Culture of Mongolia

Mongolia's culture could almost be described as pure: their is little variation within the population.

96% of the population is of Northern Buddhist Lamaism religion. Mongolia has its own ethnic group, which comprises 85% of the country’s population. The official language, Khalkha Mongol, is spoken by 90% of the population.

Mongolia's population is about 2 million. 65% of the population are aged between 16 and 64, with only 4% over 64. HIV/AIDS has not made a significant impact, with only about 100 sufferers in the whole country.

There are about 2 to 3 children to each woman, and the population increase rate is very high. The life expectancy, however, is low: only 63 years. The infant mortality rate is 6%.

The main festival is Revolution Day, also known as Naadam, which celebrates the anniversary of Mongolian independance from China, on July 11. The fact that this independance resulted in Mongolia effectively becoming part of the Soviet Union is not mentioned.

In Mongolia, the diet depends on region. In the south, a lot of mutton, camel and camel dairy products are eaten. In the mountains, however, beef is much more common. In the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, there is a wide range of food widely available, most of it imported. Vegetables are a somewhat new part of the Mongol diet, which is traditionally based on meat and dairy products.

Yak's butter is also used. This is made, as one would expect, by milking a yak and then using conventional butter-making techniques on the result. It is very important to the Mongols as a food source and a fuel for lamps. In the past, because it was almost their only fuel, schools had to decide between food for the staff and students, or firelight for reading and learning.