Social
18 social stories
Social Highlights
Social The Inequality That Didn't Happen
Mongolia's Gini peaked in 2007, then fell. By 2022, it was lower than China, Russia, and South Korea.
Social What You Drink Is Where You're From
Mongolia drinks twice as much spirits as beer. Europe drinks the opposite. The global map of what people drink is a geography map.
Social Mongolia's Happiness Paradox
The richest aimags are the least happy. Why Mongolia's mining wealth doesn't show up in wellbeing.
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Social Two Days, Same Life
A Mongolian herder's summer and winter days share the same 24 hours. Almost nothing else.
Social The Distance Divide: One City, Five Worlds
Ulaanbaatar's 1.7 million residents share a name but not a commute. Central district residents reach the city center in 4 minutes. Ger district residents spend over an hour in traffic — every day.
Social One Road City: How Three Bridges Hold Ulaanbaatar Together
Ulaanbaatar is 50 kilometers wide but functionally one road wide. Peace Avenue is the only east-west spine. Three bridges cross the Tuul River. Remove any one of them, and the city stops.
Social 5 Festivals, 12 Months: Plan Your Mongolian Experience
Compare Naadam, Tsagaan Sar, and local aimag festivals across cost, crowd size, travel logistics, and cultural experience. Plan the celebration that fits you.
Social Nomad vs. City: Which Life Scores Higher?
Compare the real costs and benefits of nomadic herding versus urban life in Mongolia — five variables, one comparison
Social 21 Aimags: Which One Should You Live In?
Seven questions about your lifestyle — nature or city, winters or adventure, career or community — matched against the real data profiles of Mongolia's 21 aimags.
Mutton Costs 45% More in Winter: Plan Your Meat Budget
Five meats, four seasons, one budget. See when to buy and how much you'll spend.
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Social 1.54 Million in One City: Mongolia's Population Imbalance
Two-thirds of Mongolia's population lives in a single city. The rest is spread across an area the size of Western Europe — making it the most sparsely populated country on Earth
Social 380 µg/m³ in January: How Coal Smoke Reaches Your Lungs
Every winter, ger district stoves release smoke particles that travel through the air, slip past your body's defenses, and lodge deep in your lungs. Here's how it happens, step by step.
Social Zero Cases Until November: Mongolia's Covid Timeline
From the world's earliest border closure to one of Asia's highest per-capita infection rates — what went right and what went wrong
Social 980,000 Cases: How Mongolia's Covid Compared
Track Mongolia's cumulative Covid-19 case trajectory against its neighbors on a logarithmic scale — the same method the New York Times used to reveal outbreak dynamics.
Social 40,000 People a Year Leave Rural Mongolia
Every year, tens of thousands of herder families abandon the steppe for Ulaanbaatar — driven by dzud, debt, and diminishing pastureland
Also in Politics
Politics The Price of Deterrence
Iran spent $100M launching 320 weapons at Israel. The coalition spent $1.35B stopping them. The attack was intercepted. The economics were not.
Politics The Monuments Presidents Make — and the Ones They Take Away
141 national monuments. 112 years. The Antiquities Act was supposed to protect the land. It became the most powerful land-use tool in American politics.
Politics Mongolia's Corruption Score Has Fallen for a Decade. The Coal Scandal Explains Why.
Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index shows Mongolia peaked at 39 in 2014, then slid to 31 by 2025 — 11 points below the global average. The 2022 coal theft scandal marked the steepest fall.
Data Tools & Calculators
Tool Mutton Costs 45% More in Winter: Plan Your Meat Budget
Five meats, four seasons, one budget. See when to buy and how much you'll spend.
Tool 76x the Safe Limit: What UB's Air Does to Your Body
Enter your age, district, and health profile — and see how many years of life expectancy you may be losing to pollution
Tool ₮792,000 a Month: Can You Survive in Ulaanbaatar?
Rent alone exceeds the minimum wage. Adjust the sliders and see where you'd cut.
