As part of Unicef’s 78th anniversary, the organization presented a report that highlights significant advances in birth registration globally. According to this documentmore than 500 million boys and girls under five years of age have been registered at birth in the last five yearsrepresenting almost 77% of minors in this age group.
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This percentage reflects an increase compared to 2019, when global levels reached 75%. However, despite this progressaround 150 million boys and girls under five are still unregistered, leaving them invisible to government systems.
The report also highlights that More than 50 million boys and girls who have been registered lack a birth certificate, essential document that certifies registration and constitutes essential proof to acquire nationality, avoid statelessness and guarantee access to fundamental rights.
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“Birth registration ensures that children are recognized by law immediately after birth, which in turn is essential for them to be protected from violence and exploitation and to be able to access essential services such as vaccination, health care, healthcare and education“said Catherine Russell, executive director of Unicef.
Birth registration is a process that not only grants legal identity to children, but also facilitates their access to various essential public services. For this reason, they emphasize that global advances are due, to a large extent, to the efforts of countries that prioritize timely registration by taking advantage of health, social protection and education systems.
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These countries have managed to expand registration services to more communities, digitize processes and eliminate fees that previously constituted significant barriers for many families.
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By region, Latin America and the Caribbean lead registration rates at 95%, followed by East and Southeast Asia at 94% and Central and South Asia at 78%. In contrast, Sub-Saharan Africa registers a significantly lower percentage of 51%, concentrating more than half of the world’s unregistered boys and girlswhich is equivalent to approximately 90 million.
Within this region, significant differences are observed, for example while Southern Africa reaches 88% registrations, West Africa has experienced significant progress in the last 15 years, standing at 63%. However, East Africa and Central Africa show worryingly low figures, at 41%.
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The report, furthermore, warns that if current enrollment levels are maintained and considering the rapid growth of the child population, Sub-Saharan Africa could have more than 100 million unregistered boys and girls after 2030. This challenge underscores the urgency of intensifying efforts to ensure universal access to birth registration in the region and around the world.
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The barriers that families face in registering their children range from a lack of political commitment to distance to registration offices, the multiple visits necessary, the lack of knowledge of the process, the associated costs and, in some places,yesdiscrimination based on gender, ethnicity or religion.
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In many cases, these difficulties are compounded by the lack of adequate infrastructure and resources in rural and peri-urban communities. Additionally, in contexts of conflict or humanitarian crisis, Families face additional risks that hinder registration, such as forced displacement or the destruction of government facilities.
“Despite progress, there are still too many boys and girls who do not appear in statistics or are taken into account, and who are, therefore, invisible in the eyes of governments or the law” stated Catherine Russell.
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The director also highlighted that these boys and girls not only lose access to fundamental rights, but also face greater chances of being victims of violence, labor exploitation or human trafficking, underscoring the importance of concerted action.
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The advances and challenges
In this challenging panorama, some countries have made notable progress. In Sub-Saharan Africa, Botswana has achieved universal birth registration, while Côte d’Ivoire has surpassed 90%. Likewise, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Tanzania have shown sustained improvement over the past decade. These examples represent valuable models for other nations seeking to strengthen their civil registration systems.
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The implementation of innovative solutions has been key in some contexts. In Rwanda, The use of mobile technologies has allowed families to register their children from remote areasreducing logistical and economic barriers.
In Tanzania, awareness campaigns in rural communities have significantly increased the registration rates, demonstrating the importance of involving local communities in these efforts.
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To address persistent challenges, UNICEF has urged governments and international communities to implement five key measures such as guaranteeing the registration of all boys and girls at birth, simplifying and digitizing registration processes, taking advantage of health and education programs to promote registrationestablish legal reforms to create inclusive and equitable systems, and empower communities to demand access to civil registration services.
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“All boys and girls have the right to be registered and receive a birth certificate that allows them to receive recognition, protection and support”Russell emphasized.
The right to be registered at birth is enshrined in article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which establishes the obligation for all boys and girls to be identified immediately after birth. This is essential to guarantee equal opportunities and the comprehensive protection of children.
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The statistics presented in the report are based on data collected between 2014 and 2023, covering a subset of 173 countries and representing 98% of children under five years of age in the world. Sources include nationally representative household surveys, civil registration systems, censuses, and other research. These figures reflect the progress made, but also underline the need for urgent and sustained action.
