Over the past 30 years, Mongolia transformed itself into a vibrant democracy, significantly reduced poverty, and tripled its GDP per capita, becoming an upper-middle-income country in 2024. Throughout this period, the World Bank Group supported the country’s recovery and development.

In 2022, 27.1 percent of Mongolia’s population – about 900,000 people – were living under the national poverty line. Under the World Bank’s international upper-middle-income poverty line of $8.30 per person per day (in 2021 PPP terms), 24.4 percent of Mongolians were estimated to be poor in 2022. The Prosperity Gap, which measures how much average welfare would need to rise for the Mongolian population to reach a benchmark of $25 per day, was 2.7 in 2022. Inequality, meanwhile, remains moderate by international standards: Mongolia’s Gini index stood at 31.4 in 2022.

Creating more and better jobs is critical in Mongolia. Labor market inclusion remains a challenge, especially for younger people and women. Mongolia also needs to continue to reduce poverty and ensure equal opportunities for all people in both urban and rural areas.

Read more

Read less