Mongolia continues to adhere to the Soviet model of 10 years of school education of which 8 are compulsory, although this is being gradually extended in the direction of the European model.
Mongolia is high, cold, and dry. It has an extreme continental climate with long, cold winters and short summers, during which most precipitation falls. The country averages 257 cloudless days a year, and it is usually at the center of a region of high atmospheric pressure.
Ulaanbaatar (Улаанбаатар), also Ulan Bator or simply just UB, is the capital of Mongolia. With a population of around 1.2 million, it is also the largest city in Mongolia.