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Did you know that Mongolia’s vast steppe is home to more sheep than people, 7 times more, to be exact? With 6.5 times more goats and 1.3 times more horses, the country’s rich nomadic heritage still thrives. In fact, 25% of the population continues to live a traditional nomadic lifestyle. Click HERE for more. 🤩

Today’s highlights in 3 sentences…

• 🏦 Back to Private

• Trend: Mortality 📈, Birth 📉 

• 👶 Capital Market’s New Baby

Buckle Up!

MARKET

• BOM: Mongolia reports a historic high of $5.5 billion in foreign exchange reserves for 2024. However, as of last month, the reserves decrease by 11%, reaching $4.9 billion.

• MSE: Bogd Bank ends its operations as a public bank after 3 years and announces its transition to a closed joint-stock company.

• GOV: Mongolia is set to sign the Gashuunsukhait-Gantsmod Cross-Border Railway Agreement with China this week.

Trend: Mortality 📈, Birth 📉 

In 2024, Mongolia reports 18,113 deaths, revealing significant trends in the country’s health landscape. Let’s dive into the numbers and uncover what they tell us about the nation’s ongoing health challenges and demographic shifts.

♂️♀️ Mortality Breakdown 

Out of the 18,113 deaths, 11,497 or 63.5% are men, and 6,616, or 36.5% are women. This stark difference shows that men face nearly double the mortality rate compared to women. This gender gap in mortality remains consistent, driven by factors such as lifestyle, health issues, and accidents. Men’s higher mortality rate is a persistent challenge that requires targeted healthcare interventions and lifestyle changes.

🔝 Leading Causes of Death

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death, accounting for 31.8% of all fatalities, or 5,746 deaths. Since 2000, these conditions have been the top cause of death in Mongolia, consistently representing around 30% of all mortality. Despite efforts to tackle heart disease, it continues to be a significant health burden.

Cancer follows closely, responsible for 21.2% of deaths, or 3,843 people in 2024. The rate of cancer-related deaths is rising, with its share of total deaths increasing from 22% to 26% over the past decade. In total, 4,755 people die from cancer each year, underscoring the urgent need for enhanced cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment strategies. Among the most common types of cancer are liver and stomach cancer, which are particularly prevalent in Mongolia.

• 👶 Child Mortality: Child mortality is another pressing issue. The death rate of children aged 0-4 surpasses that of adults under 49. In this age group, 500 boys die compared to 377 girls, revealing a concerning gender disparity in child mortality. This highlights a critical area for intervention, as the health system must focus on improving maternal and child healthcare services to reduce preventable deaths.

🫥 Declining Birth Rate: An Emerging Trend

On the flip side, Mongolia records 57.8 thousand births in 2024, marking a 10.2% decrease from the previous year. This drop of 6.6 thousand births is significant, as it’s the first time in 17 years that the number of births falls below the 60 thousand threshold. The highest birth year remains 2014, with 82.8 thousand births. The declining birth rate signals potential challenges for the country’s future labor force and economic sustainability, prompting the need for policies to encourage higher birth rates and support families.

Final thoughts… Mongolia faces clear challenges in both mortality and birth rates. The high mortality rate among men and children, coupled with rising cancer and cardiovascular disease rates, highlights urgent need for more effective healthcare policies. Furthermore, the declining birth rate presents a potential demographic issue, which could impact the country’s future economic growth and social stability. 

Tradable Deposit Certificates Arrive in 🇲🇳's Market

Mongolia’s capital market introduces a new financial product, certificates of deposit (CDs), which is soon to be available for trading, improving product diversification.

🫤 Limited Product Diversification in the Capital Market

Currently, Mongolia’s capital market consists mainly of bonds, stocks, asset-backed securities, and investment fund units, showing weak product variety. Banks issue only fixed-interest, less liquid certificates of deposit, which do not trade actively.

• 🦾 Regulatory Reforms to Boost Liquidity: To address this issue, the Bank of Mongolia includes CD trading in its 2025 monetary policy framework. As a result, the Financial Regulatory Commission creates regulations that allow CDs to be traded in the securities market and support equity crowdfunding activities.

🤔 What Changes?

The introduction of tradable certificates of deposit brings several benefits,

• Increases liquidity by allowing CDs to function as marketable financial instruments.

• Reduces pressure on banks by easing the need to attract long-term deposits.

• Offers more investment options for domestic investors.

• Supports tugrik stability by encouraging CD investments in local currency.

☀️ A Positive Step for Market Development

The introduction of a tradable deposit product marks an important step for Mongolia’s capital market, which faces liquidity challenges. The new regulatory framework for equity crowdfunding creates more opportunities for businesses. Moving forward, successful implementation and investor awareness play a key role in ensuring the success of these reforms.

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⭐ Selected for you

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

• Mongolia’s Hunnu Air to Fly Two Embraer E195-E2s. (ADN) 

• Petro Matad Secures Special Land Status for the Oilfield. (PetroMatad)

• Bank of Mongolia Purchased 1.2 Tons of Precious Metals in January. (Kazinform)

• TMK Energy Announces a 300% Increase in Total Gas Production for January. (TMKEnergy)

• TEVCA Launches as First Turkic & Eurasian VC/PE Association, Championing Private Capital & Startups. (InisdeMongolia)

POLITICS

• Government to Layoff 30% of Civil Servants. (InsideMongolia)

• Information to be Released ‘In Due Time’, Chinese FM Comments on Mongolian PM’s Possible Visit for Coal Trade. (GlobalTimes)

• Turkmenistan’s Ambassador to China Appointed as Head of Diplomatic Mission in Mongolia. (TurkmenPortal)

• Defense Minister of Mongolia visits US Indo-Pacific Command. (AKIpress)

• Azerbaijan, Mongolia May Sign Transport Agreements in 2025. (Report.AZ)

• Modeling Long-Term Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Pathways for Mongolia. (SEI)

CULTURE & LIFESTYLE

• Children Under 18 Banned from Riding Racehorses in Winter and Spring Races. (GoGo)

• Cashmere Facts Vs. Myths: Separating Truth from Fiction. (GobiCashmere)

• How One Day is Spent 1,300 Meters Below Ground at Oyu Tolgoi Underground Mine. (OT)

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Publisher: Ts.Ankhbayar
Writer: M.Khulan
Graphics by: Ts.Tselmeg

Disclaimer: The information Inside Mongolia provides is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be or constitute financial advice, trading advice, or any other advice. The decision whether to consider the information we provide is solely our readers' independent decision.