Volunteering in Mongolia
Wedged between Russia and China, Mongolia is a landlocked country of immense, rugged beauty. Think vast sweeping plains and wide open spaces — after all, Mongolia is the world’s most sparsely populated sovereign country.
Mongolia
A couple of decades since the isolationism of its former communist regime, Mongolia has emerged democratic and open. Thanks to subsequent outward-looking reforms, today it has one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, with a strong mining sector.
While recent economic growth has helped the country reach lower-middle income status, Mongolia’s poverty rate remains relatively high, with about one-in-three people still living in poverty. The Mongolian economy relies heavily on its mineral sector. But a softening of global mineral demand and economic growth in China presents Mongolia with significant development challenges in managing its economy.
Australian Volunteers have provided considerable assistance across a broad range of sectors in Mongolia since 1998.
The Australian Volunteers Program is guided by the Australian Government’s development priorities for Mongolia and volunteer assignments focus on a range of development issues, including:
- building human resource capacity
- supporting a well-managed economy
- human rights
- health
- gender
- economic growth and trade
- private sector enabling
Volunteer assignments are mainly concentrated in Ulaanbaatar and Dalanzadgad.
Dumplings, hikes and wildflowers: How Australian volunteers make the most of weekends in Mongolia
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