Area:1.56 million sq km Population: 2.7 million People: Khalkh Mongols (86%), Kazaks (2%), Chinese (2%), Russian (2%), about a dozen other ethnic groups Language: Mongolian, Russian, Chinese Religion: Tibetan Buddhism, Muslim, Shamanism

Mongolia is the sixth largest country in Central Asia by area, and the 18th largest in the world - about three times the size of France. The country is one of the highest in the world, at an average elevation of 1,580 metres above sea level, and it has an extreme climate, ranging from -40 degrees C to +40 degrees C, accompanied by high winds. The country experiences an average of 250 sunny days annually. Mongolia's climate is said to be comparable to Northern Alberta, but drier.

Click here to read a recent article from Bloomberg on Mongolian exploration activity.

The country's population is 2.7 million, about 60 per cent of whom live in cities or towns. All speak Mongolian and many speak Russian. Virtually all of the adult population (age 15 and up) is literate, and the use of English is growing, particularly in Ulaanbaatar, the capital, which has a population of about 700,000.