# Mongolia and Russia compared

Mongolia and Russia side by side: 43 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 6 events their chronicles record of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/mng-vs-rus
Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates)

Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Formation

- Mongolia: 1206 — A kurultai proclaims Temüjin ruler of the Great Mongol Nation
- Russia: 882 — Oleg takes Kiev and Kievan Rus' becomes a single state

## Economy

| Metric | Mongolia | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $24 B | 2024 | $2.17 T | 2024 |
| GDP per capita | $6,751 | 2024 | $14,889 | 2024 |
| GDP growth | 5.1% | 2024 | 4.3% | 2024 |
| Inflation | 6.2% | 2024 | 8.4% | 2024 |
| Trade openness | 138.4% | 2024 | 39.5% | 2024 |

## Society

| Metric | Mongolia | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 3.5 m | 2024 | 144 m | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 72.4 yrs | 2024 | 73.4 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 71.0% | 2024 | 75.1% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 2.5 | 2024 | 1.4 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | Mongolia | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 59.1 | 2024 | 32.0 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 73.1 | 2024 | 50.5 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 43.8 | 2024 | 45.1 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 53.7 | 2024 | 38.0 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 55.2 | 2024 | 37.1 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 38.0 | 2024 | 29.8 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | Mongolia | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 6.1% | 2023 | 7.0% | 2023 |
| Physicians | 4.13 | 2022 | 5.11 | 2022 |
| Under-5 mortality | 13.4 | 2024 | 5.2 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 96.0% | 2024 | 97.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | 43.4% | 2024 | 76.3% | 2024 |

## Education

| Metric | Mongolia | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 98.6% | 2024 | 99.9% | 2021 |
| Education spending | 5.2% | 2024 | 4.2% | 2023 |
| Primary enrolment | 92.3% | 2024 | 97.7% | 2023 |
| Secondary enrolment | 96.8% | 2023 | 92.5% | 2023 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 69.0% | 2024 | 60.4% | 2024 |

## Technology

| Metric | Mongolia | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 0.1% | 2022 | 0.9% | 2024 |
| Researchers (per million) | 535 | 2022 | 2,639 | 2024 |
| Internet users | 85.1% | 2024 | 94.4% | 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 141 | 2024 | 186 | 2024 |
| High-tech exports | 22.5% | 2023 | 9.7% | 2021 |

## Geography

| Metric | Mongolia | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 1,558,500 km² | 2023 | 16,376,870 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 9.1% | 2023 | 49.8% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 69.0% | 2023 | 13.2% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 7.8 | 2024 | 14.0 | 2024 |
| Renewable energy | 3.0% | 2021 | 3.5% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | Mongolia | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 33.1% | 2021 | 18.5% | 2021 |
| Oil rents | 1.5% | 2021 | 9.7% | 2021 |
| Mineral rents | 26.6% | 2021 | 2.1% | 2021 |
| Forest rents | 0.2% | 2021 | 0.3% | 2021 |
| Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 |
| Copper (mined) | — | — | 1.3 Mt | 2025 |
| Iron ore | — | — | 86 Mt | 2025 |
| Gold (mined) | — | — | 310 t | 2025 |
| Cobalt (mined) | — | — | 7,700 t | 2025 |
| Nickel (mined) | — | — | 200 kt | 2025 |
| Rare earths | — | — | 2,600 t | 2025 |
| Bauxite | — | — | 5.7 Mt | 2025 |
| Zinc (mined) | — | — | 430 kt | 2025 |
| Phosphate rock | — | — | 14 Mt | 2025 |

## Military

| Metric | Mongolia | Observed | Russia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 0.7% | 2024 | 7.1% | 2024 |
| Defense spending | $181 M | 2024 | $149 B | 2024 |
| Armed forces | 18,000 | 2020 | 1.5 m | 2020 |

Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/MNG.md and https://terralore.co/country/RUS.md.

## Entangled histories (6 events)

Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources.

- 1219: **Conquest of the Khwarazmian empire** — Mongol armies invade and destroy the powerful Khwarazmian empire of Central Asia, opening the way to Persia and the Russian steppe and demonstrating the reach of the new Mongol military. (from the Mongolia chronicle; sources: Genghis Khan; Mongol empire)
- 1237-1240: **Mongol invasion and the fall of Kiev** — Batu Khan's Mongol army sacks the Rus' principalities, destroying Ryazan and Vladimir and storming Kiev in December 1240; the Russian lands become tributaries of the Golden Horde. (from the Russia chronicle; sources: Russia; Batu Khan)
- 1480: **The Great Stand on the Ugra ends the Mongol yoke** — Ivan III, having stopped paying tribute, faces down the Great Horde at the Ugra River; the bloodless standoff is traditionally regarded as the end of Mongol overlordship and the rise of a sovereign Muscovite state. (from the Russia chronicle; sources: Russia)
- 1921: **People's Revolution captures the capital** — Damdin Sükhbaatar's People's Army, with the Soviet Red Army, drives out the White Russian forces of Baron Ungern-Sternberg and takes Niislel Khüree in July 1921, installing a people's government. (from the Mongolia chronicle; sources: Damdiny Sühbaatar; Mongolia: Independence and revolution)
- 1924: **Mongolian People's Republic proclaimed** — After the death of the Bogd Khan in May 1924, the monarchy lapses and the Mongolian People's Republic is proclaimed in November, the world's second socialist state and a satellite of the Soviet Union. (from the Mongolia chronicle; sources: Mongolia: Independence and revolution; Bogd Gegeen Khan)
- 1937: **The Great Repression** — Under Choibalsan and Soviet NKVD advisers, the state carries out mass purges, killing tens of thousands of people, executing thousands of lamas, and destroying hundreds of Buddhist monasteries. (from the Mongolia chronicle; sources: Mongolia: Counterrevolution and Japan; Mongolia: A Country Study)

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex
- Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center

Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/MNG/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/RUS/chronicle.md.

Citation template: Terralore, "Mongolia and Russia compared", terralore.co/compare/mng-vs-rus, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.