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		MONGOLIA Ethnic Mongols account for about 85% of the population and consist of Khalkha and other groups, all distinguished primarily by dialects of the Mongol language. Mongol is an Altaic language--from the Altaic Mountains of Central Asia, a language family comprising the Turkic, Tungusic, and Mongolic subfamilies--and is related to Turkic (Uzbek, Turkish, and Kazakh), Korean, and, possibly, Japanese. The Khalkha make up 90% of the ethnic Mongol population. The remaining 10% include Durbet Mongols and others in the north and Dariganga Mongols in the east. Turkic speakers (Kazakhs, Turvins, and Khotans) constitute 7% of Mongolia's population, and the rest are Tungusic-speakers, Chinese, and Russians. Most Russians left the country following the withdrawal of economic aid and collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. POPULATION GRAPH Population: 2,694,432 (July 2002 est.) Age structure: 0-14 years: 32% (male 438,176; female 422,960) 15-64 years: 64.1% (male 864,033; female 865,172) 65 years and over: 3.9% (male 45,080; female 59,011) (2002 est.) Population growth rate: 1.48% (2002 est.) Birth rate: 21.8 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) Death rate: 7.01 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2002 est.) Infant mortality rate: 51.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 64.62 years female: 66.87 years (2002 est.) male: 62.47 years Total fertility rate: 2.37 children born/woman (2002 est.) HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: less than 0.01% (1999 est.) HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: less than 100 (1999 est.) HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA Nationality: noun: Mongolian(s) adjective: Mongolian Ethnic groups: Mongol (predominantly Khalkha) 85%, Turkic (of which Kazakh is the largest group) 7%, Tungusic 4.6%, other (including Chinese and Russian) 3.4% (1998) Religions: Tibetan Buddhist Lamaism 96%, Muslim (primarily in the southwest), Shamanism, and Christian 4% (1998) Languages: Khalkha Mongol 90%, Turkic, Russian (1999) Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.8% male: 98% female: 97.5% (2000)