Mongolia's resource wealth, in numbers
Mongolia in numbers
The key figures on mining, extraction, foreign trade, the budget and the economy, as pictures. Next to every chart, a plain explanation of what it shows, what it means and why it matters.
How to read: every chart has its source. Press a word with a dotted underline to read what it means, and “See the numbers as a table” for every value.
Exhibit 1
How much mining weighs
World Bank, 2026
25%
of GDP
≈ 90%
of exports
> 70%
of foreign direct investment
≈ 80,000
direct jobs in mining
27%
of all jobs are in agriculture
See the numbers as a table
| 25% | of GDP |
| ≈ 90% | of exports |
| > 70% | of foreign direct investment |
| ≈ 80,000 | direct jobs in mining |
| 27% | of all jobs are in agriculture |
- What it shows
- Mining's weight in Mongolia's economy, from the World Bank's 2026 private sector review.
- What it means
- Mining produces a quarter of the economy and about nine-tenths of exports, and attracts most foreign investment, but gives direct jobs to only about 80,000 people. Herding and farming still employ 27% of all workers.
- Why we care
- Mining makes money but few jobs. For most families, the benefit can only come through what the state does with mining income: dividends, the Savings Fund, schools, hospitals. That is why how the income is shared matters so much.
- Keep in mind
- Shares are rounded as the World Bank gives them. Indirect jobs in transport, services and suppliers are not counted in the 80,000.
- Terms in this chart
- Gross domestic product (GDP)The value of everything produced inside a country in a year.GDP adds up the market value of all goods and services produced within a country's borders in one year, no matter who owns the company that produced them.Full explanation →Foreign direct investment (FDI)Money a foreign company invests to own or build a business in another country.Unlike buying a few shares, FDI means a lasting stake (usually 10% or more) and some control, such as building a mine or a factory.Full explanation →
Topics
3 charts
Foreign trade
Mongolia sells its raw materials abroad and buys most of what it uses from abroad. This section shows how much it sells and buys, to whom, and what.
- — Exports and imports, by year
- — Where exports go
- — What Mongolia buys from abroad
Open topic →
4 charts
Mining and exports
Minerals are almost everything Mongolia sells. This section shows which ones, how much, and how prices change what the country earns.
- — What Mongolia sells
- — What changed in 2025
- — More coal, less money
- — How much was dug up and sold
Open topic →
2 charts
Mining in the economy
Mining is the largest part of Mongolia's economy and budget, but it employs few people. This section shows the size of that gap.
- — How much mining weighs
- — How much of the budget comes from coal
Open topic →
5 charts
Companies and sectors
Who pays the most tax, which sectors the biggest companies are in, how much of the economy they make up, and how many people they employ.
- — The 10 biggest taxpayers
- — How much the 100 biggest companies weigh
- — Mining companies in the TOP-100
- — The 10 biggest state-owned companies
- — How profits fell when coal prices dropped
Open topic →