29 December is Mongolia’s Independence Day  

Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia which is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. Mongolia is landlocked and it covers an area of 1,564,116 square kilometres (603,909 square miles), an area larger than England, France and Germany combined.

With a population of just 3.5 million, this makes Mongolia the world’s most sparsely populated sovereign nation in the World.

The name Mongolia means the “Land of the Mongols” in Latin. Its native name is Tusgaar Togtnoliin Üdür

In the chaos of the late 12th century, a chieftain named Temujin finally succeeded in uniting the Mongol tribes between Manchuria and the Altai Mountains and, in 1206, he took the title Genghis Khan.

Mongolian People’s Republic

In 1924, the country’s political system was changed. The Mongolian People’s Republic was established. The early leaders of the Mongolian People’s Republic (1921–1952) included many with Pan Mongol ideals. However, changing global politics and increased Soviet pressure led to the decline of Pan-Mongol aspirations in the following period.

By the early 20th century, almost one-third of the adult male population were Buddhist monks. In the early part of this century China was the main influence in Mongolia but after the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911, Mongolia declared independence, and achieved actual independence from the Republic of China in 1921. Shortly thereafter, the country became a satellite state of the Soviet Union, which had aided its independence from China. In 1924, the Mongolian People’s Republic was founded as a socialist state. After the anti-communist revolutions of 1989, Mongolia conducted its own peaceful democratic revolution early in 1990. This led to a multi-party system, a new constitution in 1992, and transition to a market economy.

The fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 strongly influenced Mongolian politics and youth. Its people undertook the peaceful Democratic Revolution in January 1990 and the introduction of a multi-party system and a market economy. At the same time, the transformation of the former Marxist-Leninist Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party to the current social democratic Mongolian People’s Party reshaped the country’s political landscape.

This led to a multi-party system, the new constitution of 1992, and a transition to a market economy.

A new constitution was introduced in 1992, and the term “People’s Republic” was dropped from the country’s name. The transition to a market economy was often rocky; during the early 1990s and the country had to deal with high inflation and food shortages. The first election victories for non-communist parties came in 1993 (presidential elections) and 1996 (parliamentary elections).

Mongolia is now a member of the United Nations, Asia Cooperation Dialogue, G77, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Non-Aligned Movement and a NATO global partner. Mongolia joined the World Trade Organization in 1997 and continually seeks to expand its participation in regional economic and trade groups.

Today, and on every 29^th of December, Mongolia celebrates its independence day in its capital city, Ulaanbaatar, with parades, fireworks displays and concerts.