Page | 51Ethnic and Linguistic Groups
Mongolia is a very ethnically homogeneous country, with the
large majority of the population speaking one of several dialects
of the Mongol language. The dominant dialect, Khalkha Mongol,
is the national language and is spoken by more than 80% of the
population.267,^268 The various other Mongol ethno-linguistic
groups, primarily differentiated by their dialects, make up no
more than 3% of the total population.^269 Most of these minority
Mongol ethnic groups live in the western part of the
country.270,^271 Kazakhs, located in western Mongolia, are the
principal non-Mongolian minority and make up slightly more
than 4% of the nation’s population. Their population in
Mongolia used to be greater, but after the Soviet Union broke up
in 1990, a large percentage of the ethnic Kazakhs moved to
newly independent Kazakhstan.^272
Religion
Buddhism
Buddhism is the first organized religion that made substantial
inroads into Mongolia. During the late 16th century, Altan Khan,
a powerful western tribal leader attempting to unify the Mongol
tribes, converted to Tibetan Buddhism (Lamaism). The religion
quickly spread among the nobles and eventually the masses
throughout the Mongol lands.^273
By the end of the 19th century, converts to the monastic religion
had built 583 monasteries and temples across Outer Mongolia
(the territory of the modern nation).
274
(^267) Christopher Kaplonski, “Ethnic Groups,” n.d.,
Roughly one-third of men
http://www.chriskaplonski.com/mongolia/ethnicgroups.html
(^268) Mongoluls.net, “Mongolian Language,” 2007, http://mongoluls.net/mongolianlanguage
(^269) Christopher Kaplonski, “Ethnic Groups,” n.d.,
http://www.chriskaplonski.com/mongolia/ethnicgroups.html
(^270) GoHovd.com, “The Ethnic Groups of Hovd Aimag,” 11 May 2009,
http://www.gohovd.com/wiki/Ethnic_Groups
(^271) Christopher Kaplonski, “Ethnic Groups,” n.d.,
http://www.chriskaplonski.com/mongolia/ethnicgroups.html
(^272) Mongolia Today, “Hunting With Golden Eagles,” 2002, http://www.mongoliatoday.com/eagle.html
(^273) Sechin Jagchid, “Tibetan Buddhism, The Mongolian Religion,” n.d.,
http://www.innermongolia.org/english/tibetan_buddhism.htm
(^274) Donald R. DeGlopper, “Chapter 2: The Society and Its Environment: Religion: Buddhism,” in
Mongolia: A Country Study (Washington, DC: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1991), 101.