Factbook
History of Mongolia — Timeline
Key dates in the history of Mongolia, from the Magna Factbook and the Universal Encyclopedia.
1911After Manchu rule collapsed in 1911, Mongolia declared independence, finally winning it in 1921 with help from the Soviet Union.
1911Independence: 29 December 1911 (independence declared from China; in actuality, autonomy attained); 11 July 1921 (from China).
1924Mongolia became a socialist state (the Mongolian People’s Republic) in 1924.
1989Until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, Mongolia was a Soviet satellite state and relied heavily on economic, military, and political assistance from Moscow.
1990Mongolia peacefully transitioned to an independent democracy in 1990.
1992In 1992, it adopted a new constitution and established a free-market economy.
1999Languages: Mongolian 90% (official, Khalkha dialect is predominant), Turkic, Russian (1999) Religions: Buddhist 51.8%, no religion 40.6%, Muslim 3.2%, Shaman 2.5%, Christian 1.3%, Other 0.6% (2020 est.) Urban population: 69.1% of total population (2023).
2010Throughout the period, the ex-communist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party -- which took the name Mongolian People’s Party (MPP) in 2010 -- has competed for political power with the Democratic Party and several other smaller parties.
2021For most of its democratic history, Mongolia has had a divided government, with the presidency and the parliamentary majority held by different parties but that changed in 2021, when the MPP won the presidency after having secured a supermajority in parliament in 2020.
2021Mongolia’s June 2021 presidential election delivered a decisive victory for MPP candidate Ukhnaagiin KHURELSUKH.
2023Generation mix — fossil fuels: 90.4% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 2.4% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); wind: 6.4% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 0.8% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) Energy use: 67.132 million Btu/person (2023 est.).
2023Industries: construction and construction materials; mining (coal, copper, molybdenum, fluorspar, tin, tungsten, gold); oil; food and beverages; processing of animal products, cashmere and natural fiber manufacturing Agriculture: milk, wheat, lamb/mutton, potatoes, beef, carrots/turnips, goat milk, goat meat, bison milk, horse meat (2023) Electricity access: 100% (2022 est.).
2023Major urban areas: 1.673 million ULAANBAATAR (capital) (2023) lower middle-income East Asian economy; large human capital improvements over last 3 decades; agricultural and natural resource rich; export and consumption-led growth; high inflation due to supply bottlenecks and increased food and energy prices; currency depreciation Inflation: 6.8% (2024 est.).
2024Military spending: 0.7% of GDP (2024 est.).
