Mongolia Population

1. Reported Stateless Persons 

Mongolia reported a population of 17 stateless persons to UNHCR in 2019, and 2021, 2022. In 2020, Mongolia did not report any figures of their stateless population to UNHCR. However, Mongolia’s 2020 Census results showed 37 stateless persons permanently residing in the country. UNHCR stated in a 2010 UPR submission for Mongolia that there have been widely differing estimates available for the number of stateless persons in Mongolia of up to “several tens of thousands of persons, while official statistics count very few stateless persons on the territory of Mongolia”. As such, there is a lack of reliable data in the country.

2. Persons at Risk of Statelessness

Mongolia hosts a strict policy against dual nationality, and foreign citizens aspiring to become Mongolian citizens are obligated to renounce their existing citizenships. This legal framework poses a risk of statelessness for those who renounce their previous nationality but do not acquire Mongolian citizenship. Also at risk are children born to foreign parents in Mongolia who may not be eligible for citizenship in the foreign country of their parents. 

3. Undetermined Nationalities

There is minimal research available on the composition of the stateless populations in Mongolia. However, UNHCR and the CRC have both drawn attention to the situation of ethnic Kazakhs in the country. After the USSR dissolved in the early 1990s and Kazakhstan became an independent state, hundreds of thousands of ethnic Kazakhs left Mongolia for Kazakhstan. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, many ethnic Kazakhs wanted to return to Mongolia. However, they were unsuccessful in their attempt and were left stateless as they had previously renounced their Mongolian nationality to acquire Kazakh nationality. Many have since returned to Mongolia and may have the right to reacquire citizenship yet have faced administrative barriers to doing so.