ABSTRACT

Mongolia, until 1911 Outer Mongolia and from 1924–1992 the Mongolian People’s Republic, is an independent land-locked state situated in the heart of North-east Asia between Russia (the Russian Federation, RF) and China (the People’s Republic of China, PRC). It extends 1,259 km from north to south, between 41 deg 35 min and 52 deg 09 min north latitude, and 2,392 km from west to east, between 87 deg 44 min and 119 deg 56 min east longitude. Mongolia’s surface area of 1,565,000 sq. km and population of 2.2 million give an average density of 1.3/sq. km, although half the population is concentrated in the capital Ulan Bator (Ulaanbaatar) and a few other main towns.