Mongolia is the eighteenth largest country and the second largest landlocked country in the world. Northern Mongolia is covered by forest and mountain ranges, while desert, desert steppe and steppe areas cover the south. The western region is dominated by the Altai and Khangai Mountains and the east is covered by vast plains and wild heaths. In 2015, these six categories of land accounted for 73.5 per cent, 0.5 per cent, 0.3 per cent, 16.1 per cent, 9.2 per cent, and 0.4 per cent of the total land area, respectively (figure 12.1).