Mongolia has been an independent Republic since 1924. The new Constitution, approved in February 1992, while guaranteeing freedom of religion, has deprived the Lamaist monks of the political and economic powers they once held almost absolutely. On the basis of the fundamental charter, the country has therefore given itself a democratic structure by opening itself to multi-partyism and guaranteeing certain freedoms. As regards the exercise of powers, the legislative power is expressed by the Parliament (made up of 76 members), elected every four years like the President of the Republic, appointed by direct suffrage for 4 years like the Parliament. Executive power is exercised by a Council of Ministers, appointed by the prime minister (who in principle is also the leader of the coalition of the majority party) in agreement with the president of the Republic. The country’s judicial system is based on a mixture of regulatory elements used by the Soviet, American and German systems but international legislation is not recognized. Justice is administered by the Supreme Court, and in the lower grades by the provincial and local courts. There are also two supervisory bodies: the Constitutional Court, which guarantees the compliance of the provisions with the Fundamental Charter and the General Council of all Courts, which oversees the independence of the Supreme Court. All judicial bodies are elective. The death penalty is in effect. The country’s armed forces include the military and air force; military service is compulsory and its duration is 12 months in all weapons, including the police force. Before the revolution, education depended predominantly on religious groups. After the achievement of independence (1924), a vast literacy campaign was promoted in the country. At the same time, a Ministry of Education was created and the school system was organized in accordance with the Soviet model, inspired by Marxist principles. Education, free and compulsory, begins at the age of 6 and lasts for 10 years. Higher education is given in Ulan-Bator universities (such as the National University of Mongolia or the Mongolian University of Science and Technology) and in several higher institutes (such as the Institute of Finance and Economics, the Institute of Commerce and Business or the Fashion Design Institute). According to andyeducation, many Mongolian students pursue higher education abroad, especially in Russia and Germany. The illiteracy rate recorded in Mongolia, attested to particularly low values (2.7% in 2007), testifies to the importance attributed in the country to schooling.
TERRITORY: MORPHOLOGY
The territory of Mongolia consists of a set of other lands that have a predominantly tabular structure in the southern section, while in the northern one there are reliefs of the Paleozoic age with mature forms affected by faults and dislocations as a consequence of the repercussions of the Alpine orogeny during the Cenozoic. The plateau, on average 1500 m high, is however exactly a penepiano deeply worked by erosion in very ancient, Precambrian and Paleozoic rocks, consisting mostly of granites, gneisses and crystalline schists. It was submerged by the sea (and to this we owe the marine sedimentary formations that cover most of the internal basins), but the sedimentary covers of continental origin (sandstones) especially of the Mesozoic are more extensive; it was raised to current values only in recent times, during the Pliocene or Pleistocene, with consequent rejuvenation and resumption of erosive activity. The extreme southern belt is part of the great desert basin called Gobi, a typical wind modeling area. Among the northern reliefs, the Mongolian Altai chain, which includes the highest peaks in the country, including the orographic node of the Tavan-Bogdo-Ula (4356 m) on the border with China and Russia, forms a barrier in the NW-SE direction between the Mongolian highlands and the Zungaria depression. The border with Russia runs NW along the Tannu Ola chain, while the central section is affected by the Eastern Saian chain and the eastern one by the Hentej chain. Finally, the north- central area of the country is dominated by the Hangayn Nuruu chain, with peaks close to 4000 meters.
TERRITORY: HYDROGRAPHY
The hydrographic network is only partially exoreic: it pays tribute to the Arctic Ocean through Lake Baikal the Selenga, enriched by the contribution of the Orhon; it sends its waters to the Pacific the Onon, the spring branch of the Amur. Another important Mongolian river is the Herlen, also connected, but intermittently, to the Amur through the Hulun Nur lake. For approx. two thirds of the territory, however, is areic or endorheic, engraved by river beds in which water flows only during the short violent summer rains, which flows into small closed basins, lakes or temporary ponds; However, between the chains of Tannu Ola, Hangayn Nuruu and Mongolian Altai there is a series of endorheic basins occupied by extensive lake basins including the Har nuur and the Hirgis-Nur.
