Mongolia 2019
Yearbook 2019
Mongolia. The year began with political chaos. More than half of the elected parliament boycotted the protest against President Miyegombyn Enkhbold, accused of corruption. His own party, the ruling Mongolian People’s Party, also demanded his departure, as did tens of thousands of protesters. When Enkhbold refused to resign, Parliament passed a new law that allowed the elected people to vote the President. He was accused of leading a hidden oligarchy night, where a group of politicians from both government and opposition tricked the state into large sums.
There was a popular anger over the corruption. In the capital Ulaanbaatar, many believed that corruption was the cause of the continuing air pollution, despite the fact that public funds and foreign aid were allocated to the smog. The school’s winter holidays were extended and families sent their children to relatives in the fresh air outside on the steppe.
In the coldest capital of the world, nomads moved in charcoal and garbage to keep warm in their tents. The smoke caused smog 50 times worse than the WHO threshold, causing illnesses and thousands of premature deaths each year.
- ABBREVIATIONFINDER.ORG: Click to see the meanings of 3-letter acronym and abbreviation of MNG in general and in geography as Mongolia in particular.
In May, thousands of protesters gathered in the capital demanding the resignation of the government because of corruption, rising prices and broken promises of housing and social services. A poor and tired population demanded that the country’s mineral riches benefit everyone and not just a privileged elite.
The project with one of the world’s largest copper mines, Oyu Tolgoi, became expensive and delayed. There was a strong opinion that the state should own the mines, and with a view to the 2020 election, a number of politicians wanted to renegotiate the agreement that made the giant mine foreign-owned to 66%.
The major powers showed interest in Mongolia’s strategic position between China and the Russian Federation. President Chaltmaagijn Battulga visited Washington, US Secretary of Defense came to Mongolia, which was also visited by the Russian president with promises of large investments in infrastructure, mainly to rail for the export of minerals.
In October, new contributions from rich countries were promised to the International Green Climate Fund, the JRC, which will, among other things, increase the share of solar power in Mongolia, where coal is polluting the air. Several new solar energy parks were inaugurated during the year in Mongolia, whose goal is 20% renewable energy in 2023. About 100,000 nomad families have, with state aid, received mobile solar panels, which provide electricity wherever they pitch their tents on the steppes.
In October, police arrested about 800 Chinese citizens in Ulaanbaatar and seized hundreds of computers and phone cards. It was reported to be organized crime via the Internet, including data breaches, identity theft and suspected money laundering.
Parliament decided in November to amend the constitution to strengthen the head of government in relation to the president.
Population 2019
According to CountryAAH, the population of Mongolia in 2019 was 3,225,056, ranking number 136 in the world. The population growth rate was 1.730% yearly, and the population density was 2.0760 people per km2.
