I counted all of the yurts in Mongolia using machine learning

Summary

The Fall of Civilizations podcast put out a 6¾-hour episode on the history of the Mongol Empire, which I eagerly listened to. After finishing the episode I wondered about contemporary Mongolian society, I wanted to learn what the lands that the Mongol Empire exploded from are like in our current day. There are many ways to try to understand a society, whether it be quantifying it or looking at the lived experiences within it. If you look at data provided by the World Bank, you’ll see a country that has rapidly reduced poverty in the 21st century, has a high economic growth rate, a healthy fertility rate, and is solidly an upper-middle-income country. While Mongolia is a republic with a competitive party system, Worldwide Governance Indicators from the World Bank show a government that has issues with corruption, regulatory quality, and effectiveness. Indicator Value Years Population 3,481,145 2023 Fertility rate 2.7 2023 Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) 6 2021 Individuals using the Internet (% of population) 1% → 83% 2000 → 2023 Poverty headcount ratio at $2.15 a day (2017 PPP) (% of population) 11.6% → 0.2% 2002 → 2022 Average GDP growth 6.62% 2003 → 2023 GDP per capita, PPP (current international $) $4,399.4 → $18,004.9 2003 → 2023 (“Mongolia”) All of these indicators are interesting to look at, but they don’t really show what a society is like. I feel you get much more understanding by going to a country, walking the streets, and talking to people there. If you’re unable to do this, the next best thing is spending hours exploring Google Maps, which I did. I opened a satellite view of Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. I saw new glass buildings, Soviet-designed apartment blocks (called ugsarmal), impressive government buildings, factories, and industrial areas. But something stood out to me. Yurts, extending for kilometers in all directions. Maps Data: Google Airbus, CNES / Airbus, Maxar Technologies Naturally, I was impressed by the quantity of yurt...