Mongolia Civil Registration

Civil Registration (to 1951)
Research Use: Excellent for family and relationship linkage. They identify names of parents, prove other relationships, and are very useful for linking generations.

Record Type: Births, marriages, and deaths maintained by civil authorities. The Central Bureau of Statistics began civil registration in 1921. This early system of civil registration was not universally enforced. It was replaced by a new universal system in 1951.

Time Period: 1921 to 1951.

Contents: Birth – name (given name only); sex; date and place of birth; father's name (given name only) and occupation, mother’s name (given name only); residence of parents; witnesses. Marriage – Given names of bride and of groom, date and place of marriage; probably given names of parents of the bride and groom; previous marital status, occupation, witnesses. Death – name of deceased, sex, date of death and place of death, cause of death, residence, age, marital status, probably name of spouses, possibly given names of parents. Place of birth is not given.

Location: Mongolian National Archives.

Population Coverage: 20 to 30 percent. perhaps as high as 40 percent at times. This early practice of civil registration included mostly the urban population and even for these, coverage was quite uneven.

Reliability: Excellent.

Civil Registration (1951 and Later)
Research Use: Excellent for family and relationship linkage. They identify names of parents, prove other relationships, and are very useful for linking generations.

Record Type: Births, marriages, and deaths maintained by civil authorities. In 1951 the Central Bureau of Statistics introduced a new, universal system of civil registration intended to record the entire population. It went into full effect in 1952. These records gave only the patronymic until 1991. Surnames (tribal names) began to be used in 1991 but did not become prevalent until the late 1990s. Surnames became mandatory in 2000.

Time Period: 1951 to present.

Contents: Birth – name with patronymic (surnames were not used until the late 1990s); sex; date and place of birth; father's name (given name only) and occupation, mother’s name (given name only); residence of parents; witnesses. Marriage – Given names of bride and of groom, date and place of marriage; probably given names of parents of the bride and groom; previous marital status, occupation, witnesses. Death – name of deceased, sex, date of death and place of death, cause of death, residence, age, marital status, probably name of spouses, possibly given names of parents. Place of birth is not given. Divorce - name of divorcing marital partners, date of divorce, etc. Declaration of paternity - name of child, mother’s name, name of declarant, date of declaration, etc. Adoption - specifics not known. Change of name - specifics not known.

Location: Records from 1951 and later are at the National Center for Registration of Information.

Population Coverage: 90 to 95 percent; perhaps better in cities. The best records were kept in the area of Ulaan Baatar and other major cities. Presently civil registration covers essentially all of the population.

Reliability: Excellent.