Naadam Festival Statistics (2026): 37 Facts on Mongolia’s Three Manly Games, Wrestlers, and Horse Racing

Over 105,000 horses ridden by child jockeys compete across Mongolia’s naadams each year. At the national tournament alone, 512 of the country’s top wrestlers met in single-elimination competition in 2025 (Montsame, 2025). Nine or ten rounds. No weight classes. One champion.

These are not estimates conjured from travel blogs. The figures below draw from UNESCO, Mongolia’s National Statistics Office (NSO), the state news agency Montsame, and the national Naadam organizing committee. Where data comes from secondary reporting and primary-source confirmation is unavailable, we say so.

Table of Contents

1. Naadam at a Glance

2. Wrestling (Bökh) — The Numbers

3. Horse Racing — Distances, Jockeys, and Scale

4. Archery and Anklebone Shooting

5. Naadam and Tourism

6. Naadam by the Numbers: Master Statistics Table

7. Frequently Asked Questions

8. Methodology and Sources

1. Naadam at a Glance

Naadam runs July 11–13 at the national level. The date is fixed to the anniversary of Mongolia’s 1921 revolution, though the games themselves are centuries older — references to the three games appear in 13th-century Mongol military records. The national Naadam was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010 (UNESCO, 2010), recognising both its cultural significance and its role in transmitting traditional skills across generations.

The opening ceremony and wrestling competition take place at the National Sports Stadium in Ulaanbaatar. The stadium’s permanent seating capacity is approximately 12,500 (StadiumDB / Wikipedia), though attendance on ceremony day exceeds that with standing areas. Horse racing happens 40–45 km west of the capital at Khui Doloon Khudag. Archery is held on the stadium grounds.

Beyond Ulaanbaatar, every aimag (province) and most soums (districts) hold their own naadams throughout July. The national event is the most prestigious, but the local ones are where most Mongolians actually participate.

In 2026, the national Naadam carries added symbolic weight: it marks the 105th anniversary of the Mongolian Revolution, the 820th anniversary of the Mongol Empire, and the 2,235th anniversary of the Hunnu (Xiongnu) Empire (Mongolian Government, 2026).

Official UNESCO page on Naadam

2. Wrestling (Bökh) — The Numbers

At the 2025 national Naadam, 512 wrestlers entered the tournament — among them 102 holders of national titles, including one Darkhan Avarga (State Grand Champion), four Ulsyn Avarga (State Champions), eight Arslan (State Lions), and six State Garudas (Montsame, 2025). That field is determined by a seeding and qualification process, not open entry: every wrestler on the national stage has already won at aimag or inter-aimag competitions.

The format is pure single elimination. No weight classes, no time limit. A wrestler loses when any part of their body above the knee touches the ground. Matches can end in seconds or drag past an hour. The tournament runs nine or ten rounds depending on bracket size — 512 wrestlers means nine rounds to produce one champion.

Rank titles accumulate with each round survived. A first-round winner earns Falcon (Nachin); deeper wins bring Hawk (Khartsaga), Elephant (Zaan), Garuda, Lion (Arslan), and ultimately Titan (Avarga) — the title awarded to the national champion. Holding Avarga across multiple years earns the rare distinction of Darkhan Avarga (State Grand Champion), the highest title in Mongolian wrestling.

Nationwide across all local naadams, an estimated 22,400 wrestlers compete annually (Bradt Guides / Mongolia Tourism Board estimates — labelled as estimate; primary NSO confirmation unavailable).

Montsame: 512 wrestlers enter national Naadam 2025

3. Horse Racing — Distances, Jockeys, and Scale

Mongolian Naadam horse racing is nothing like the Western sport. Races run 12–27 km across open steppe — not an oval track — and the riders are children. At the national Naadam, up to approximately 1,000 horses compete across six age categories (Wikipedia / Naadam organizing committee). Nationwide, an estimated 105,000 child jockeys ride across all local naadams (Bradt Guides / Mongolia Tourism Board estimates — labelled as estimate).

Race distances are set by the horse’s age, not by a course designer. Two-year-olds (Daaga) run 10–12 km. Three-year-olds (Shudlen) cover 14–16 km. The longest races — for seven-year-old Soyolon horses — reach 27 km. The logic is practical: younger, less-developed horses run shorter distances to protect their joints and lungs.

Child jockeys are aged approximately 6–12 years, with Mongolian law setting the minimum at 8 for national competition (ILO, 2019). Their light weight is the point — faster horses, longer distances, minimal burden. Jockeys ride without saddles and in light clothing. A 2005 deputy prime minister’s decree requires helmets and pads, though enforcement remains inconsistent (ILO, 2019).

The winner of each race category is celebrated, but the horse gets much of the credit. After the race, the top five horses in each category are given the title “Airgiin Tav” (Five of the Wind), and the winning horse’s jockey sings a traditional praise song called a “giingoo.”

ILO: Mongolian child jockeys — balancing cultural heritage with safety

If you want to watch the horse racing in person, Atlas Mongolia Travel’s Naadam Festival Tour includes transport to Khui Doloon Khudag with a local guide — the logistics of getting there independently are harder than most visitors expect.

4. Archery and Anklebone Shooting (Shagai)

Mongolian archery at Naadam uses composite bows and leather-cylinder targets called “suur.” The targets — small woven or wooden cylinders roughly 8 cm high — are arranged in rows on the ground at distances of 75 metres for men and 60 metres for women (Wikipedia). Men shoot 40 arrows per round; women shoot 20. Scoring is cumulative: knocking a suur cleanly from the centre scores highest. A judge calls “uuhai” (roughly: “hooray”) to signal a hit.

Archery runs in teams, not purely as individual competition. When an archer scores, teammates and judges raise their hands and chant — a ritual that makes the archery ground one of the louder sections of the stadium.

An estimated 9,500 archers compete across all nationwide naadams (Bradt Guides / Mongolia Tourism Board estimates — labelled as estimate). At the national level, men and women compete in separate categories. Champions earn the titles “national marksman” and “national markswoman.”

Shagai — the fourth game. While the official “three manly games” (eriin gurvan naadam) are wrestling, horse racing, and archery, anklebone shooting (shagai) is frequently included as a fourth discipline at local naadams. Players flick ankle bones of sheep at a target using a finger-flick technique. Shagai appears across multiple Mongolian games and is considered a traditional skill in its own right.

5. Naadam and Tourism

Mongolia welcomed 727,400 foreign tourists in 2024 — a record high — generating USD 1.5 billion in tourism revenue (NSO / Xinhua, January 2025). In the first seven months of 2025, arrivals grew 21.5% year-on-year, reaching 457,158 visitors (NSO / Xinhua, August 2025).

July is the peak of that curve. Naadam week (July 11–13) is the single biggest demand driver in Mongolia’s tourism calendar, with hotel rates in Ulaanbaatar spiking sharply in the two weeks around the festival. Most international tour operators — including Atlas Mongolia Travel — sell out their Naadam departures months in advance.

For context on Mongolia’s broader visitor patterns, the Mongolia Tourism Statistics 2026 page covers annual arrivals, revenue, and source markets in detail.

The national stadium seats approximately 12,500 for the opening ceremony. Tickets for the ceremony start from around USD 25 and regularly sell out (MeanwhileInMongolia.com). The horse racing at Khui Doloon Khudag is free to attend — though the 40–45 km distance from the city means logistics matter.

The existing Naadam Festival 2026 guide covers practical details: how to get tickets, what to wear, and when to arrive.

NSO/Xinhua: Mongolia’s tourist arrivals reach record high in 2024

6. Naadam by the Numbers: Master Statistics Table

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Naadam 2026?

The national Naadam Festival in Ulaanbaatar runs July 11–13, 2026. July 11 is a national public holiday in Mongolia. Local naadams take place throughout July across all aimags and most soums. The opening ceremony at the National Sports Stadium begins on the morning of July 11.

How many wrestlers compete at Naadam?

At the 2025 national Naadam, 512 wrestlers entered the single-elimination tournament, including 102 holders of national titles (Montsame, 2025). Across all local naadams nationwide, an estimated 22,400 wrestlers compete annually, though this figure is an estimate based on Mongolia Tourism Board data reported by Bradt Guides.

Is Naadam a UNESCO World Heritage event?

Yes. Naadam was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010 (UNESCO, 2010). It is recognised for its cultural significance and its role in transmitting traditional Mongolian skills — wrestling, horsemanship, and archery — across generations.

How old are the child jockeys at Naadam horse races?

Naadam jockeys are typically between 6 and 12 years old. Mongolian law sets the minimum age for national competition at 8 years (ILO, 2019). Jockeys ride without saddles, wearing light clothing to minimise weight. A 2005 government decree requires helmets and protective pads, though enforcement is inconsistent.

How long are the horse races at Naadam?

Race distances depend on the horse’s age category. Two-year-old horses (Daaga) race 10–12 km; three-year-olds (Shudlen) run 14–16 km; four-year-olds (Khyazaalan) cover 18 km; stallions (Azarga) race 22–24 km; older geldings (Ikh Nas) run 25–27 km; and seven-year-olds (Soyolon) cover 27 km (Wikipedia). All races are cross-country, held at Khui Doloon Khudag, approximately 40–45 km west of Ulaanbaatar.

What is the “three manly games” phrase at Naadam?

“Eriin gurvan naadam” translates literally as “the three games of men,” referring to wrestling (bökh), horse racing, and archery. The phrase is centuries old. Women now compete in archery at the national level, and anklebone shooting (shagai) is often included as a fourth discipline at local naadams, though it is not part of the official three.

How many tourists visit Mongolia for Naadam?

Mongolia does not publish a Naadam-specific visitor figure. Nationally, 727,400 foreign tourists arrived in 2024 — a record high (NSO / Xinhua, 2025). July is the peak month for arrivals, driven heavily by Naadam. International tour operators typically sell out Naadam-week departures several months in advance.

Can foreigners attend Naadam?

Yes. The opening ceremony at the National Sports Stadium requires tickets, which start from approximately USD 25 and sell out quickly. The wrestling competition, archery, and horse racing are all open to visitors. The horse racing at Khui Doloon Khudag is free to attend — the main challenge is transport, as it is 40–45 km from the city.

Conclusion

The numbers behind Naadam are striking in their scale: over 100,000 horses ridden by children across a single country in a single month, 512 elite wrestlers reduced to one champion across nine elimination rounds, archers competing by rules that have not changed in centuries.

What the statistics cannot capture is the texture of the event — the smell of airag (fermented mare’s milk) in the stadium stands, the sound of a crowd reacting to a wrestler’s unexpected fall, the silence on the steppe before a horse race begins. The data gives you the framework. Being there is something else entirely.

The Naadam Festival 2026 guide covers the practical side — tickets, timing, transport, and what to expect on each day. For those who want a guided experience with local context built in, see the Naadam Festival Tour or get in touch with our team to plan around the festival.

Written by the Atlas Mongolia Travel team — a locally operated tour company based in Ulaanbaatar.

Methodology and Sources

Data integrity notes:

• National vs. nationwide figures: Statistics for the national Naadam (Ulaanbaatar) and those for all naadams nationwide are kept strictly separate throughout this article. National figures (e.g., 512 wrestlers, 2025) are sourced from Montsame (Mongolia’s state news agency). Nationwide participation estimates (22,400 wrestlers, 105,000 child jockeys, 9,500 archers) are secondary figures from Bradt Guides citing Mongolia Tourism Board data — they are labelled as estimates throughout.
• “Most recent available”: Horse race distance data, archery distances, and wrestling format rules are structural/rules-based and do not change year to year. They are cited to Wikipedia (drawing from Mongolian Naadam organizing committee rules) and are current as of June 2026.
• Stadium capacity: Permanent seating of ~12,500 per StadiumDB and Wikipedia. The often-cited figure of 60,000 appears to reference total event-day attendance including standing areas and outdoor screens — we use the verified permanent capacity only.
• Tourism data: 2024 full-year figures from NSO via Xinhua (January 2025). January–July 2025 figures from NSO via Xinhua (August 2025). July seasonality described as peak based on NSO seasonal patterns; a precise July-specific arrival count was not available from primary sources at time of writing.

Primary sources consulted:

• UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage — Naadam
• Montsame (Mongolian State News Agency) — 2025 Naadam wrestling entrants
• Montsame — New Champions Crowned, National Naadam 2025
• NSO / Xinhua — Mongolia tourist arrivals record high 2024
• NSO / Xinhua — Mongolia tourist arrivals Jan–Jul 2025
• ILO — Mongolian child jockeys: balancing cultural heritage with safety (2019)
• Wikipedia — Naadam (drawing from Mongolian organizing committee rules)
• StadiumDB — National Sports Stadium
• Bradt Guides: Mongolia (nationwide participation estimates, citing Mongolia Tourism Board)

Estimates labelled as such: Nationwide wrestler, child jockey, and archer counts. July-specific tourist arrival count.

Last updated: June 2026

Update schedule: We update this page each July after the national Naadam.