Mongolia is the landlocked country situated between Russia and China.
Mongolia occupies a vast plateau in East and Central Asia. It has only two international neighbours: Russia to the north and China to the south. Its territory is famous for the Gobi Desert, broad grasslands and a very low population density relative to its area.
The country was the heartland of the Mongol Empire, founded by Temujin, better known as Genghis Khan, in the early thirteenth century. At its height, the empire became the largest contiguous land empire in history. Modern Mongolia became a communist state in 1924 and adopted a democratic constitution in 1992.
Ulaanbaatar is the capital and largest city. Mongolia is often confused with Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region of China; Inner Mongolia is not an independent country.