Mongol Uls
CAPITAL : Ulaanbaatar
FLAG : The national flag, adopted in 1946, contains a light blue vertical stripe between two red stripes; in gold, on the stripe nearest the hoist, is the soyombo, Mongolia's independence emblem.
ANTHEM : Bügd Nayramdah mongol ard ulsyn töriin duulal (State Anthem of the Mongolian People's Republic).
MONETARY UNIT : The tugrik ( T ) of 100 mongos. There are coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 50 mongos and notes of 1, 3, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, and 100 tugriks. T 1 = $0.0008833 (or $1 = T 1,132) as of May 2003.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES : The metric system is the legal standard.
HOLIDAYS : New Year's Day, 1 January; Constitution Day, 13 January; Women's Day, 8 March; Mother and Children's Day, 1 June; Naadam Festival, 11–13 July; Mongolian Republic Day, 26 November. Movable holidays include Mongol New Year's Day, in February or March.
TIME : 8 PM = noon GMT.
In 1999, 90% of the population consisted of Mongols, approximately three-quarters of them Khalkha. The Kazakhs are the leading minority group, making up about 4%. Peoples of Soviet and Chinese origin are also present in substantial numbers (2% each); other varied ethnic groups make up the remaining 2%.
In 2002, the armed forces totaled 9,100 active personnel with reserves of 137,000. The army had 7,500 equipped with 370 main battle tanks. The air defense force had 800 personnel and was equipped with 11 armed helicopters. Paramilitary forces consisted of a border guard numbering 6,000 and internal security troops of 1,200. Mongolia spent an estimated $24.3 million for defense in 2001 or 2.5% of GDP.
Fishing is not a significant industry in Mongolia. The total catch in 2000 was 425 tons.
In the 1980s, insurance was offered by the State Directorate for Insurance, or Mongoldaatgal, which was under the control of the Ministry of Finance. The government was planning to introduce health insurance in 1993 as a cooperative effort between individuals, government agencies, and the private sector.
The turnover tax, for the majority of state revenues, is an indirect sales tax levied at the production stage on all manufactured commodities. Personal taxes consist of income taxes, paid by salaried industrial workers and office employees, and livestock taxes on private herders, based on the number of livestock owned. There is a ceiling of 40% on taxes levied on enterprises with foreign capital.
Mongolia collects a general import tariff of 5% and a value-added tax (VAT) of 13% on all imported items. Customs duties have been insignificant, yielding less than 1% of total state revenues.
The MPR has no territories or colonies.
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