Study, Work or Volunteer in Mongolia

Mongolia is a country located in Central and East Asia sharing borders with Russia and China. It is the 19th biggest country in the world with a total land area of 1,564,116 km2, a little larger than France, Germany, and Spain combined. Majority of Mongolia consists of plain grassland with hot summers and very cold winters. The country is split up into 21 provinces (aimags) 315 districts (sum). Ulan Bator is the largest and capital city and home to roughly 38% of the population.

Perhaps the most popular and arguably the most successful name in Mongolian history is Genghis Khan. He founded the Mongol Empire, the biggest adjacent and second largest overall empire in the world next to the British Empire, ruling over Asia for more than 50 years. Mongolia became a democratic nation in 1992 after the diplomatic Democratic Revolution. Currently, it is headed by the President (Nambaryn Enkhbayar) and Prime Minister (Sanjaagiin Bayar).

The official and dominating language of Mongolians is the Khalkha Mongolian; spoken by almost 90% of the population. While some of the major religions are Tibetan Buddhism (50%), Christianity and Shamanism (6%), and Islam (4%) while almost 40% of the population does not belong to any religion. Naadam is a very important celebration in the country which takes place in the summer. It features Mongolia wrestling, horse racing, and archery. Other sports that are popular amongst the Mongolians include soccer, table tennis, and basketball. Most Mongolian food requires meat and some dairy products and may vary for each province. In nearly all rural areas, cooked mutton is very popular cooked with no other ingredients.