Mongolia Census

The population of Mongolia is 2.4 million with a population density of 1.5 people per square kilometers. About 32 per cent of the total population lives in the Capital – Ulaanbaatar. 36% of population is children below 15 years old. Literacy rate in Mongolia is very high amounting 97.8% of the population aged 15 years old and above.

Census Records
Research Use: These records can be useful for linking families together and they greatly supplement the research process. They are helpful for establishing family relationships and linkage of generations.

Record Type: Population enumeration. There is very little information available regarding census records in Mongolia. It is possible that some of the census information after 1956 has been computerized.

Time Period: According to the Atlas of World Population History, the first census was 1956 followed by censuses in 1969, and 1979. There were other censuses in 1989 and 1999. Missionaries (from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) who have investigated genealogical sources in Mongolia suggest that there may have been some sort of enumeration 1816-1828, also possibly 1925-1930.

Contents: No information is available regarding the content of early census records. The 1979 census gave name and patronym of head of household, address, wife’s name and patronym, age, ethnicity, citizenship, occupation, education, marital status, and number of children.

Location: Any early records are at the National Archives. Records after 1930 are probably at provincial [aymag] offices.

2000 Census
The 2000 Census is the ninth in its history, which was the first conducted since Mongolia moved from the centrally planned economy to a market economy in 1990. It was planned keeping in view the needs of emerging modern market economy and therefore has deviated from many of the past practices. One of the distinctive features of the 2000 Census was that it followed internationally acceptable methodologies.

The 2000 Census enumerated persons at the places where they were at the time of the Census on the basis of “de facto ” and attempted to measure all persons usually resident in the country as “de jure”. In 2000 Census, all the persons who had been living or would be living in Mongolia, for six months or more are to be enumerated. The foreign diplomatic corps and consular corps, their suits and dependents were excluded form the coverage.

The Census included the following topics:


 * Name
 * Residential status
 * Relation to household head
 * Duration of residence
 * Date of birth
 * Place of birth
 * Age
 * Place of residence five years ago
 * Sex
 * Marital status
 * Citizenship
 * Ethnicity