Presentation at the 2nd International Research Conference “New Trends in Mongol Studies II” Event Date: Mar 21, 2014

1. Cross-cultural Tolerance and
Intolerance in Mongolia:
An Exploration Based on Analyses
of Survey Data
Kunio Minato
Ritsumeikan University (Kyoto, Japan), Ph.D.
The 2nd International Research Conference
“New Trends in Mongol Studies II”

2. Introduction
• Mongolia has witnessed the rise of ultra-
nationalists that advocate exclusivism since mid-
2000s
• The problem is whether their claim gains
popularity
• Some argue that those groups don’t represent
majority of the Mongolians
• Others point out that prejudice to foreign people
or resentment toward China is not uncommon
• However, neither kind of arguments lack
empirical grounding
2

3. Research Questions
(1) Do the ordinary Mongolians show tolerant /
intolerant attitude toward people with
different culture more than with other groups
of people?
(2) Do the ordinary Mongolians, compared to
other former socialist countries, show tolerant
/ intolerant attitude toward people with
different culture?
(3) What factors relate to tolerant / intolerant
attitude toward people with different culture? 3

4. Data
• Life in Transition Survey II (LiTSII) will be used for
analyses
• LiTSII is the second survey designed and
conducted by the European Bank of Resurrection
and Development
• The survey was conducted in former socialist
countries (except Turkmenistan) and some other
European countries in 2010
• Respondents in Mongolia are 1,000 people aged
18 or over, selected through multi-stage random
sampling method
4

5. Questions in Focus (q3.17)
“To what extent do you agree with the following
statements?”
5
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Neither
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Not
Applicable
DK
a. People from other ethnic
groups are enriching the cultural
life of our country
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
b. The presence of people from
other ethnic groups is a cause of
insecurity
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
c. The presence of people from
other ethnic groups increases
unemployment
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6. Questions in Focus (q3.33)
“On this list are various groups of people. Could
you please mention any that you would not like to
have as neighbors? Please just read out the letter
that applies.” (Multiple answers)
6
a. Families with children i. Gypsies
b. Pedophiles j. People of a different religion
c. Drug addicts k. Poor people
d. People of a different race l. Heavy drinkers
e. People who have AIDS m.Unmarried couples living together
f. Elderly people n. Jewish people
g. Immigrants / Foreign workers o. People who speak a different
language
h. Homosexuals p. Other (specify: )
• The four items in red are in focus

7. Result (q3.17)
7• Majority of the Mongolians hold negative attitude
toward people from different ethnic groups

8. Result (q3.33)
8
• “Selected” in the four items on different culture does not
gain a majority, but is higher than many other items

9. Cross-national Comparison
• Result in Mongolia will be compared with other
former socialist countries
• For the sake of simplicity, response categories
“Strongly agree” and “Agree” is put together into
“Yes”
• Similarly, the categories “Strongly disagree” and
“Disagree” is merged into “No”
9

10. Comparison (q3.17a)
10
People from other ethnic groups are enriching the cultural life of our country
Yes Neither No Yes Neither No
1Estonia (961) 63.9% 22.8% 13.3% 16Lithuania (907) 39.6% 34.3% 26.1%
2Kazakhstan (886) 63.7% 24.7% 11.6% 17Ukraine (1386) 38.5% 32.2% 29.3%
3Tajikistan (853) 63.2% 14.3% 22.5% 18Slovakia (907) 37.5% 37.7% 24.8%
4Croatia (950) 60.1% 29.7% 10.2% 19Hungary (991) 37.4% 30.9% 31.7%
5Latvia (938) 57.4% 21.3% 21.3% 20Bosnia-Herzegovina (1016) 36.2% 40.7% 23.0%
6Serbia (1453) 51.8% 32.3% 15.9% 21Russia (1394) 36.1% 24.0% 39.9%
7Moldova (791) 50.7% 25.2% 24.1% 22Georgia (832) 35.7% 22.5% 41.8%
8Uzbekistan (1024) 49.8% 25.4% 24.8% 23Kosovo (953) 33.4% 33.2% 33.5%
9Romania (847) 47.3% 29.4% 23.3% 24Albania (932) 32.0% 38.5% 29.5%
10Poland (1486) 47.1% 36.1% 16.8% 25Azerbaijan (822) 31.1% 22.7% 46.1%
11Macedonia (1,029) 47.0% 30.3% 22.6% 26Bulgaria (890) 30.8% 34.7% 34.5%
12Belarus (791) 46.8% 31.0% 22.3% 27Armenia (762) 25.7% 20.7% 53.5%
13Slovenia (930) 46.2% 30.5% 23.2% 28Mongolia (784) 25.6% 18.5% 55.9%
14Montenegro (880) 46.0% 38.2% 15.8% 29Czech Republic (980) 20.1% 36.8% 43.1%
15Kyrgyzstan (920) 45.0% 16.2% 38.8% Total (28295) 43.1% 29.2% 27.7%
Note: Countries are listed in order of the percentage of “Yes”. Figure in the
parentheses show the number of respondents.

11. Comparison (q3.17b)
11
The presence of people from other ethnic groups is a cause of insecurity
Yes Neither No Yes Neither No
1Mongolia (814) 69.0% 12.8% 18.2% 16Kyrgyzstan (897) 28.1% 23.7% 48.2%
2Czech Republic (988) 53.1% 25.6% 21.3% 17Romania (842) 28.0% 34.1% 37.9%
3Russia (1424) 51.8% 22.8% 25.4% 18Armenia (743) 27.5% 24.4% 48.2%
4Hungary (992) 44.1% 32.4% 23.6% 19Poland (1487) 26.8% 40.4% 32.8%
5Bulgaria (889) 38.8% 32.8% 28.3% 20Kazakhstan (873) 26.6% 29.7% 43.8%
6Georgia (831) 37.5% 31.8% 30.7% 21Slovenia (925) 25.1% 33.2% 41.7%
7Estonia (951) 33.5% 26.6% 39.9% 22Lithuania (901) 23.6% 39.2% 37.2%
8Macedonia (1042) 33.1% 32.7% 34.2% 23Belarus (779) 23.2% 38.6% 38.1%
9Kosovo (971) 32.3% 37.8% 29.9% 24Moldova (731) 20.9% 35.2% 43.9%
10Latvia (890) 31.0% 25.3% 43.7% 25Croatia (942) 19.4% 32.3% 48.3%
11Tajikistan (808) 30.3% 18.9% 50.7% 26Serbia (1452) 18.9% 32.9% 48.3%
12Slovakia (906) 30.2% 45.7% 24.1% 27Albania (923) 15.9% 44.0% 40.1%
13Azerbaijan (809) 29.9% 27.1% 43.0% 28Bosnia-Herzegovina (1011) 15.7% 43.1% 41.1%
14Ukraine (1412) 29.5% 37.8% 32.7% 29Montenegro (862) 12.5% 47.1% 40.4%
15Uzbekistan (974) 29.4% 31.6% 39.0% Total (34379) 32.2% 31.7% 36.1%
Note: Countries are listed in order of the percentage of “Yes”. Figure in the
parentheses show the number of respondents.

12. Comparison (q3.17c)
12
The presence of people from other ethnic groups increases unemployment
Yes Neither No Yes Neither No
1Mongolia (842) 75.7% 15.0% 9.4% 16Slovenia (934) 36.0% 28.8% 35.2%
2Czech Republic (986) 64.0% 24.7% 11.3% 17Poland (1494) 34.9% 36.5% 28.6%
3Russia (1443) 60.1% 21.1% 18.8% 18Armenia (730) 30.7% 21.5% 47.8%
4Hungary (994) 57.8% 25.9% 16.3% 19Romania (839) 30.6% 31.1% 38.3%
5Georgia (860) 48.7% 24.4% 26.9% 20Belarus (795) 30.6% 36.7% 32.7%
6Azerbaijan (809) 47.7% 16.7% 35.6% 21Tajikistan (782) 28.9% 22.5% 48.6%
7Latvia (900) 46.0% 21.6% 32.4% 22Croatia (941) 28.7% 34.0% 37.3%
8Bulgaria (879) 44.0% 30.7% 25.3% 23Uzbekistan (970) 28.2% 32.0% 39.8%
9Kosovo (966) 43.7% 36.5% 19.8% 24Serbia (1447) 27.9% 32.9% 39.3%
10Estonia (927) 43.1% 21.5% 35.4% 25Kyrgyzstan (897) 25.9% 23.2% 50.9%
11Ukraine (1406) 42.5% 31.5% 26.0% 26Montenegro (868) 24.7% 43.2% 32.1%
12Macedonia (1037) 39.8% 27.4% 32.8% 27Moldova (719) 21.3% 29.3% 49.4%
13Slovakia (892) 39.3% 42.7% 17.9% 28Albania (918) 19.3% 42.0% 38.7%
14Kazakhstan (871) 39.0% 29.6% 31.3% 29Bosnia-Herzegovina (1010) 18.3% 40.6% 41.1%
15Lithuania (899) 38.4% 33.1% 28.5% Total (34338) 39.1% 29.1% 31.8%
Note: Countries are listed in order of the percentage of “Yes”. Figure in the
parentheses show the number of respondents.

13. Comparison (q3.33d)
13
People of a different race Selected
Not
Selected
Өөр өнгөтэй арьстан Selected
Not
Selected
1Armenia (1000) 32.3 67.7 16Georgia (999) 13.3 86.7
2Moldova (1043) 31.5 68.5 17Albania (1055) 12.7 87.3
3Azerbaijan (1002) 27.2 72.9 18Uzbekistan (1498) 12.6 87.4
4Czech Republic (1007) 23.7 76.3 19Slovakia (1009) 10.5 89.5
5Mongolia (1000) 23.6 76.4 20Slovenia (994) 10.3 89.7
6Tajikistan (1007) 21.5 78.6 21Bosnia-Herzegovina (1084) 10.2 89.8
7Kyrgyzstan (1014) 19.8 80.2 22Poland (1608) 9.7 90.3
8Macedonia (1072) 19.7 80.3 23Montenegro (1010) 8.7 91.3
9Hungary (1040) 19.4 80.6 24Estonia (1001) 8.5 91.5
10Kosovo (1091) 17.4 82.6 25Kazakhstan (999) 8.1 91.9
11Lithuania (1010) 16.5 83.5 26Latvia (985) 7.8 92.2
12Russia (1581) 15.3 84.7 27Romania (1065) 7.8 92.2
13Belarus (1000) 14.4 85.6 28Serbia (1510) 7.6 92.4
14Bulgaria (1006) 14.3 85.7 29Croatia (1000) 6.4 93.6
15Ukraine (1553) 13.7 86.4 Total (32243) 15.1 85.0
Note: Countries are listed in order of the percentage of “Selected”. Figure in
the parentheses show the number of respondents.

14. Comparison (q3.33g)
14
Immigrants / foreign workers Selected
Not
Selected
Цагаач / гадаадын ажилчид Selected
Not
Selected
1Mongolia (1000) 31.3 68.7 16Lithuania (1010) 14.9 85.2
2Russia (1581) 28.8 71.2 17Kyrgyzstan (1014) 14.5 85.5
3Czech Republic (1007) 27.4 72.6 18Armenia (1000) 12.2 87.8
4Moldova (1043) 24.3 75.7 19Slovakia (1009) 11.8 88.2
5Hungary (1040) 24.0 76.0 20Montenegro (1010) 10.6 89.4
6Estonia (1001) 23.6 76.4 21Tajikistan (1007) 10.5 89.5
7Belarus (1000) 21.6 78.4 22Bulgaria (1006) 10.4 89.6
8Kazakhstan (999) 20.8 79.2 23Romania (1065) 9.3 90.7
9Macedonia (1072) 20.0 80.0 24Serbia (1510) 8.8 91.2
10Uzbekistan (1498) 18.4 81.6 25Poland (1608) 8.3 91.7
11Ukraine (1553) 17.9 82.1 26Georgia (999) 8.1 91.9
12Slovenia (994) 17.7 82.3 27Bosnia-Herzegovina (1084) 7.8 92.3
13Latvia (985) 17.4 82.6 28Croatia (1000) 7.3 92.7
14Azerbaijan (1002) 17.0 83.0 29Albania (1055) 4.4 95.6
15Kosovo (1091) 16.0 84.1 Total (32243) 16.3 84.0
Note: Countries are listed in order of the percentage of “Yes”. Figure in the
parentheses show the number of respondents.

15. Comparison (q3.33j)
15
People of a different religion Selected
Not
Selected
Өөр шашинтан Selected
Not
Selected
1Moldova (1043) 30.6 69.4 16Bosnia-Herzegovina (1084) 7.4 92.6
2Armenia (1000) 27.8 72.2 17Bulgaria (1006) 7.1 92.9
3Tajikistan (1007) 26.3 73.7 18Kazakhstan (999) 6.9 93.1
4Azerbaijan (1002) 24.3 75.8 19Slovenia (994) 6.3 93.7
5Kyrgyzstan (1014) 22.7 77.3 20Poland (1608) 5.7 94.3
6Mongolia (1000) 17.6 82.4 21Serbia (1510) 5.3 94.7
7Georgia (999) 13.2 86.8 22Hungary (1040) 5.1 94.9
8Kosovo (1091) 12.6 87.4 23Romania (1065) 5.0 95.0
9Lithuania (1010) 11.9 88.1 24Estonia (1001) 4.5 95.5
10Czech Republic (1007) 10.8 89.2 25Albania (1055) 4.4 95.6
11Macedonia (1072) 10.1 89.9 26Montenegro (1010) 3.6 96.4
12Russia (1581) 9.6 90.5 27Latvia (985) 3.6 96.5
13Ukraine (1553) 9.3 90.7 28Slovakia (1009) 2.9 97.1
14Belarus (1000) 8.5 91.5 29Croatia (1000) 2.4 97.6
15Uzbekistan (1498) 8.5 91.5 Total (32243) 10.5 89.5
Note: Countries are listed in order of the percentage of “Yes”. Figure in the
parentheses show the number of respondents.

16. Comparison (q3.33o)
16
People who speak a different
language
Selected
Not
Selected
Өөр хэлээр ярьдаг хүмүүс Selected
Not
Selected
1Moldova (1043) 22.7 77.3 16Romania (1065) 5.1 94.9
2Mongolia (1000) 17.5 82.5 17Montenegro (1010) 5.1 95.0
3Kosovo (1091) 13.4 86.6 18Bosnia-Herzegovina (1084) 4.4 95.6
4Kyrgyzstan (1014) 12.7 87.3 19Georgia (999) 4.4 95.6
5Russia (1581) 11.1 88.9 20Serbia (1510) 3.8 96.2
6Czech Republic (1007) 9.2 90.8 21Azerbaijan (1002) 3.4 96.6
7Ukraine (1553) 8.8 91.2 22Bulgaria (1006) 3.4 96.6
8Tajikistan (1007) 8.7 91.3 23Slovakia (1009) 3.4 96.6
9Uzbekistan (1498) 8.7 91.3 24Estonia (1001) 3.3 96.7
10Armenia (1000) 8.3 91.7 25Albania (1055) 2.8 97.3
11Belarus (1000) 8.1 91.9 26Kazakhstan (999) 2.4 97.6
12Macedonia (1072) 6.0 94.0 27Lithuania (1010) 2.3 97.7
13Slovenia (994) 5.6 94.4 28Croatia (1000) 2.0 98.0
14Hungary (1040) 5.3 94.7 29Latvia (985) 0.9 99.1
15Poland (1608) 5.2 94.8 Total (32243) 6.9 93.1
Note: Countries are listed in order of the percentage of “Yes”. Figure in the
parentheses show the number of respondents.

17. The Result Shows …
• Negative attitude toward people from different
ethnic group is more common in Mongolia than
other former socialist countries
• The percentage of people who selected the
groups of people with different culture is
relatively high (or the highest) in Mongolia
17

18. MCA
• MCA stands for multiple correspondence
analysis
• MCA is a method of multivariate analysis
to examine relationship among categorical
variables
• The result is presented as a 2-dimentional
scatter chart
• Distance between two points shows the
relationship of the categories 18

19. Single-Country Analysis
19
Note: IFWs stands for
“Immigrants/Foreign
workers.”
• “OK”-s of
q3.33 are
very close
• Factors
relating to
exclusive
attitude
(q3.33) are
hard to find

20. Cross-National Analysis
20
• Mongolia
is close to
all the
negative
categories
• Mongolia
almost
overlaps
with
“IFWs”

21. Conclusion
• A majority of the Mongolians are tolerant to
people with different culture
• However, the level of tolerance is relatively low
in Mongolia
• Factors relating to (in-)tolerance is not clear
• Further research is required to find factors
relating to the Mongolian attitude toward
different culture
21
Анхаарал хандуулсантанд баярлалаа!
Acknowledgement: This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number
25870905. The presentation of this paper at this conference was supported by
the Overseas Travel Support Program for Researchers at Ritsumeikan University.
I appreciate the EBRD for providing the Mongolian version of the questionnaire.