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Ulaanbaatar changed its location 29 times since 1639: The history of Ulaanbaatar goes back to 1639, when it was first founded as a movable monastery and was given the name Urguu. In 1778, the capital finally settled at its current location in the same river and developed into the religious, political and economic center of today, Ulaanbaatar. In 2019, Ulaanbaatar celebrated its 380th anniversary, and the Ulaanbaatar City Governor’s Office organized and celebrated a number of events such as photo exhibition, ‘Ulaanbaatar International Day 2019’, ‘Past-Present-Future Ulaanbaatar’ united exhibition, ‘Made in Ulaanbaatar’ trade exhibition, ‘Peter Pan’ musical, ‘History of City Construction and Past-Present-Future’ academic conference, 380th anniversary concert and traditional wrestling competition.
A few kilometers from Chinggis Khan Square, the huge square from the communist era that marks the unofficial center of the city, the situation is quite different. Buses under the Mongolian flag bump into poorly maintained district roads. Fruit and vegetables are sold in the stalls. A woman sits in front of a pile of matted goat and sheep skins bought by shepherds on the way to the market. Many of those who now live in the Ger quarter are former shepherds who have been drawn to the city by the promise of a new life or who have been driven off their land by desertification and extreme winter weather.
Major gold mines and copper have recently been discovered and investors argue their operations. Wages are beginning to rise, and many large international companies are located in the heart of Ulaanbaatar.
Here we round up prices of commodity, salary and accommodation rent in Ulaanbaatar.
1USD = 2,779MNT (Mongolian tugrik)
1EURO = 3,038MNT
Summary about cost of living in Ulaanbaatar:
- Four-person family monthly costs: 4,441,096.25₮ without rent (using our estimator).
- A single person monthly costs: 1,243,645.40₮ without rent.
- Cost of living index in Ulaanbaatar is 66.85% lower than in New York.
- Rent in Ulaanbaatar is, in average, 89.25% lower than in New York.
- Cost of living rank 342th out of 455 cities in the world.
- Ulaanbaatar has a cost of living index of 33.15.
Prices in Ulaanbaatar:
| Restaurants | MNT | USD |
| Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant | 8,000.00 ₮ | 2.87 $ |
| Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course | 50,000.00 ₮ | 17.97 $ |
| Equivalent Combo Meal at fast food (KFC) | 15,000.00 ₮ | 5.39 $ |
| Domestic Beer (0.5 liter draught) | 4,000.00 ₮ | 1.44 $ |
| Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle) | 6,000.00 ₮ | 2.16 $ |
| Cappuccino (regular) | 6,102.52 ₮ | 2.20 $ |
| Coke/Pepsi (0.33 liter bottle) | 1,917.72 ₮ | 0.69 $ |
| Water (0.33 liter bottle) | 1,035.21 ₮ | 0.37 $ |
| Markets | MNT | USD |
| Milk (regular), (1 liter) | 2,536.36 ₮ | 0.91 $ |
| Loaf of Fresh White Bread (500g) | 1,759.34 ₮ | 0.63 $ |
| Rice (white), (1kg) | 2,973.95 ₮ | 1.07 $ |
| Eggs (regular) (12) | 4,450.36 ₮ | 1.60 $ |
| Local Cheese (1kg) | 24,093.15 ₮ | 8.66 $ |
| Chicken Fillets (1kg) | 14,562.85 ₮ | 5.23 $ |
| Beef Round (1kg) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) | 11,831.60 ₮ | 4.25 $ |
| Apples (1kg) | 5,546.12 ₮ | 1.99 $ |
| Banana (1kg) | 6,193.68 ₮ | 2.23 $ |
| Oranges (1kg) | 6,084.23 ₮ | 2.19 $ |
| Tomato (1kg) | 4,874.72 ₮ | 1.75 $ |
| Potato (1kg) | 1,018.03 ₮ | 0.37 $ |
| Onion (1kg) | 2,357.26 ₮ | 0.85 $ |
| Lettuce (1 head) | 2,312.12 ₮ | 0.83 $ |
| Water (1.5 liter bottle) | 1,719.06 ₮ | 0.62 $ |
| Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) | 23,525.00 ₮ | 8.45 $ |
| Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) | 2,533.91 ₮ | 0.91 $ |
| Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle) | 3,779.98 ₮ | 1.36 $ |
| Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) | 5,560.59 ₮ | 2.00 $ |
| Transportation | MNT | USD |
| One-way Ticket (Local Transport) | 500.00 ₮ | 0.18 $ |
| Monthly Pass (Regular Price) | 22,537.31 ₮ | 8.10 $ |
| Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) | 1,000.00 ₮ | 0.36 $ |
| Taxi 1km (Normal Tariff) | 1,000.00 ₮ | 0.36 $ |
| Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) | 20,000.00 ₮ | 7.19 $ |
| Gasoline (1 liter) | 2,117.94 ₮ | 0.76 $ |
| Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) | 55,000,000.00 ₮ | 19.762 $ |
| Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) | 62,500,000.00 ₮ | 22.456 $ |
| Utilities (Monthly) | MNT | USD |
| Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 85m2 Apartment | 169,677.91 ₮ | 60.97 $ |
| 1 min. of Prepaid Mobile Tariff Local (No Discounts or Plans) | 84.04 ₮ | 0.03 $ |
| Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) | 48,232.41 ₮ | 17.33 $ |
| Rent Per Month | MNT | USD |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre | 993,404.00 ₮ | 356.94 $ |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre | 582,451.31 ₮ | 209.28 $ |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre | 1,971,704.59 ₮ | 708.45 $ |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre | 1,063,522.02 ₮ | 392.13 $ |
| Buy Apartment Price | MNT | USD |
| Price per Square Meter to Buy Apartment in City Centre | 3,221,649.25 ₮ | 1.157 $ |
| Price per Square Meter to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre | 1,909,213.93 ₮ | 686 $ |
| Salaries And Financing | MNT | USD |
| Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) | 1,011,403.33 ₮ | 363.41 $ |
| Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly, for 20 Years Fixed-Rate | 9.43 | 9.43 |
These data are based on 702 entries in the past 18 months from 55 different contributors.
Last update: April 2020
Source: NUMBEO “Cost of Living in Ulaanbaatar” https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Ulaanbaatar
