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Mongolia
Flag of Mongolia
Population (in Mil.)	3.1
Sex Ratio (m/f)	1,00
Life Expectancy Ratio (f/m)	1.1
Fertility Rate	2.02
Income Ratio (f/m)	0.87
Literacy Ratio (f/m)	0,99
Tertiary Enrolment Ratio (f/m)	1,64
Women in Parliament (in %)	6,6
SIGI Rank	39
More information on variables
Did you know that Mongolia ranks number 39 of 102 countries on the OECD Social Institutions and Gender Index? To learn more, see the official country note "Gender Equality and Social Institutions in Mongolia" at genderindex.org:

Social Institutions

The Mongolian Constitution of 1992 prohibits any kind of discrimination, stating that “no person may be discriminated against on the basis of ethnic origin, language, race, age, sex, social origin or status, property or post, religion, opinion, or education”. While Mongolia was one of the first countries to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1981, the country has failed to address a number of important articles in its periodic reports. For example, no information is provided on sex roles and stereotyping (art. 5), equality before the law and in civil matters (art. 15) and equality in marriage and family law (art. 16). Hence, official information on these issues is scarce. Women are more likely than men to be unemployed and suffer from poverty.

About half of the population are Lamaist Buddhists, 6% are Shamanists and Christians and 4% are Muslims. The remaining 40% do not specify any religious belonging.

Family Code

The legal age of marriage is 18 years for both men and women and all marriages shall be based on free and mutual consent. Early marriages do exist and the UN (2004) estimates that 6 percent of Mongolian girls between 15 and 19 years of age are married, divorced or widowed. On average, however, both men and women are marrying at a later age and between 1989 and 2000, the mean age at first marriage for women increased from 21.1 to 23.7 years; the mean age for men rose from 23.3 to 25.7 years (The Population Council, 2002). Polygamy reportedly exists in some regions of Mongolia. According to a Chinese article, quoted on Wikipedia, there have been discussions about legalising polygamy to reduce the imbalance of the male and female population. The 1992 Family Law provides for equal spousal rights, including parental authority. In practice, the responsibility of family and childcare is placed exclusively on women. Women and men have the same legal rights in the area of inheritance. Information on actual practice (due to, for example, traditional customs and norms) was not found.

Physical Integrity

There are no reported incidents of female genital mutilation in Mongolia. Violence against women is a serious problem that has not received adequate attention until very recently. In 2005, a law that specifically deals with domestic violence entered into force and specific women’s shelters have been set up in the country. Provisions in the Criminal Code also address violence against women, but implementation and enforcement of laws protecting women’s rights have proven difficult.

Civil Liberties

Women generally enjoy freedom of movement and freedom of dress.

Ownership Rights

Women and men have the same legal rights to own property, including land, but analysis by the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank (2005) shows that new government regulations have not proactively supported gender equality in access to or control over newly allocated land. For example, they do not question the traditional definitions of “family” and “household.” Families are entitled to land if they officially registered as a married couple or as a household unit (i.e.one that contains more than one generation - an extended family) prior to May 21, 2003. Unmarried people who live outside a registered family are excluded, and based on official data this may include more than 250 0000 young people, at least 50% of whom are female. When registering land, the names of all adult household members must appear on the title, but an individual can waive this right. Concerns have therefore been raised that land allotment may follow the trend of previous phases of privatization in which 46% of the properties (mostly rural livestock and urban housing) ended up in the hands of male household heads. Only 30% of titles were registered jointly to husbands and wives, and only16% were registered to wives (ADB and WB, 2005)

While it is relatively difficult for all to get credit, the law does not differentiate between men and women. Women’s share of the XAS Bank’s small business loans was 57% in 2003 and 54% in the first quarter of 2004 (ADB and WB, 2005).

Sources

Asian Development Bank and the World Bank (2005), Mongolia – Country Gender Assessment, Manila.
CEDAW (2007), Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, combined fifth, sixth and seventh periodic reports of States parties, Mongolia, CEDAW/C/MNG/7.
CEDAW (1999), Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, combined third and fourth periodic reports of States parties, Mongolia, CEDAW/C/MNG/3-4.
OECD (2006), The Gender, Institutions and Development Data Base, www.oecd.org/dev/gender/gid.
The Population Council (2002), Universal Sexuality Education in Mongolia: Educating Today to Protect Tomorrow, New York, www.popcouncil.org.
United Nations (2004), Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Fertility Report, New York.
U.S. Department of State (2007), Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2006: Mongolia.

The Women, Business and the Law

Where are laws equal for men and women?

The Women, Business and the Law report presents indicators based on laws and regulations affecting women's prospects as entrepreneurs and employees. Several of these indicators draw on the Gender Law Library, a collection of over 2,000 legal provisions impacting women's economic status. This report does not seek to judge or rank countries, but to provide information to inform discussions about women’s economic rights. Covering 128 economies, Women, Business and the Law provides data covering 6 areas: accessing institutions,using property, getting a job, dealing with taxes, building credit, and going to court.Read more about the methodology.

For detailed information on Mongolia, please visit the Women, Business and
the Law Mongolia page.