The database of the National Registry of Civil Status shows that Colombia has experienced considerable reduction in the number of births registered during the last 10 years. Even so, there is a city that keeps the number of births on the rise. What is it about?
Of the total of 742,610 births reported in the country in 2014, the official number of births that were registered Throughout 2024 it reached 419,002, with a significant reduction of 43.6 percent in 10 years.
Where were the most births reported in 2024?
The departments that reported the highest birth records in 2024 were:
• Antioch: 49,018 births.
• Cauca Valley: 32,207 births.
• Atlantic: 25,371 births.
• Bolívar: 20,708 births.
In any case, these same departments showed a reduction of births compared to 2014:
• Antioch: 78,186 births.
• Cauca Valley: 56,219 births.
• Atlantic: 42,795 births.
• Bolívar: 37,023 births.
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Why is birth registration important in Colombia?
Antioch
Source: IStock
The Registry Office reminds citizens of the importance of registering newborn children since this procedure allows recognition of the legal existence of people, a fundamental condition for them to access their rights, as well as the goods and services of the State.
It is important to note that the registration of the birth must be done within the month following the occurrence of the event. Once this period has expired, it will be understood that the registration is untimely. The requirements for its issuance are:
• Present an examination of the blood group and Rh factor of the person whose birth is to be registered (when the antecedent document is different from the live birth certificate).
• Present the person you intend to register, proving his or her birth through the preceding document.
• The declarant must be duly identified and meet the requirements of the link with the person to be registered in accordance with the law.
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What is needed to register a newborn in Colombia?
For the birth registration process, you must have the following documents:
• Certificate of live birth.
• Authentic documents, such as citizenship card, sentences.
• Indigenous authorization (only for members of said communities).
• Ecclesiastical certificate and/or baptism certificate, with a certificate of competence from the minister who celebrated the event.
• ICBF Resolution (in the case of minors in the administrative process to restore rights).
• Resolution by the National Directorate of Civil Registry (in case of foundlings or children of unknown parents).
• Foreign Civil Registry or Certificate duly apostilled or legalized and translated (only if the birth had occurred abroad).
• Forms issued by authorized midwives and midwives.
In the absence of the previous documents, registration may be carried out with the sworn statement of two witnesses to the fact of birth (they must be people who have witnessed the fact or have direct and reliable news of it). Parents cannot be witnesses.
