Globally, a staggering one billion individuals lacked basic identification documents as of 2018. This significant portion of the world’s population, as estimated by the ID4D Global Dataset, predominantly resides in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. These are often the most marginalized and vulnerable groups, including women and girls facing discrimination, individuals with limited education, migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, stateless people, persons with disabilities, and those living in remote rural areas (ID4D-Findex). This lack of identity documentation severely restricts their access to essential services and opportunities.
For a deeper dive into the statistics surrounding the global identification gap, explore ID4D Data: Global Identification Challenge by the Numbers.
Alarmingly, nearly half of women in low-income countries are without a national ID or similar foundational identification. This absence of legal proof of identity hinders their ability to access critical healthcare, education, financial services, and participate fully in political and economic spheres (ID4D-Findex). Sub-Saharan Africa is home to approximately 500 million of these individuals lacking basic proof of legal identity, and a concerning 47 percent are children who were never officially registered at birth (ID4D Global Dataset).
This widespread identification gap is partly attributed to the deficiency of well-functioning civil registration (CR) systems in many low- and middle-income countries. These systems are crucial for recording vital events like births, deaths, and marriages, which are fundamental for establishing legal identity right from birth. Even where civil registers and ID systems exist, several factors diminish their effectiveness. Many are still paper-based, making them prone to errors and fraud. Often, they are designed for limited purposes, such as voter identification or social benefit distribution, lacking the versatility for broader applications. Fragmentation across various government agencies and the exclusion of specific populations further compound the problem. Moreover, many nations lack robust legal and regulatory frameworks to underpin trusted and inclusive ID systems that adequately protect privacy and data. Therefore, beyond the billion people without basic identity proof, a significant number lack ID that is genuinely useful, secure, and trusted. The value of any ID system diminishes drastically without public trust and user convenience, hindering its potential to foster development and inclusion.
