pendence 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 and has attempted to establish a number of reforms
to modernize the economy. However, many former communists retain key
posts and implementation has been difficult.

@Mongolia:Geography

Location: Northern Asia, between China and Russia

Geographic coordinates: 46 00 N, 105 00 E

Map references: Asia

Area:
total: 1.565 million sq km
land: 1.565 million sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Alaska

Land boundaries:
total: 8,114 km
border countries: China 4,673 km, Russia 3,441 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: desert; continental (large daily and seasonal temperature
ranges)

Terrain: vast semidesert and desert plains; mountains in west and
southwest; Gobi Desert in southeast

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Hoh Nuur 518 m
highest point: Tavan Bogd Uul 4,374 m

Natural resources: oil, coal, copper, molybdenum, tungsten,
phosphates, tin, nickel, zinc, wolfram, fluorspar, gold

Land use:
arable land: 1%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 80%
forests and woodland: 9%
other: 10% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 800 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: dust storms can occur in the spring; grassland fires

Environment - current issues: limited natural fresh water resources;
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

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note: landlocke