Ulaanbaatar "Red Hero") is the capital of Mongolia. It is at the same time the political, economic, industrial, scientific and cultural center. Administratively, it has the status, unique in the country, of a municipality, comparable to that of a province (aimag). With 1.6 million inhabitants, it is the largest city in Mongolia.The city, which stretches from east to west at the bottom of the valley of the Toul river, over about twenty kilometres, brings together nearly half of the country's population. Life in Ulaanbaatar has been turned upside down by the influx of nomads from the steppe: in 2011, the rural exodus had already pushed more than 500,000 people to UB (the nickname given by the Mongols to their capital).

Geography

Ulaanbaatar is located 522 km south-southeast of Irkutsk, Russia, 1,170 km northwest of Beijing, 1,557 km east-northeast of Ürümqi, China , and 4,635 km east-southeast of Moscow. The city is built along the Toul River, a watercourse belonging to the Selenge sub-basin. Southeast of the city is the Choybalsan Uul, a small regional massif culminating at 2,261 m and belonging to the Khentii Mountains. This last, more important mountain range limits the Tula valley to the north and continues as far as Russia.

Economy

In recent years, the city's economic growth was 5-8%. Since 1995, the gross domestic product as well as the per capita income has been constantly growing, inflation is under control and the importance of the private sector has increased considerably, mainly within the informal sector.Recently, the city has benefited from the income from the exploitation of coal, gold and copper mines, located some 550 km further south.

Demography

In 2021, the population of Ulaanbaatar was 1,639,172, growing rapidly (2 to 3% per year). This represents approximately 48% of the country's total population.

In 2018, the population of Ulaanbaatar was estimated at 1,444,669. It was 659,200 inhabitants in 1998 and 846,500 inhabitants in 2002.

The number of registered employees was 209,800 and 254,200 respectively during these same years. Life expectancy was 64.62 years in 1999 and 64.95 years in 2002, about a year higher than the national average.

Climate

Ulaanbaatar is the coldest capital in the world, it enjoys a cold and dry continental climate (Dwc type according to the Koppen classification). Winter is cold and long while summer is short and cool. Almost all of the precipitation occurs in the summer.

What to do ?

• Gandan Monastery
• Tumen ekh