If you are an English speaker and thinking of traveling to Mongolia, you might have wondered how well Mongolians speak English.

Mongolians learn elementary English in most schools, but aside from private schools that teach English in-depth, most Mongolians are not able to speak English. You will however come across some Mongolians here and there, especially in Ulaanbaatar and urban environments, who will be able to speak proficient English.

While not everyone will be able to speak English, you won’t have difficulty or trouble finding someone in Ulaanbaatar who can. But out in the countryside in rural towns, it will be a lot harder, so you should learn some basic Mongolian to get by in the countryside.

Interesting fact: English is the most popular foreign language in Mongolia that people opt to learn as a second language. The popularity of Russian as a second language has been falling for the past 30 years due to the fall of the USSR and socialism.