Eastern Asia · MNG

Mongolia

The story · 12 chapters

How it was drawn

The plateau where steppe empires from the Xiongnu to Genghis Khan were born and fought China for two thousand years, ruled by the Qing for two centuries, and independent again since the twentieth century.

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Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Mongolia fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Han China200 BC to 89
The Xiongnu surround the first Han emperor at Baideng in 200 BC and force China into treaties with yearly gifts and royal brides. From 133 BC Emperor Wu strikes back with huge cavalry campaigns. A Han army finally breaks the northern Xiongnu in 89 AD.
Tang China629 to 682
Tang armies capture the Eastern Turkic khagan in 630 and rule the steppe through Turkic chiefs. The Turks rebel and restore their khaganate in 682, and their Orkhon inscriptions later warn against Chinese silks and promises.
Yenisei Kyrgyz820 to 840
The Yenisei Kyrgyz, from the forests to the north, fight the Uyghurs for twenty years and in 840 sack the Uyghur capital, Ordu-Baliq, scattering the Uyghurs south and west.
Jurchen Jin empire1211 to 1234
Genghis Khan invades the Jurchen Jin empire of northern China in 1211 and takes its capital, Zhongdu, today's Beijing, in 1215. His son Ogedei completes the conquest in 1234.
Khwarazmian Empire1219 to 1221
After the Khwarazm Shah's governor at Otrar kills the merchants of a Mongol caravan, Genghis Khan invades Central Asia in 1219. Bukhara, Samarkand, Urgench and Merv fall, and the empire collapses by 1221.
Ming China1368 to 1571
The Ming drive the Mongols out of China in 1368 and campaign on the steppe for decades. The Oirats capture a Ming emperor at Tumu in 1449, and Altan Khan raids as far as Beijing in 1550. Peace and border markets come only in 1571.
Manchu Qing empire1634 to 1758
The Manchus absorb the southern Mongols in the 1630s and the Khalkha in 1691. They crush the last independent Mongol power, the Dzungar Khanate, in the 1750s, and rule Mongolia until 1911.
Dzungar Khanate1688 to 1758
The Dzungars, a western Mongol state, attack the Khalkha in 1688 and drive them to seek Qing protection. Their ruler Galdan is beaten by the Kangxi emperor at Jao Modo in 1696, and the khanate is destroyed in the 1750s.
Republic of China1915 to 1946
The Republic of China claims Outer Mongolia. A 1915 treaty at Kyakhta leaves it only autonomy, and Chinese troops occupy Urga in 1919. They are driven out in 1921, and China recognises Mongolia's independence only in 1946, after a plebiscite.
Empire of Japan1939 to 1945
Japan's puppet state of Manchukuo disputes Mongolia's eastern border. Soviet and Mongolian forces defeat the Japanese at Khalkhin Gol in 1939, and in August 1945 Mongolia declares war on Japan and joins the Soviet invasion of Manchuria.

Today

Mongolia now

D. The most famous Mongol, TEMÜÜJIN (aka Genghis Khan), emerged as the ruler of all Mongols in the early 1200s. By the time of his death in 1227, he had created through conquest a Mongol Empire that extended across much of Eurasia. His descendants, including ÖGÖDEI and KHUBILAI (aka Kublai Khan), continued to conquer Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and the rest of China, where KHUBILAI established the Yuan Dynasty in the 1270s.

Capital: Ulaanbaatar
Government: semi-presidential republic
Head of government: Uchral Nyam-Osor
Head of state: Khurelsukh Ukhnaa
Languages: Mongolian
Area: 1,564,116 km²

Through time

Then and now

Population3.4 million2023 · 781,700 in 1950
Life expectancy71.7 years2023 · 38.6 years in 1950
GDP per person$13,4422022 · $677 in 1950
Living in cities71%2025 · 20% in 1950
Literacy99%2024 · 58% in 1950
Political regimeElectoral democracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950
Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
Military spending0.9% of GDP2025
War deathsNone2025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Close partners

United States
Japan
Russian Federation

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Mongolia fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Han China200 BC to 89

The Xiongnu surround the first Han emperor at Baideng in 200 BC and force China into treaties with yearly gifts and royal brides. From 133 BC Emperor Wu strikes back with huge cavalry campaigns. A Han army finally breaks the northern Xiongnu in 89 AD.

Tang China629 to 682

Tang armies capture the Eastern Turkic khagan in 630 and rule the steppe through Turkic chiefs. The Turks rebel and restore their khaganate in 682, and their Orkhon inscriptions later warn against Chinese silks and promises.

Yenisei Kyrgyz820 to 840

The Yenisei Kyrgyz, from the forests to the north, fight the Uyghurs for twenty years and in 840 sack the Uyghur capital, Ordu-Baliq, scattering the Uyghurs south and west.

Jurchen Jin empire1211 to 1234

Genghis Khan invades the Jurchen Jin empire of northern China in 1211 and takes its capital, Zhongdu, today's Beijing, in 1215. His son Ogedei completes the conquest in 1234.

Khwarazmian Empire1219 to 1221

After the Khwarazm Shah's governor at Otrar kills the merchants of a Mongol caravan, Genghis Khan invades Central Asia in 1219. Bukhara, Samarkand, Urgench and Merv fall, and the empire collapses by 1221.

Ming China1368 to 1571

The Ming drive the Mongols out of China in 1368 and campaign on the steppe for decades. The Oirats capture a Ming emperor at Tumu in 1449, and Altan Khan raids as far as Beijing in 1550. Peace and border markets come only in 1571.

Manchu Qing empire1634 to 1758

The Manchus absorb the southern Mongols in the 1630s and the Khalkha in 1691. They crush the last independent Mongol power, the Dzungar Khanate, in the 1750s, and rule Mongolia until 1911.

Dzungar Khanate1688 to 1758

The Dzungars, a western Mongol state, attack the Khalkha in 1688 and drive them to seek Qing protection. Their ruler Galdan is beaten by the Kangxi emperor at Jao Modo in 1696, and the khanate is destroyed in the 1750s.

Republic of China1915 to 1946

The Republic of China claims Outer Mongolia. A 1915 treaty at Kyakhta leaves it only autonomy, and Chinese troops occupy Urga in 1919. They are driven out in 1921, and China recognises Mongolia's independence only in 1946, after a plebiscite.

Empire of Japan1939 to 1945

Japan's puppet state of Manchukuo disputes Mongolia's eastern border. Soviet and Mongolian forces defeat the Japanese at Khalkhin Gol in 1939, and in August 1945 Mongolia declares war on Japan and joins the Soviet invasion of Manchuria.

Mongolia now

Capital

Ulaanbaatar

Government

semi-presidential republic

Head of government

Uchral Nyam-Osor

Head of state

Khurelsukh Ukhnaa

Languages

Mongolian

Area

1,564,116 km²

Then and now

Population3.4 million2023 · 781,700 in 1950

Life expectancy71.7 years2023 · 38.6 years in 1950

GDP per person$13,4422022 · $677 in 1950

Living in cities71%2025 · 20% in 1950

Literacy99%2024 · 58% in 1950

Political regimeElectoral democracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950

Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950

Military spending0.9% of GDP2025

War deathsNone2025