Poverty and living standards in Zavkhan, Mongolia: official figures
29.2% of people in Zavkhan lived below the poverty line in 2020, 10th lowest of 22 (all of Mongolia: 27.8%); this is the share of the population counted as poor in the National Statistics Office poverty estimates.
Is poverty falling in Zavkhan?
The poverty rate in Zavkhan was 47.5% in 2016, 25.7% in 2018 and 29.2% in 2020, a fall of 18.3 percentage points over four years (all of Mongolia: 29.6%, 28.4% and 27.8%).
Source: National Statistics Office of Mongolia · saved copyHow many people live in poverty in Zavkhan?
Applying the 2020 poverty rate of 29.2% to the 2020 population of 72,848 suggests roughly 21,300 people in Zavkhan lived below the poverty line (an estimate calculated from the two published figures).
Source: National Statistics Office of Mongolia · saved copyHow deep is poverty in Zavkhan?
The poverty gap, which shows how far below the poverty line poor people fall on average, was 7.5% in Zavkhan in 2020, 10th lowest of 22 (all of Mongolia: 7.4%); it was 14.6% in 2016.
Source: National Statistics Office of Mongolia · saved copyHow severe is poverty in Zavkhan?
The poverty severity index, which gives more weight to the poorest households, was 2.8 in Zavkhan in 2020 (all of Mongolia: 2.8); in 2016 it was 5.7.
Source: National Statistics Office of Mongolia · saved copyHow does poverty in Zavkhan compare with the rest of its region?
Zavkhan is in the NSO's Western region, where 31.5% of people lived below the poverty line in 2020 (36.0% in 2016); in Zavkhan the rate was 29.2%.
Source: National Statistics Office of Mongolia · saved copyHow Zavkhan compares with other aimags
Share of people below the poverty line (2020)
Zavkhan ranks 13 of 22, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Share of people below the poverty line |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Arkhangai | 32.7% |
| 11 | Uvs | 30.9% |
| 12 | Dundgovi | 30.7% |
| 13 | Zavkhan | 29.2% |
| 14 | Darkhan-Uul | 26.7% |
| 15 | Khuvsgul | 26.0% |
| 16 | Ulaanbaatar | 25.4% |
Poverty gap (2020)
Zavkhan ranks 13 of 22, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Poverty gap |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Dundgovi | 8.4% |
| 11 | Uvs | 8.0% |
| 12 | Arkhangai | 7.9% |
| 13 | Zavkhan | 7.5% |
| 14 | Darkhan-Uul | 7.4% |
| 15 | Ulaanbaatar | 7.0% |
| 16 | Khuvsgul | 6.5% |
Change in poverty rate, 2016 to 2020 (percentage points) (2016-2020)
Zavkhan ranks 21 of 22, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Change in poverty rate, 2016 to 2020 (percentage points) |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Arkhangai | -4.9 points |
| 17 | Darkhan-Uul | -6.7 points |
| 18 | Khentii | -7.2 points |
| 19 | Bayan-Ulgii | -11.6 points |
| 20 | Govisumber | -12.6 points |
| 21 | Zavkhan | -18.3 points |
| 22 | Sukhbaatar | -22.7 points |
More on Zavkhan: overview · economy and jobs · health · education and schools · government budget · Mongolia
Sources
- National Statistics Office of Mongolia: Poverty main indicators by aimags and region, 2016-2020: headcount, gap and severity (table DT_NSO_1900_035V1), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 ceefd45c6947…)
Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.