Blog: Land-locked Mongolia's Journey Towards a Digitally Connected Nation”: Progress and Challenges

Mongolia, the land-locked country with “Open Blue Skies”, I believe has tremendous potential to be a role model country for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), leveraging its huge development potential. Mongolia has tapped into its digital development potential, progressing on the path towards digital transformation. 

During my recent conversation on 5th September with the Minister for Digital Development, Innovation and Communications (MDDIC), H.E. Mr. Ts. Baatarkhuu, emphasizing Mongolia’s digital potential, he reaffirmed that "Mongolia is landlocked, but we are not mind-locked; we have limitless opportunities in a digital world." He is right. For Mongolia, digitalization is not just about introducing technology, it is an essential pre-requisite for achieving the SDGs. 

In a country as vast as Mongolia, a landlocked developing country (LLDC), with a population of less than 3.5 million and an area of over 1.5 million square kilometers, one of the least densely populated country in the World, digital connectivity once was a distant dream for many Mongolians. Yet, Mongolia has made significant progress in digitalization, becoming an exemplary case in the Asia-Pacific region in recent years. 

Highlights of Mongolia's Digital Successes: 

On September 18, 2024, the Government of Mongolia proudly announced its milestone in its digital journey, moving up to 46th place out of 193 countries in the UN’s E-Government Index, a significant leap from 74th in 2022 and 92nd in 2020. The report also highlights that 99% of Mongolia’s population is now covered by 4G/LTE connectivity, with 117.9 mobile broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants. This impressive progress is largely due to Mongolia’s commitment to becoming a Digital Nation, a mission it embarked on in 2020 with ambitious goals.

At the heart of Mongolia’s digital transformation is the e-Mongolia platform, a comprehensive online portal that provides more than 1,170 government services to over 1.7 million citizens. This platform has overcome geographical barriers of remoteness and bureaucratic administrative and logistics challenges, making government services more accessible, time-efficient, and cost-effective. 

Challenges on the Path to Digital Advancement

However, the country’s progress has been uneven across the country. As one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world, Mongolia faces unique challenges in building a robust digital infrastructure, which is costly and difficult. Thus, providing reliable digital services to remote areas, where many herders still maintain a nomadic lifestyle, remains difficult and expensive.

While Mongolia has made substantial improvements in its telecommunications infrastructure, which boosts connectivity, its human capital index, measuring digital skills and literacy, has seen a decline. Furthermore, Mongolia ranks 68th in the 2023 Global Innovation Index, highlighting the need for more efforts to foster digital innovation and inclusivity.

A Holistic Approach to Accelerating Digital Transformation

To fully realize its vision of becoming a Digital Nation, Mongolia must adopt a holistic approach that addresses multiple dimensions of digitalization in a balanced way:

Narrowing the Connectivity Gap: Despite impressive progress in digital infrastructure, remote areas of Mongolia still suffer from limited connectivity due to geographical challenges. Innovative solutions like satellite communication and internet services should be explored to ensure all communities have equal access to digital opportunities. 

Enhancing Digital Inclusion: It is crucial to make digital services accessible to all citizens, including marginalized groups such as people with disabilities. Alongside this, efforts must be made to improve digital literacy so that more citizens can benefit from these services and fully participate in a digital economy. The UN in Mongolia, together with the MDDIC, carries out a digitalization project funded by the Joint SDG Fund to spawn a digital demand-supply nexus in remote and underserved communities. It will equip local communities with digital accessibility and literacy, leading to digital inclusion of them and ultimately making them digitally self-sufficient and sustainable.

Harnessing Emerging Digital Technologies: Mongolia must leverage cutting-edge technologies like big data and artificial intelligence to drive innovation and improve service delivery. At the same time, it must address the risks associated with these technologies, including data privacy, security threats, and potential social and economic exclusion. 

Promoting Digital Innovation: True digital transformation is about more than infrastructure; it is about integrating digital technologies across all sectors of the economy and society. Mongolia has taken an important step by adding an innovation portfolio to the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications, and Innovation. This expansion aims to foster digital innovation across all sectors, driving sustainable development. 

Way Forward: UN’s commitment to support Mongolia to become a role model in digital transformation

By advancing digital connectivity, inclusion, and innovation, Mongolia can not only overcome its geographical challenges but also pave the way for sustainable, inclusive development for its citizens. Our UN team looks forward to continuing working alongside the Government of Mongolia to implement its digital commitments under the Global Digital Compact (GDC). Moreover, Mongolia’s leadership in the upcoming 10-Year Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries will be instrumental in promoting digital innovation and development across the region.

Recently, in partnership with the International Think Tank for Landlocked Developing Countries (ITTLLDC), the UN in Mongolia helped launch a research and innovation network. This network aims to enhance the capacity of landlocked developing countries like Mongolia in digital transformation and evidence-based policymaking.

The path to becoming a Digital Nation may be complex and challenging, but Mongolia’s progress thus far has been a testament to what is possible with the right vision, commitment, and partnerships. The UN stands ready to support Mongolia every step of the way as a steadfast partner. 

Spotlight Video: Featuring Mongolian Entrepreneur Ms. Khulan Davaadorj: Overcoming Challenges of Running Business in A Landlocked Developing Countries and Leveraging Digital International Payment Solutions 

This blog is written with support from Sangwon Lim, RCO Mongolia Economist and Soyolmaa Dolgor, Communications and Advocacy Officer.