Mongolia has a population of around 3.4 million — an average density of just two people per square kilometre, making it the least densely populated sovereign country on earth. About half of all Mongolians live in Ulaanbaatar. The other half are spread across a country the size of Western Europe.
Around 90 percent of the population is ethnically Mongolian, mostly of the Khalkha subgroup. The largest minority are the Kazakhs, about four percent, concentrated in the far west around Bayan-Olgii province. They are Muslim, speak a Turkic language, and maintain distinct traditions including the eagle hunting culture that draws visitors to the region. Smaller communities of Chinese, Russians, and other Turkic peoples make up the remainder.
Nomadic life is not a performance put on for tourists. An estimated 600,000–700,000 Mongolians still live as pastoral nomads, moving their gers (circular felt tents) several times a year to follow the grazing. A family typically keeps a mix of horses, cattle, sheep, goats, and camels. The livestock are not just livelihood — they are identity. Being invited into a ger is an act of genuine hospitality.
If you visit a nomadic family, accept what is offered. Milk tea (suutei tsai, salty and sometimes buttery) will come first, followed by dried curds (aaruul), and possibly airag — fermented mare's milk, slightly alcoholic and an acquired taste. Decline politely if you must, but accept a token sip if you can. Take and receive things with your right hand, or with both hands. Never step on the threshold. Walk clockwise inside the ger. Don't whistle indoors.
Buddhism returned strongly after the fall of communism in 1990. The communist purges of the 1930s destroyed most of Mongolia's monasteries and killed thousands of monks. Today, Tibetan-style Buddhism is again the dominant religion, with monasteries being rebuilt and new monks ordained. The Dalai Lama is enormously revered. Buddhism blends in practice with older shamanist beliefs — you will see ovoo (stone cairns topped with blue cloth and offerings) throughout the countryside.
The Kazakh minority in the west is predominantly Muslim. Western Mongolia is conservative by Mongolian standards; dress and behave accordingly in Bayan-Olgii.
Mongolians are proud people. The legacy of Genghis Khan — complicated elsewhere — is a source of uncomplicated national pride here. Don't make jokes about him, and don't confuse Mongolia with Inner Mongolia (the Chinese autonomous region).