Chad (2001) | Mongolia (2002) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 14 prefectures (prefectures, singular - prefecture); Batha, Biltine, Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti, Chari-Baguirmi, Guera, Kanem, Lac, Logone Occidental, Logone Oriental, Mayo-Kebbi, Moyen-Chari, Ouaddai, Salamat, Tandjile | 21 provinces (aymguud, singular - aymag) and 1 municipality* (hot); Arhangay, Bayanhongor, Bayan-Olgiy, Bulgan, Darhan Uul, Dornod, Dornogovi, Dundgovi, Dzavhan, Govi-Altay, Govi-Sumber, Hentiy, Hovd, Hovsgol, Omnogovi, Orhon, Ovorhangay, Selenge, Suhbaatar, Tov, Ulaanbaatar*, Uvs |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
47.73% (male 2,091,724; female 2,064,514) 15-64 years: 49.46% (male 2,035,099; female 2,271,389) 65 years and over: 2.81% (male 101,579; female 142,773) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 32% (male 438,176; female 422,960)
15-64 years: 64.1% (male 864,033; female 865,172) 65 years and over: 3.9% (male 45,080; female 59,011) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, sorghum, millet, peanuts, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca); cattle, sheep, goats, camels | wheat, barley, potatoes, forage crops; sheep, goats, cattle, camels, horses |
Airports | 50 (2000 est.) | 34 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
7 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
43 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 11 (2000 est.) |
total: 26
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 5 (2002) |
Area | total:
1.284 million sq km land: 1,259,200 sq km water: 24,800 sq km |
total: 1.565 million sq km
land: 1,555,400 sq km water: 9,600 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than three times the size of California | slightly smaller than Alaska |
Background | Chad, part of France's African holdings until 1960, endured three decades of ethnic warfare as well as invasions by Libya before a semblance of peace was finally restored in 1990. The government eventually suppressed or came to terms with most political-military groups, settled a territorial dispute with Libya on terms favorable to Chad, drafted a democratic constitution, and held multiparty presidential and National Assembly elections in 1996 and 1997 respectively. In 1998 a new rebellion broke out in northern Chad, which continued to escalate throughout 2000. Despite movement toward democratic reform, power remains in the hands of a northern ethnic oligarchy. | The Mongols entered history in the 13th century when under GENGHIS KHAN they conquered a huge Eurasian empire. After his death the empire was divided into several powerful Mongol states, but these broke apart in the 14th century. The Mongols eventually retired to their original steppe homelands and came under Chinese rule. Mongolia won its independence 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 to the Democratic Union Coalition (DUC), which defeated the MPRP in a national election in 1996. Over the next four years the DUC put forward a number of key reforms to modernize the economy and democratize the political system. However, the former Communists were a strong opposition that stalled additional restructuring and made implementation difficult. In 2000, the MPRP won an overwhelming victory in the legislature - with 72 of the 76 seats - and completely reshuffled the government. While it continues many of the reform policies, the MPRP is focusing on social welfare and public order priorities. |
Birth rate | 48.28 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 21.8 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$198 million expenditures: $218 million, including capital expenditures of $146 million (1998 est.) |
revenues: $262 million
expenditures: $328 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | N'Djamena | Ulaanbaatar |
Climate | tropical in south, desert in north | desert; continental (large daily and seasonal temperature ranges) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | passed by referendum 31 March 1995 | 12 February 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Chad conventional short form: Chad local long form: Republique du Tchad local short form: Tchad |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Mongolia local long form: none local short form: Mongol Uls former: Outer Mongolia |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States | togrog/tugrik (MNT) |
Death rate | 15.4 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.01 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $1 billion (1999 est.) | $760 million (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Christopher E. GOLDTHWAIT embassy: Avenue Felix Eboue, N'Djamena mailing address: B. P. 413, N'Djamena telephone: [235] (51) 70-09, (51) 90-52, (51) 92-33 FAX: [235] (51) 56-54 |
chief of mission: Ambassador John DINGER
embassy: inner northeast part of the Big Ring Road, just west of the Selbe Gol, Ulaanbaatar mailing address: United States Embassy in Mongolia, P. O. Box 1021, Ulaanbaatar 13; PSC 461, Box 300, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [976] (11) 329095 FAX: [976] (11) 320776 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Hassaballah Abdelhadi Ahmat SOUBIANE chancery: 2002 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 462-4009 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1937 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Jalbuugiyn CHOINHOR
chancery: 2833 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 333-7117 FAX: [1] (202) 298-9227 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | delimitation of international boundaries in the vicinity of Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents in the past, has been completed and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $238.3 million (1995); note - $125 million committed by Taiwan (August 1997); $30 million committed by African Development Bank | $208.7 million (1999 est.) |
Economy - overview | Landlocked Chad's economic development suffers from its geographic remoteness, drought, lack of infrastructure, and political turmoil. About 85% of the population depends on agriculture, including the herding of livestock. Of Africa's Francophone countries, Chad benefited least from the 50% devaluation of their currencies in January 1994. Financial aid from the World Bank, the African Development Fund, and other sources is directed largely at the improvement of agriculture, especially livestock production. The World Bank's decision to back the Doba oil field development and the Chad-Cameroon pipeline will add Chad to the group of already booming West African oil exporters. However, the rank and file may not benefit much from the oil development projects. | Economic activity traditionally has been based on agriculture and breeding of livestock. Mongolia also has extensive mineral deposits: copper, coal, molybdenum, tin, tungsten, and gold account for a large part of industrial production. Soviet assistance, at its height one-third of GDP, disappeared almost overnight in 1990-91, at the time of the dismantlement of the USSR. Mongolia was driven into deep recession, prolonged by the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party's (MPRP) reluctance to undertake serious economic reform. The Democratic Coalition (DC) government has embraced free-market economics, easing price controls, liberalizing domestic and international trade, and attempting to restructure the banking system and the energy sector. Major domestic privatization programs were undertaken, as well as the fostering of foreign investment through international tender of the oil distribution company, a leading cashmere company, and banks. Reform was held back by the ex-Communist MPRP opposition and by the political instability brought about through four successive governments under the DC. Economic growth picked up in 1997-99 after stalling in 1996 due to a series of natural disasters and declines in world prices of copper and cashmere. In August and September 1999, the economy suffered from a temporary Russian ban on exports of oil and oil products, and Mongolia remains vulnerable in this sector. Mongolia joined the World Trade Organization (WTrO) in 1997. The international donor community pledged over $300 million per year at the last Consultative Group Meeting, held in Ulaanbaatar in June 1999. The MPRP government, elected in July 2000, is anxious to improve the investment climate; it must also deal with a heavy burden of external debt. Falling prices for Mongolia's mainly primary sector exports, widespread opposition to privatization, and adverse effects of weather on agriculture in early 2000 and 2001 restrained real GDP growth in 2000-01. |
Electricity - consumption | 83.7 million kWh (1999) | 2.732 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 25 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 181 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 90 million kWh (1999) | 2.77 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Djourab Depression 160 m highest point: Emi Koussi 3,415 m |
lowest point: Hoh Nuur 518 m
highest point: Nayramadlin Orgil (Huyten Orgil) 4,374 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; improper waste disposal in rural areas contributes to soil and water pollution; desertification | limited natural fresh water resources in some areas; 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Muslims, commonly referred to as "northerners" or "gorane" (Arabs, Toubou, Hadjerai, Fulbe, Kotoko, Kanembou, Baguirmi, Boulala, Zaghawa, and Maba); non-Muslims, commonly referred to as "southerners" (Sara, Ngambaye, Mbaye, Goulaye, Moundang, Moussei, Massa) including nonindigenous 150,000 (of whom 1,000 are French)
note: ethnicity and regional background more commonly used to identify Chadians than religious affiliation |
Mongol (predominantly Khalkha) 85%, Turkic (of which Kazakh is the largest group) 7%, Tungusic 4.6%, other (including Chinese and Russian) 3.4% (1998) |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro | togrogs/tugriks per US dollar - 1,101.29 (December 2001), 1,097.70 (2001), 1,076.67 (2000), 1,072.37 (1999), 840.83 (1998), 789.99 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY (since 4 December 1990) head of government: Prime Minister Nagoum YAMASSOUM (since 13 December 1999) cabinet: Council of State, members appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote to serve five-year term; if no candidate receives at least 50% of the total vote, the two candidates receiving the most votes must stand for a second round of voting; last held 20 May 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY elected president; percent of vote - Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY 63%, Ngarlegy YORONGAR 16%, Saleh KEBZABO 7% note: government coalition - MPS, UNDR, and URD |
chief of state: President Natsagiyn BAGABANDI (since 20 June 1997)
head of government: Prime Minister Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR (since 26 July 2000) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the State Great Hural in consultation with the president elections: president nominated by parties in the State Great Hural and elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 20 May 2001 (next to be held NA May 2005); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by the State Great Hural; election last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Natsagiyn BAGABANDI reelected president; percent of vote - Natsagiyn BAGABANDI (MPRP) 58.13%, Radnaasumbereliyn GONCHIGDORJ (DP) 36.58%, Luvsandamba DASHNYAM (CWP) 3.54%, other 1.75%; Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR elected prime minister by a vote in the State Great Hural of 68 to 3 |
Exports | $172 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $466.1 million f.o.b. (2000) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, cattle, textiles | copper, livestock, animal products, cashmere, wool, hides, fluorspar, other nonferrous metals |
Exports - partners | Portugal 38%, Germany 12%, Thailand, Costa Rica, South Africa, France (1999) | China 59%, US 20%, Russia 10%, Japan 2% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; similar to the flag of Romania; also similar to the flags of Andorra and Moldova, both of which have a national coat of arms centered in the yellow band; design was based on the flag of France | three equal, vertical bands of red (hoist side), blue, and red; centered on the hoist-side red band in yellow is the national emblem ("soyombo" - a columnar arrangement of abstract and geometric representation for fire, sun, moon, earth, water, and the yin-yang symbol) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $8.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4.7 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
40% industry: 14% services: 46% (1998) |
agriculture: 32%
industry: 30% services: 38% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,770 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | 2.4% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 19 00 E | 46 00 N, 105 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; Lake Chad is the most significant water body in the Sahel | landlocked; strategic location between China and Russia |
Highways | total:
33,400 km paved: 267 km unpaved: 33,133 km (1996) |
total: 3,387 km
paved: 1,563 km unpaved: 1,824 km note: there are also 45,862 km of rural roads that consist of rough, unimproved, cross-country tracks (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25% (1995) (1995) |
Imports | $223 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $614.5 million c.i.f. (2000) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transportation equipment, industrial goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs, textiles | machinery and equipment, fuels, food products, industrial consumer goods, chemicals, building materials, sugar, tea |
Imports - partners | France 40%, Cameroon 13%, Nigeria 12%, India 5% (1999) | Russia 34%, China 21%, Japan 12%, South Korea 9%, US 4% (2000) |
Independence | 11 August 1960 (from France) | 11 July 1921 (from China) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5% (1995) | 2.4% (2000 est.) |
Industries | cotton textiles, meatpacking, beer brewing, natron (sodium carbonate), soap, cigarettes, construction materials | construction materials, mining (coal, copper, molybdenum, fluorspar, and gold); oil; food and beverages, processing of animal products |
Infant mortality rate | 95.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 51.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2000 est.) | 11.8% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (observer), CCC, CP (provisional), EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 5 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 140 sq km (1993 est.) | 840 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts; Magistrate Courts | Supreme Court (serves as appeals court for people's and provincial courts, but rarely overturns verdicts of lower courts; judges are nominated by the General Council of Courts for approval by the president) |
Labor force | NA | 1.4 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 85% (subsistence farming, herding, and fishing) | primarily herding/agricultural |
Land boundaries | total:
5,968 km border countries: Cameroon 1,094 km, Central African Republic 1,197 km, Libya 1,055 km, Niger 1,175 km, Nigeria 87 km, Sudan 1,360 km |
total: 8,162 km
border countries: China 4,677 km, Russia 3,485 km |
Land use | arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 36% forests and woodland: 26% other: 35% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0.84%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.16% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Arabic (official), Sara and Sango (in south), more than 100 different languages and dialects | Khalkha Mongol 90%, Turkic, Russian (1999) |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and Chadian customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | blend of Russian, Chinese, Turkish, and Western systems of law that combines aspects of a parliamentary system with some aspects of a presidential system; constitution ambiguous on judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (125 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); replaces the Higher Transitional Council or the Conseil Superieur de Transition
elections: National Assembly - last held in two rounds on 5 January and 23 February 1997 (next to be held in late 2001); in the first round of voting some candidates won clear victories by receiving 50% or more of the vote; where that did not happen, the two highest scoring candidates stood for a second round of voting election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MPS 65, URD 29, UNDR 15, RDP 3, others 13 |
unicameral State Great Hural (76 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA July 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MPRP 72, other 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
50.88 years male: 48.86 years female: 52.98 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 64.62 years
male: 62.47 years female: 66.87 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write French or Arabic total population: 48.1% male: 62.1% female: 34.7% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8% male: 98% female: 97.5% (2000) |
Location | Central Africa, south of Libya | Northern Asia, between China and Russia |
Map references | Africa | Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Military branches | Armed Forces (includes Ground Force, Air Force, and Gendarmerie), Republican Guard, Rapid Intervention Force, Police, Rural and Nomadic Guard (GNNT) | Mongolian Armed Forces (includes General Purpose Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Civil Defense Troops); note - Border Troops are under Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs in peacetime |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $39 million (FY96) | $24.3 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.5% (FY96) | 2.5% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,814,578 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 772,619 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
949,997 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 501,493 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
82,003 (2001 est.) |
males: 30,230 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 11 August (1960) | Independence Day/Revolution Day, 11 July (1921) |
Nationality | noun:
Chadian(s) adjective: Chadian |
noun: Mongolian(s)
adjective: Mongolian |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north; periodic droughts; locust plagues | dust storms, grassland and forest fires, drought, and "zud", which is harsh winter conditions |
Natural resources | petroleum (unexploited but exploration under way), uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad) | oil, coal, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, phosphates, tin, nickel, zinc, wolfram, fluorspar, gold, silver, iron, phosphate |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | National Union for Development and Renewal or UNDR [Saleh KEBZABO]; Patriotic Salvation Movement or MPS [Mahamat Saleh AHMAT, chairman] (originally in opposition but now the party in power and the party of the president); Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Lal Mahamat CHOUA]; Union for Renewal and Democracy or URD [Gen. Wadal Abdelkader KAMOUGUE] | Citizens' Will Party or CWP (also called Civil Will Party or Civil Courage Party) [Sanjaasurengyn OYUN]; Democratic Party or DP [D. DORLIGJAN]; Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party or MPRP [Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR]; Mongolian New Socialist Democratic Party or MNSDP [B. ERDENEBAT]; Mongolian Republican Party or MRP [B. JARGALSAIHAN]
note: the MPRP is the ruling party |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 8,707,078 (July 2001 est.) | 2,694,432 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 64% (1995 est.) | 36% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.29% (2001 est.) | 1.48% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 5 (1998) | AM 7, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2001) |
Radios | 1.67 million (1997) | 155,900 (1999) |
Railways | 0 km | 1,815 km
broad gauge: 1,815 km 1.524-m gauge (2001) |
Religions | Muslim 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs (mostly animism) 25% | Tibetan Buddhist Lamaism 96%, Muslim (primarily in the southwest), Shamanism, and Christian 4% (1998) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
primitive system domestic: fair system of radiotelephone communication stations international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: very low density: about 3.5 telephones for each thousand persons
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean Region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 7,000 (1997) | 104,100 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 110,000 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 4 (plus 18 provincial repeaters and many low powered repeaters) (1999) |
Terrain | broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south | vast semidesert and desert plains, grassy steppe, mountains in west and southwest; Gobi Desert in south-central |
Total fertility rate | 6.56 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.37 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 20% (2000) |
Waterways | 2,000 km | 400 km (1999) |