Mongolia Provinces (original) (raw)

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Updates:

Mongolia is resuming the use of daylight saving time in 2015. DST will take effect on the last Saturday in March at 1:00 a.m. and end on the last Saturday in September at 1:00 a.m.

FIPS 10-4 Change Notice 12, dated 2007-06-11, has changed the spelling of the names of two provinces: Darhan Uul to Darhan-Uul, and Govi-Sumber to Govisumber. (Actually, the i's should have a breve accent, which I haven't bothered to reproduce.)

Hans Wittebol mentioned that Mongolia would like to move its capital to Kharkhorin (also spelled Harhorin, Karakorum, etc.). The earliest date by which this could be done is 2020. Karakorum was the capital of the Mongol Empire at its height under Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan.

Change Notice 8 to FIPS PUB 10-4 is dated 2002-06-28. It deletes Darhan and Erdenet cities and adds Darhan Uul, Govi-Sumber, and Orhon provinces. I would have expected FIPS to describe this as a change of name from Darhan to Darhan Uul and from Erdenet to Orhon, without changing the status or FIPS code for either one; and since I understand that Govisumber was split from Dornogovi, I would have expected the FIPS code for Dornogovi to change. Either FIPS has deviated from its standard policies for codes, or my "Change history" section below has mistakes. In any case, the new FIPS codes are shown below; the names are already correct in the table.

Country overview:

Short name MONGOLIA
ISO code MN
FIPS code MG
Language Halh Mongol (mn)
Time zone (see table)
Capital Ulaanbaatar

Mongolia in 1900 was under Chinese rule. At that time Mongolia included what is now Tuva republic of Russia (known for a while as Tannu Tuva) and parts of several Chinese provinces. It gained independence from China by stages, losing Inner Mongolia and Tannu Tuva in the process. During this period, it was sometimes called Outer Mongolia, to help distinguish it from Inner Mongolia. Mongolia became independent from China on 1921-07-11.

Other names of country:

  1. Danish: Mongoliet
  2. Dutch: Mongoli�
  3. English: Outer Mongolia (obsolete)
  4. Finnish: Mongolia
  5. French: Mongolie f, Mongolie-Ext�rieure (obsolete)
  6. German: Mongolei f, �ussere Mongolei (obsolete)
  7. Halh Mongol: Mongol Uls
  8. Icelandic: Mong�l�a
  9. Italian: Mongolia f
  10. Norwegian: Mongolia
  11. Portuguese: Mong�lia f, Mong�lia Exterior (obsolete)
  12. Russian: Монголия
  13. Spanish: Mongolia
  14. Swedish: Mongoliet
  15. Turkish: Moğolistan (formal)

Origin of name:

from ethnic name Mongol, said to mean brave

Primary subdivisions:

Mongolia is divided into eighteen aymguud (provinces; sing. aimag or aymag) and four hotuud (municipalities; sing. hot).

Province Type HASC ISO FIPS PC UPU Tz Pop-2010 Pop-2000 Area(km.�) Area(mi.�) Capital
Arhangay p MN.AR 073 MG01 65 AK 8~ 84,078 97,091 55,300 21,350 Tsetserleg
Bayanhongor p MN.BH 069 MG02 64 BK 8~ 75,690 84,779 116,000 44,790 Bayanhongor
Bayan-�lgiy p MN.BO 071 MG03 83 BU 7~ 85,232 91,068 45,700 17,640 �lgiy
Bulgan p MN.BU 067 MG21 63 BG 8~ 53,065 61,776 48,700 18,800 Bulgan
Darhan-Uul m MN.DA 037 MG23 45 DK 8~ 90,642 83,271 3,280 1,270 Darhan
Dornod p MN.DD 061 MG06 21 DR 8~ 68,873 75,373 123,600 47,720 Choybalsan (Bayan Tumen)
Dornogovi p MN.DG 063 MG07 44 DG 8~ 57,930 50,575 109,500 42,280 Buyant-Uhaa (Saynshand)
Dundgovi p MN.DU 059 MG08 48 DUG 8~ 38,543 51,517 74,700 28,840 Mandalgovi
Dzavhan p MN.DZ 057 MG09 81 ZK 7~ 64,924 89,999 82,500 31,850 Uliastay (Dzavchlant)
Govi-Altay p MN.GA 065 MG10 82 GA 7~ 53,223 63,673 141,400 54,590 Altay (Y�s�nbulag)
Govisumber m MN.GS 064 MG24 42 GS 8~ 13,081 12,230 5,540 2,140 Choyr
Hentiy p MN.HN 039 MG11 23 KHT 8~ 65,335 70,946 80,300 31,000 �nd�rhaan
Hovd p MN.HD 043 MG12 84 KH 7~ 76,252 86,831 76,100 29,380 Dund-Us (Hovd, Jirgalanta)
H�vsg�l p MN.HG 041 MG13 67 HSG 8~ 114,331 119,063 100,600 38,840 M�r�n
�mn�govi p MN.OG 053 MG14 46 UG 8~ 60,855 46,858 165,400 63,860 Dalandzadgad
Orhon m MN.ER 035 MG25 61 ER 8~ 87,118 71,525 840 320 Erdenet
�v�rhangay p MN.OH 055 MG15 62 UK 8~ 100,444 111,420 62,900 24,290 Arvayheer
Selenge p MN.SL 049 MG16 43 SG 8~ 95,804 99,950 41,200 15,910 S�hbaatar
S�hbaatar p MN.SB 051 MG17 22 SB 8~ 51,091 56,166 82,300 31,780 Baruun-Urt
T�v p MN.TO 047 MG18 41 TUV 8~ 83,838 99,268 74,000 28,570 Dzuunmod
Ulaanbaatar m MN.UB 1 MG20 1x UB 8~ 1,154,290 760,077 4,700 1,810 Ulaanbaatar (Ulan Bator)
Uvs p MN.UV 046 MG19 85 US 7~ 72,906 90,037 69,600 26,870 Ulaangom
22 divisions 2,647,545 2,373,493 1,564,160 603,900
Type: p = province; m = municipality. HASC: Hierarchical administrative subdivision codes. ISO: Codes from ISO 3166-2. FIPS: Codes from FIPS PUB 10-4. PC: First two digits of postal code (source [1]). UPU: Codes from a document called "Postal Addressing Systems", published by the UniversalPostal Union; presumably these are province abbreviations for use in postal addresses. Tz: Standard time in province (hours later than UTC). Pop-2010: 2010-11-11 census. Pop-2000: 2000-01-05 census. Area: Source: National Statistical Office of Mongolia. Capital: Names in parentheses are older names, sometimes still in use.

Postal codes:

Mongolia uses five-digit postal codes. The first digit determines a postal region of the country. The first and second digits determine the province. Ulaanbaatar uses several second digits.

According to available information in 2001, Mongolia used six-digit postal codes, where the first two digits indicated a town or provincial center; the next two indicated a district. The date of the change is unknown.

Further subdivisions:

See the Soums of Mongolia page.

The provinces are subdivided into soums (or sooms or sums), translated sub-provinces, districts, or counties. The municipalities are divided into districts. At the lowest level of administration, Mongolia is subdivided into bags (rural) and horoos (urban). There are currently 342 soums and 1681 bags and horoos.

Census reports sometimes give the populations by region, where the regions are as listed below. The region to which each province belongs is indicated by the first digit of its postal codes.

Region PC
Central 4
Eastern 2
Khangai 6
Ulaanbaatar 1
Western 8

Territorial extent:

The UN LOCODE page for Mongolia lists locations in the country, some of them with their latitudes and longitudes, some with their ISO 3166-2 codes for their subdivisions. This information can be put together to approximate the territorial extent of subdivisions.

Origins of names:

  1. Choybalsan: after Khorloghiyin Choybalsan, revolutionary leader
  2. Gobi: Halh Mongol gov': desert steppe
  3. S�hbaatar: after Damdiny S�hbaatar, revolutionary leader
  4. Ulaanbaatar: Halh Mongol ulaan: red, baatar: hero, knight, in honor of Damdiny S�hbaatar.

Change history:

  1. The area of present-day Mongolia was divided into khanates in 1900. From west to east, they were Kobdo, Jassaktu, Sain-Noin, Tushetu, and Tsetsen. (Many variant spellings exist.)
  2. 1911: Name of country's capital changed from Urga to Niislel Khureheh (meaning "capital of Mongolia").
  3. 1921-07-11: Outer Mongolia, consisting of Dzasagthaan, Saynnoyonhaan, Tsetsenhaan, and T�sheethaan provinces and Hovd administative area, became independent from China. The Mongolian provinces of Ala-Shan, Ordos, Silin Gol, and Chearim remained part of China. Tannu Tuva split from Kobdo and became an independent country, called the Urjanchai Republic.
  4. 1923: Names of provinces changed to Bogd haan uul, Haan hentiy uul, Hantayshir uul, and Tsetserleg mandal.
  5. 1924-11-26: Mongolian People's Republic proclaimed. Name of country's capital changed from Niislel Khureheh to Ulaanbaatar (then usually transliterated Ulan Bator).
  6. ~1941: Mongolia reorganized into the provinces of Arhangay, Choybalsan, Dornogovi, Dzavhan, Hentiy, Kobdo (Hovd), H�vsg�l, �mn�govi, �v�rhangay, T�v, and Uvs.
  7. 1941: Name of capital of Choybalsan province changed from Bayan Tumen to Choybalsan.
  8. 1954-02: A long strip of southern Mongolia was annexed to Nei Mongol province of China.
  9. ~1954: Bayanhongor, Bayan-�lgiy, Bulgan, Dundgovi, Govi-Altay, and S�hbaatar provinces formed.
  10. ~1956: Selenge province split from T�v.
  11. ~1963: Name of Choybalsan province changed to Dornod.
  12. ~1963: Ulaanbaatar city split from T�v.
  13. At this time, the divisions of Mongolia were:
Province FIPS Pop-1956 Pop-1960 Area(km.�) Capital
Arhangay MG01 60,300 66,700 55,000 Tsetserlig (Tselserlik) [Tsetserleg]
Bayanhongor MG02 42,100 46,000 116,000 Bayan Hongor [Bayanhongor]
Bayan-�lgiy MG03 38,800 44,600 46,000 �l�gey (Ulegei) [�lgiy]
Bulgan MG04 30,900 34,600 49,000 Bulagan (Bulgan)
Dornod MG06 35,100 37,900 122,000 Choybalsan (Choibalsan)
Dornogovi MG07 23,400 26,100 111,000 Sayn Shanda (Sain-Shand) [Saynshand]
Dundgovi MG08 24,600 26,500 78,000 Mandal-Gobi [Mandalgov']
Dzavhan MG09 55,100 61,000 82,000 Jibhalanta (Ulyassutai) [Uliastay]
Govi-Altay MG10 41,000 45,600 142,000 Yusan-Bulak [Yes�nbulag]
Hentiy MG11 34,800 37,500 82,000 �nd�r Haan (Undur-Khan) [�nd�rhaan]
Hovd MG12 42,300 48,000 76,000 Jirgalanta (Hobdo) [Hovd]
H�vsg�l MG13 58,200 64,000 101,000 M�r�n (Muren)
�mn�govi MG14 20,200 21,900 165,000 Dalan Dzadagad [Dalandzadgad]
�v�rhangay MG15 49,900 54,700 63,000 Arbay Heere (Arbai Khere) [Arvayheer]
Selenge MG16 35,000 43,000 S�he Baator [S�hbaatar]
S�hbaatar MG17 30,700 34,100 82,000 Barun-Urt [Baruun urt]
T�v MG18 82,000 53,800 81,000 Dzun-modo [Dzuun mod]
Ulaanbaatar MG20 118,400 164,000 2 Ulan Bator
Uvs MG19 46,800 53,100 69,000 Ulaangom
19 provinces 845,500 955,100 1,565,000
Province: Source: Encyclop�dia Britannica World Atlas, 1964 edition. In thistable, names are given in their modern forms. These divisions were provincesexcept for Ulaanbaatar, which was an independent city. FIPS: these codes were assigned in 1971. Pop-1956: 1956-02-05 census. Pop-1960: 1960 estimates. Capital: Names are given as they appear in the EBWA. They are recognizably thesame as the present-day capitals, except where a change occurred as listedbelow. Names in [brackets] are those given in the Sanders book, where different.
  1. ~1966: Darhan city (Darhan-Uul) split from Selenge. Darhan was given FIPS code MG05 when they were assigned.
  2. ~1979: Erdenet city (later named Orhon) split from Bulgan. Erdenet was given FIPS code MG22 at that time.
  3. ~1994: Name of capital of Dornogovi province changed from Saynshand to Buyant-Uhaa; name of capital of Hovd province changed from Hovd to Dund-Us.
  4. ~1996: Govisumber province split from Dornogovi.

Other names of subdivisions:

There are many ways to transliterate from Mongolian. The same letter in Mongolia's modified Cyrillic alphabet may be transliterated 'kh' or 'h', and similarly for other letters. This list shows some that have appeared in print.

  1. Arhangay: Alahangai, Ara Hangay, Ara-Khangai, Archangaj, Arkhangai, North Hangay, North Khangai (variant); Archangai (German)
  2. Bayanhongor: Bajan-Chongor (German); Bayan Khangor, Bayan Khongor (variant)
  3. Bayan-�lgiy: Bajan-�lgij, Bayan �l�gey, Bayan-Ulegei, Bayanulgee, Bayan-Ulgii (variant); Bajan-Ulegei (German)
  4. Bulgan: Bulagan (variant)
  5. Darhan-Uul: Darchan, Darhan, Darkhan, Darkhan-Uul (variant); Darchan-Uul (German)
  6. Dornod: Choibalsan, Choybalsan, Doronad, Doronod, Eastern (variant)
  7. Dornogovi: Dornogobi, Dornogov', Dorono Gobi, East Gobi (variant); Dornogow', Ostgobi (German); G�bi Oriental (Portuguese)
  8. Dundgovi: Central Gobi, Dunda Gobi, Dundgobi, Dundgov', Middle Gobi (variant); Dundgow', Mittelgobi (German); G�bi Central (Portuguese)
  9. Dzavhan: Dsawchan (German); Dzabhan, Dzabkhan, Dzavchan, Psapchyn, Zavhan, Zavkhan (variant)
  10. Govi-Altay: Gobi-Altai, Gobi Altay, Gov'altaj, Gov'altay, Govyaltaj (variant); Gow'altai (German)
  11. Govisumber: Gobisumber (variant)
  12. Hentiy: Chentii, Chentij (German); Hentey, Hentii, Kentai, Kentei, Khentei, Khenti, Khentii (variant)
  13. Hovd: Chovd, Hobdo, Khobdo, Khovd, Kobdo (variant); Chowd (German)
  14. H�vsg�l: Ch�vsg�l, Chuwsgul (German); Hobsgol, H�bs�g�l, Hubsugul, Khubsugal, Khubsugud, Khubsugul, Khuvsgul, Kossogol (variant)
  15. �mn�govi: G�bi do Sul (Portuguese); �mn�gov', �m�n� Gobi, South Gobi, Umnu, Umnugovi (variant); �mn�gow', S�dgobi (German)
  16. Orhon: Erdenet (obsolete); Orkhon (variant)
  17. �v�rhangay: �b�r Hangay, �v�rchangaj, Ovorkhangai South Hangay, South Khangai, Ublhangai, Ubur-Khangai, Uvurkhangay (variant); �w�rchangai, Uwurchangaj (German)
  18. Selenge: Selenga (variant)
  19. S�hbaatar: S�he Baatar, Suhe-Bator, S�khbaatar, Sukh-Batar, Sukhe-Bator (variant); S�chbaatar (German)
  20. T�v: Central, T�b, Tub, Tuv, Tuvaimag (variant); T�w, Tuw (German)
  21. Ulaanbaatar: Oulan-Bator (French); Ulan Bator, Ulan Bator Choto (variant); Ul�n Bator (Spanish)
  22. Uvs: Ubs, Ubsa Nor, Ubsa Nur, Ubsu Hur, Upsanol, Uvs nuur (variant); Uws (German)

Sources:

  1. [1] Mongolia , on the YouBianKu wiki, which is devoted to postal codes (retrieved 2013-06-18).
  2. [2] Sanders, A.J.K. "The People's Republic of Mongolia." Oxford University Press, London, 1968.
  3. [3] Population and Housing Census of Mongolia, 2010 (retrieved 2014-02-25).
  4. [4] Mongolia 2010 Population Census : Main Findings, by Ochirsukh Ya (retrieved 2014-02-25). This page has conflicting and incomplete information, but some of it serves to confirm source [3].
  5. [5] "Mongolia to observe Daylight Saving Time from March 28, 2015 " on InfoMongolia news website (retrieved 2015-03-15).