The Republic of Mongolia (formerly known as Outer Mongolia and the Mongolian People's Republic) is a nation in eastern Central Asia. It shares a 3,000-km (1,864-mi) border with Russia in the north and a 4,760-km (2,958-mi) border with China in the south. It also shares a very short 150-km (93-mi) border with newly independent Kazakhstan in the west. Covering an area equal in size to Alaska, the country has one of the lowest population densities in the world. Mongolia became the world's second Communist nation (after the USSR) in 1924. Formerly allied with and heavily dependent upon the USSR, it has taken advantage of the recent disintegration of the USSR to transform nominally into much more genuine independence.

Mongolia, where their permanently snow-covered peaks rise to more than 4,300 m (14,100 ft). They include Mount Monch Chajrchan (4,362-m/14,311 ft), the highest point in the country. East of these mountains is a depression with over 300 lakes. East of this Great Lakes region, the Hangayn-Hentiyn mountain complex encircles a fertile basin drained by the Selenge and Tuul rivers that is the traditional focus of Mongolian culture. Ulan Bator (Ulaanbaatar), Mongolia's capital and commercial center, is located in the southeastern corner of the basin. The Plateau of Mongolia is farther to the east. The northern part of the Gobi Desert covers southeastern and southern Mongolia. Earthquakes are common. The country's mountains form part of Central Asia's great divide, which separates waters flowing to the Arctic and Pacific oceans.