Doing Business in Mongolia-2026
I. INTRODUCTION
Tremendous mineral reserves, agricultural endowments, and proximity to Asia’s vast markets make Mongolia an attractive destination for medium to long-term foreign direct investment (FDI).
General Information about Mongolia
- Population: As of the beginning of 2025, Mongolia’s total population stands at 3,544,835. In terms of population distribution, 71.2% of the population, or 2,522,210 people, reside in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, while 28.8%, or 1,022,625 people, live in rural areas.
- Territory: Mongolia is a landlocked country bordered by the Russian Federation to the north and the People’s Republic of China to the south. It has a total land area of 1,564,116 square kilometers. Administratively and territorially, Mongolia is divided into the capital city, 21 provinces (aimags), and 330 soums (districts). The land area per capita amounts to approximately 44 hectares per person.
- Language: Mongolia has one official language, which is Mongolian.
- Legal System: The primary source of law in Mongolia is statutory (written) law, and all legislation, regulations, and rules are governed by the 1992 Constitution, commonly referred to as the democratic Constitution. Mongolia is a parliamentary republic, and the system of state authority is divided into three branches: the State Great Khural (Parliament), the Government (executive branch), and the Judiciary.
- Currency: Mongolian Tugriks (MNT)
- Cost of Living: As of 2025, the estimated monthly living expenses in Mongolia, excluding rent, amount to approximately USD 560 for a single individual and USD 2,000 for a family of four. This represents a cost of living that is 55.3% lower than the average living expenses in the United States
- Human Resources: The majority of Mongolia’s working-age population possesses a relatively high level of education. According to available statistics, 59.1% of citizens aged 15 and above, considered to be of working age, are employed.
- Economy: According to data published by the National Statistics Office, as of the end of 2024, Mongolia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) amounted to MNT 32.0 trillion at 2015 constant prices and MNT 79.9 trillion at current prices. In the second quarter of 2025, nominal GDP reached MNT 40 trillion, representing an 8.8% increase compared to the same period of the previous year. Mongolia’s economy is primarily based on agriculture and mining. The country is rich in mineral resources, and the extraction of copper, coal, molybdenum, tin, tungsten, and gold plays a significant role in the national economy. Outside urban areas, the population predominantly engages in livestock husbandry, including the herding of sheep, goats, cattle, horses, and camels. Crop production mainly consists of the cultivation of wheat, barley, vegetables, tomatoes, watermelons, sea buckthorn, and fodder crops.
The significant features and advantages of Mongolia include, but are not limited to, the following:
- A diversified and growing market exists in Mongolia;
- Technology Innovation Hub;
- Large mineral resource base that can be leveraged for value-added processing;
- Developing Industry and Infrastructure;
- Acting as a bridge between the two economic powerhouses of Russia and China;
- A young, well-educated population;
- The private sector and privatization, including the privatization of major state assets and listing Mongolian conglomerates and exploration license aggregators on MSE;
- Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and modernizing Infrastructure;
- Rule of law, regulatory quality, and transparency;
- Ensuring guarantees for investors, both tax and non-tax related;
- Promising mega projects; and
- A thriving telecoms & IT sector.
