Mongolia

Last Updated 29 September 2025

Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia and China with a population of 3.5 million.1“Mongolia Population”, Worldometer, accessed 26 September 2025 https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/mongolia-population/ In 1990, Mongolia abandoned its 70-year-old Soviet-style one-party state and embraced constitutional, political and economic reforms. In 1992, the first elected government of Mongolia adopted a new Constitution, cementing its aspiration to become an independent, democratic country with a multiparty parliamentary system.2Bertelsmann Stiftung, BTI 2024 Country Report — Mongolia, accessed 25 September 2025, https://bti-project.org/en/reports/country-report/MNG

Under communist rule in Mongolia, the government suppressed religious practice, destroyed religious sites and persecuted religious groups.3Zsuzsa Majer, “Buddhism in Mongolia during the Communist Period,” Study Buddhism, n.d., accessed 25 September 2025, https://studybuddhism.com/en/advanced-studies/history-culture/buddhism-in-mongolia/buddhism-in-mongolia-during-the-communist-period The end of the Soviet-era brought about a resurgence of Buddhism in the country, as well as burgeoning interest from Christian missionaries and faith-based NGOs.4Marie-Dominique Even, “Spirituality versus Ritual? On Modern Tibetan Buddhism in Post-Communist Mongolia,”, April 2009, accessed 25 September 2025, https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00274087/document[/ref] According to the latest census (2020), 51.7% of the Mongolians identify as Buddhists, 40.6% as non-religious, 3.2% as Muslims (predominantly of Kazakh ethnicity), 2.5% as followers of the Mongol shamanic tradition, 1.3% as Christians, and 0.7% as followers of other religions.[ref]National Statistics Office of Mongolia, Population and Housing Census 2020: Consolidated Results (Summary), accessed 25 September 2025, https://tuv.nso.mn/uploads/users/87/files/Khun_am_toollogo.pdf

 
Mostly Satisfactory
Free and Equal

Constitution and government

In 1992, Mongolia adopted a constitution that restored religious freedoms and ensured the separation of church and state. Article 9 of the constitutions declares that:

1.The state shall respect religions and religions shall honour the state.
2. State institutions shall not engage in religious activities and religious institutions shall not pursue political activities.
3. The relationship between the state and religious institutions shall be regulated by law.5Government of Mongolia, Constitution of Mongolia (1992, rev. 2001), Constitute Project, accessed 25 September 2025, https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Mongolia_2001.pdf

Any religious and belief groups must register with the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs in order to legally function as an organization. The process is decentralized and highly bureaucratic: religious and belief groups must renew their registration annually with multiple government institutions across local, provincial, and national levels, and each individual branch is required to register as an independent legal entity, regardless of any affiliation with a registered parent organization.6“Mongolia” chapter in 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom (U.S. Department of State, 2024) https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-report-on-international-religious-freedom/mongolia/

In 2018, the Mongolian government drafted a revision of the Law on the Relations Between the State and Religious Institutions. The draft revision continues the burdensome registration process for religious groups, restricts the sharing of beliefs by unregistered groups, and requires religious groups to provide notice before undertaking religious activities. Following the draft revision, Ulannbaatar’s city council ceased processing religious activity permits. In response to the delays, a number of religious groups raised the issue to the National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia in 2022.7Constitutional Law Institute (National University of Mongolia) and Mahoney Liotta LLP, Religious Freedom (Collection) 2022, accessed 25 September 2025, https://cli.num.edu.mn/Хэвлэл/

Buddhism occupies a privileged position in society. In Mongolia’s Law on the Relationship between the State and Religious Institutions, it is declared that the State shall respect the dominant position of Buddhism to uphold unity and historical traditions.8Government of Mongolia, Law on the Relationship between the State and Religious Institutions (1993), Art. 4.2, Integrated Legal Information System of Mongolia (legalinfo.mn), accessed 26 September 2025, https://legalinfo.mn/mn/detail/485 The State displays particular respect and deference towards Buddhism and Buddhist traditions, seeing the religion as forming part of Mongolia’s cultural heritage and national identity. For example, it is common for representatives of the State to patronize religious ceremonies, and lamas are also invited to contribute to State ceremonies.9Marie-Dominique Even, “Spirituality versus Ritual? On Modern Tibetan Buddhism in Post-Communist Mongolia,” April 2009, accessed 25 September 2025, https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00274087/document

Education and children’s rights

Mongolia’s education system is secular and the government is prohibited from giving state funds to religious schools for religious education. This policy applies equally to all religious groups. Mongolia’s General Law on Education prohibits public schools from organizing religious training, religious rituals, and other related activities. Religious schools are permitted to provide religious education in addition to the state curriculum. However, any religious teaching is separate from state-funded education and religious education is not part of the state school curriculum.10Government of Mongolia. General Law on Education (Revised edition), July 7, 2023. Art. 18.6, Art 18.7. Unofficial translation. NATLEX (International Labour Organization), accessed 26 September 2025 https://natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/natlex2/files/download/116436/education%20mongolia.pdf">https://natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/natlex2/files/download/116436/education%20mongolia.pdfhttps://natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/natlex2/files/download/116436/education%20mongolia.pdf

Family, community and society

Religious and non-religious groups generally operate freely in Mongolia, but very troubling social attitudes toward women persist.

Gender equality

The prevalence of patriarchal and traditional norms in Mongolia contribute to significant discrimination and violence against women. The first nationwide survey on gender-based violence, conducted in 2017 by the National Statistics Office and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), revealed that Mongolia had “extremely high” rates of intimate partner and non-partner violence. The survey, which also examined attitudes towards gender roles, found that “1 in 4 women, regardless of her social and economic status, agreed that a husband is justified in beating his wife if she is unfaithful.”11National Statistics Office of Mongolia and UNFPA Asia and the Pacific, “2017 National Study on Gender-based Violence in Mongolia,” 1 June 2018, accessed 25 September 2025, https://asiapacific.unfpa.org/en/publications/2017-national-study-gender-based-violence-mongolia In 2023, the United Nations in Mongolia reported that one in two Mongolian women had suffered violence from an intimate partner and that the country is seeing a rise in technology-based violence.12United Nations in Mongolia, “Joint Statement of the United Nations in Mongolia on the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence,” United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Mongolia, 23 November 2023, accessed 26 September 2025, https://www.undp.org/mongolia/press-releases/joint-statement-united-nations-mongolia-16-days-activism-against-gender-based-violence-0

Freedom of expression, advocacy of humanist values

In 2021, Mongolia adopted a new Law on the Legal Status of Human Rights Defenders. The law was hailed as an achievement by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,13 Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), “Mongolia: New Law to Protect Human Rights Defenders,” 30 April 2021, accessed 25 September 2025, https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/MongoliaHumanRightsLaw.aspx though some NGOs, including FORUM-ASIA, expressed concern over certain restrictive provisions in the law that could potentially undermine the work of human rights defenders. This includes an article that prohibits human rights defenders from receiving funds to conduct activities “deemed to harm national unity,” and an article which prohibits defenders from “defaming the honour, reputation and fame of others.”14Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), “[Joint Statement] Mongolia: New law protecting human rights defenders welcomed but problematic clauses raise concerns,” 20 May 2021, accessed 25 September 2025, https://www.forum-asia.org/?p=34902

Freedom of expression may be guaranteed under the 1992 Constitution, but is not always respected in practice. The Criminal Code of Mongolia has faced criticism for its undefined reference to “false information” and the 2017 Law on State and Official Secrets has reportedly led to the prosecution of journalists exposing corruption.15Transparency International, “Mongolia: Criminalisation of defamation is another disturbing attack on media freedom, threatening anti-corruption efforts,” 29 April 2020, accessed 25 September 2025, https://www.transparency.org/en/press/mongolia-criminalisation-of-defamation-is-another-disturbing-attack-on-media-freedom-threatening-anti-corruption-efforts

References

References
1 “Mongolia Population”, Worldometer, accessed 26 September 2025 https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/mongolia-population/
2 Bertelsmann Stiftung, BTI 2024 Country Report — Mongolia, accessed 25 September 2025, https://bti-project.org/en/reports/country-report/MNG
3 Zsuzsa Majer, “Buddhism in Mongolia during the Communist Period,” Study Buddhism, n.d., accessed 25 September 2025, https://studybuddhism.com/en/advanced-studies/history-culture/buddhism-in-mongolia/buddhism-in-mongolia-during-the-communist-period
4 Marie-Dominique Even, “Spirituality versus Ritual? On Modern Tibetan Buddhism in Post-Communist Mongolia,”, April 2009, accessed 25 September 2025, https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00274087/document[/ref] According to the latest census (2020), 51.7% of the Mongolians identify as Buddhists, 40.6% as non-religious, 3.2% as Muslims (predominantly of Kazakh ethnicity), 2.5% as followers of the Mongol shamanic tradition, 1.3% as Christians, and 0.7% as followers of other religions.[ref]National Statistics Office of Mongolia, Population and Housing Census 2020: Consolidated Results (Summary), accessed 25 September 2025, https://tuv.nso.mn/uploads/users/87/files/Khun_am_toollogo.pdf
5 Government of Mongolia, Constitution of Mongolia (1992, rev. 2001), Constitute Project, accessed 25 September 2025, https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Mongolia_2001.pdf
6 “Mongolia” chapter in 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom (U.S. Department of State, 2024) https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-report-on-international-religious-freedom/mongolia/
7 Constitutional Law Institute (National University of Mongolia) and Mahoney Liotta LLP, Religious Freedom (Collection) 2022, accessed 25 September 2025, https://cli.num.edu.mn/Хэвлэл/
8 Government of Mongolia, Law on the Relationship between the State and Religious Institutions (1993), Art. 4.2, Integrated Legal Information System of Mongolia (legalinfo.mn), accessed 26 September 2025, https://legalinfo.mn/mn/detail/485
9 Marie-Dominique Even, “Spirituality versus Ritual? On Modern Tibetan Buddhism in Post-Communist Mongolia,” April 2009, accessed 25 September 2025, https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00274087/document
10 Government of Mongolia. General Law on Education (Revised edition), July 7, 2023. Art. 18.6, Art 18.7. Unofficial translation. NATLEX (International Labour Organization), accessed 26 September 2025 https://natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/natlex2/files/download/116436/education%20mongolia.pdf">https://natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/natlex2/files/download/116436/education%20mongolia.pdfhttps://natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/natlex2/files/download/116436/education%20mongolia.pdf
11 National Statistics Office of Mongolia and UNFPA Asia and the Pacific, “2017 National Study on Gender-based Violence in Mongolia,” 1 June 2018, accessed 25 September 2025, https://asiapacific.unfpa.org/en/publications/2017-national-study-gender-based-violence-mongolia
12 United Nations in Mongolia, “Joint Statement of the United Nations in Mongolia on the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence,” United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Mongolia, 23 November 2023, accessed 26 September 2025, https://www.undp.org/mongolia/press-releases/joint-statement-united-nations-mongolia-16-days-activism-against-gender-based-violence-0
13 Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), “Mongolia: New Law to Protect Human Rights Defenders,” 30 April 2021, accessed 25 September 2025, https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/MongoliaHumanRightsLaw.aspx
14 Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), “[Joint Statement] Mongolia: New law protecting human rights defenders welcomed but problematic clauses raise concerns,” 20 May 2021, accessed 25 September 2025, https://www.forum-asia.org/?p=34902
15 Transparency International, “Mongolia: Criminalisation of defamation is another disturbing attack on media freedom, threatening anti-corruption efforts,” 29 April 2020, accessed 25 September 2025, https://www.transparency.org/en/press/mongolia-criminalisation-of-defamation-is-another-disturbing-attack-on-media-freedom-threatening-anti-corruption-efforts

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