Mongolia Military Strength Ranking 2025
MPR Rank: 103rd
MPR SCORE: 279
MPR Index: 0.0843 (1.0000 is perfect)
Reverse MPR Index: 0.8678 (0.0000 is perfect)
Z Score: -0.450 (standard deviations above the mean)
Overview
Mongolia ranks 103rd globally in the 2025 Military Power Rankings. Its military, the Mongolian Armed Forces (MAF), is structured around territorial defense, sovereignty protection, and international peacekeeping engagement, reflecting the country’s geostrategic neutrality between two great powers—Russia and China. Mongolia’s military doctrine prioritizes defensive readiness, civil-military integration, and diplomatic balancing, avoiding any aggressive posture or power projection.
The MAF is relatively small, but its organizational model emphasizes high-altitude readiness, combined arms integration, and multilateral cooperation, particularly in UN peacekeeping missions and joint military exercises with the United States, Russia, and other regional actors. Mongolia’s geography—marked by vast steppes and a low population density—has shaped a force centered on light mobility, air surveillance, and domestic disaster response, with strategic emphasis on preventive diplomacy and defensive deterrence.
Strengths
1. Geostrategic Neutrality and Diplomatic Flexibility
Mongolia maintains strong defense ties with both Russia and China, while also conducting joint exercises with the U.S. and participating in global peacekeeping operations. This gives the country a rare strategic flexibility without entangling alliances.
2. High Peacekeeping Participation and Global Visibility
The MAF is one of the most active contributors to UN peacekeeping missions relative to its size, with deployments in South Sudan, DR Congo, Western Sahara, and Afghanistan, enhancing its international military reputation.
3. Well-Trained Ground Forces and Combined Arms Doctrine
Mongolia's military fields a competent, conscription-based army trained in combined arms operations, light mechanization, and mountain warfare. The military conducts annual exercises such as Khaan Quest, improving interoperability and tactical resilience.
Why Mongolia Is Still Ranked 103rd
1. Limited Force Size and Strategic Depth
The MAF maintains only modest manpower and reserves, with few armored units, no long-range missile systems, and limited air defense coverage, reducing its capacity to respond to large-scale threats or exert regional influence.
2. Minimal Naval or Air Force Capabilities
As a landlocked country, Mongolia maintains no naval force and only a very small air component, largely composed of transport helicopters, basic surveillance aircraft, and training platforms—insufficient for aerial deterrence or strike operations.
3. Budget Constraints and Procurement Dependency
Mongolia’s defense budget is modest, and it depends heavily on Russian and Chinese equipment donations, as well as foreign training programs, which limits its ability to independently modernize or build an indigenous defense industry.
Conclusion
Mongolia’s military reflects a pragmatic and peaceful defense posture, tailored to the country’s strategic geography, diplomatic neutrality, and internal stability objectives. While the MAF does not possess the technological or numerical assets for traditional warfare, its discipline, peacekeeping reputation, and balanced foreign cooperation make it an important example of small state military professionalism. Its low ranking stems from limited combat capability, not from a lack of purpose or cohesion.
Military Strength and Force Projection
Active Military Personnel: 10,500 (IISS 2023)
Reserve Personnel: 135,000 (CIA World Factbook)
Paramilitary Forces: 7,500 (Internal Security and Border Protection)
Army Personnel: 8,500
Navy Personnel: None (Landlocked)
Air Force Personnel: 2,000
Ground Forces
Main Battle Tanks (MBTs): 400 (mostly older Soviet models)
Armored Fighting Vehicles (AFVs): 300+
Artillery (Towed and Self-Propelled): 100+
Air Force
Combat Aircraft: 10+
Helicopters: 12+
Transport Aircraft: 6+
Aircraft Breakdown:
MiG-29 Fighter Jets: 4 (Soviet-era)
Mi-17 Helicopters: 10 (transport and utility)
Naval Forces
Mongolia, as a landlocked country, does not have a navy.
Missile Capabilities
Mongolia does not possess advanced missile systems, nuclear capabilities, or air defense systems. The country’s military is primarily focused on defense and peacekeeping missions rather than offensive missile technology.
Strategic Partnerships
Mongolia has strong military cooperation with Russia and China, though it maintains a neutral position between the two. Mongolia also participates in regional defense initiatives and peacekeeping missions through the United Nations. The country’s growing international involvement in peacekeeping has bolstered its diplomatic and military standing on the global stage.
Military History & Combat Experience
Mongolia’s modern military experience is rooted in border defense, Cold War posturing, and peacekeeping deployments. While it has not engaged in full-scale wars in the modern era, its legacy includes key defensive operations and doctrinal transformation.
Battle of Khalkhin Gol (1939):
A major engagement between Soviet-Mongolian forces and Imperial Japan along the Mongolia-Manchukuo border. Mongolian troops, alongside Soviet forces under General Georgy Zhukov, defeated Japanese incursions using mobile armor, artillery, and air power. This remains a formative military victory in Mongolian national memory.Cold War Defensive Posture (1950s–1990s):
During the Cold War, Mongolia served as a buffer state between Soviet and Chinese spheres, hosting Soviet bases, radar stations, and border regiments. While never directly involved in combat, the military developed a structure designed to resist foreign incursions and conduct terrain-based defense.UN Peacekeeping Operations (2002–present):
Mongolia has deployed thousands of troops to missions in South Sudan (UNMISS), Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), Western Sahara (MINURSO), and Afghanistan (ISAF). These deployments focus on civilian protection, logistics, engineering, and base security, building a reputation for discipline and multinational competence.Khaan Quest Multinational Exercise (2006–present):
Mongolia hosts the annual Khaan Quest military exercise involving forces from the U.S., Japan, India, and others, focusing on peace support operations, humanitarian assistance, and interoperability training under UN frameworks.
Mongolia’s combat legacy may be limited in recent decades, but its high readiness, peacekeeping exposure, and balanced doctrinal evolution mark it as a professional, modernizing military with strong contributions to global security efforts despite its scale.
General Information
Demographics and Geography
Population: ~3.5 million (2024 est.)
Population Available for Military Service: ~1.2 million
Geographic Area: 1,564,116 km²
Land Boundaries: 8,220 km
Bordering Countries: China, Russia
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Climate: Desert; continental; extreme temperature range
Terrain: Vast semi-desert and desert plains, grassy steppe, rugged mountains in west
Natural Resources: Copper, coal, molybdenum, tin, tungsten, gold, uranium
Proven Oil Reserves: ~1.5 billion barrels
Proven Natural Gas Reserves: ~6 trillion cubic feet
Economic Indicators
Defense Budget (2025): ~$230 million USD
Defense Budget as % of GDP: ~1.6%
GDP (PPP): ~$50 billion USD
GDP per Capita (PPP): ~$14,000
External Debt: ~$33 billion USD
Military Expenditure Trend (last 5 years): Stable; focus on peacekeeping and modernization
Military Infrastructure and Readiness
Military Service Obligation: Mandatory for men (12 months)
Primary Defense Focus: Territorial defense, peacekeeping, deterrence
Military Industry Base: Developing; vehicle maintenance, uniform production
Cyber/Electronic Warfare Capability: Limited
Nuclear Warhead Inventory: None (non-nuclear state)
Major Military Districts / Commands: Divided into regional brigades under Mongolian Armed Forces
Missile Inventory Highlights: Short-range artillery, MANPADS, anti-tank systems
Reservist Call-up Readiness / Timeline: Moderate; 30–45 days
Reservist Force Size: ~50,000
Space, Intelligence, and Strategic Infrastructure
Space or Satellite Programs: Participates in international satellite use; no indigenous capability
Military Satellite Inventory: None
Intelligence Infrastructure: General Intelligence Agency
Intelligence Sharing Partnerships: Russia, China, regional forums
Airports (Total): ~44
Major Military Airports: Ulaanbaatar, Choibalsan
Naval Power and Maritime Logistics
Merchant Marine Fleet: Minimal
Major Ports: None
Naval Infrastructure: Not applicable
Naval Replenishment Capability: Not applicable
Domestic Mobility and Infrastructure
Railway Network: ~1,900 km
Roadways: ~110,000 km (mostly unpaved)
Energy and Fuel Logistics
Oil Production: ~25,000 barrels/day
Energy Imports: Significant fuel imports from Russia
Strategic Petroleum Reserves: Maintains government stockpiles
Defense Production and Strategic Forces
Domestic Defense Production: Ammunition, uniforms, vehicle maintenance
Military Installations (Domestic): Ulaanbaatar, Darkhan, Zuunmod
Military Installations (Overseas): None
Foreign Military Personnel Presence: Training missions (U.S., China, Russia)
Defense Alliances: Non-aligned; participates in UN peacekeeping
Strategic Airlift Capability: An-26, C-130 (leased), Mi-17 helicopters
Wartime Industrial Surge Capacity: Low
Research and Industry Support
Defense R&D Investment: Minimal
Key Wartime Industries Beyond Defense: Mining sector, railway logistics, construction battalions
Political and Administrative Structure
Capital: Ulaanbaatar
Founding Date: December 29, 1911 (independence from Qing Dynasty)
System of Government: Unitary parliamentary republic
