Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
1.4
Population
The population of Mongolia is just over 2.7 million. Mongolia is one of the least
densely populated countries of the world. The capital and largest city is Ulaanbaatar,
has a population of 700,000. The annual population growth is about 2 %. Nearly
95 % of the population are Mongolians and 5 % of the population are Kazakhs
and others. The main religion is Buddhism. Since the democratic changes of 1990
in Mongolia, religion has been practiced widely. Now people have freedom of
belief and many monasteries have been reopened. The official national language
is Mongolian.
2
Agriculture in Mongolia
Agriculture is one of the key sectors of Mongolian economy. Nearly 80 % of
Mongolia's territory is used for agriculture. Nearly half of the working population
is engaged in agriculture, and many changes in agriculture sector have been taking
place recently. The agricultural sector consists of two main subsector, these are crop
production and livestock production.
2.1
Crop Production
The total arable land is 1.3 million hectares (Mha), half of them was sown to crops
and bare fallow. Crops are mainly wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, and vegetables. The
main types of vegetables grown are cabbage, carrots, onions, and turnips. Mongolia
is still importing flour, sugar, fruits, some vegetables, and sunflower and soybean oil
from abroad.
2.2
Livestock Production
Livestock breeding is very important and contributes about 70 % of the gross
agricultural output. The livestock sector accounts for 20 % of economic output in
the Mongolian economy and translates directly into a source of employment and
livelihood for at least 40 % of the population. The national livestock herd was
estimated at almost 32 million heads at the end of 2000. But dropped dramatically
as a result of the severe dzuds. However by 2007 the livestock inventory had
risen sharply. The 2007 annual livestock census reported an increase of 15 % of
livestock from 34.8 to 40.3 million livestock, with the number of goats, sheep
and cattle increasing by 18, 15 and 14 % respectively Livestock farmers and
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