and it's growth rate is 1.37%, 89th in the world. So it's young, and growing.

I was also surprised by the education rates: more than 97% of the population can read and write, and the average person receives 15 years of schooling.

Mongolia has high unemployment and their way of life is changing a lot, which is challenging. Finally, here's a video about the pressures facing traditional Mongolian nomadic life.



Up next, a closer look at nomadic life and migration.