500m Children Registered At Birth, Millions Invisible – Report

A new report has shown that over 500 million children under five globally have been registered at birth in the past five years.

The report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) indicates that significant progress has been made in global efforts to secure legal identities for children.

The report titled “Right Start in Life: Global Levels and Trends in Birth Registration” shows that despite increase in the number of registered children, about 150 million children still remain unregistered and invisible to government systems, according to Premium Times.

It also highlighted that over 50 million children with registered births lack birth certificates which is an essential document for proving legal identity, acquiring nationality, and accessing healthcare, education, and protection.

The Executive Director of UNICEF, Catherine Russell, expressed concerns over the millions of children who remain unregistered, rendering them invisible in the eyes of government and legal systems.

She said despite progress, too many children remain uncounted and unaccounted for.

“Every child has the right to be registered and provided with a birth certificate so that they are recognised, protected, and supported,”she said.

The report indicates that while global birth registration rates have climbed from 75 per cent in 2019 to 77 per cent in 2024, progress has been uneven.

Although, progress has been notable in regions like Latin America and the Caribbean (95 per cent) and Eastern and South-Eastern Asia (94 per cent), sub-Saharan Africa lags behind with only 51 per cent of children registered.

This region accounts for over half of the world’s unregistered children, approximately 90 million.

Within sub-Saharan Africa, disparities persist. Southern Africa leads with 88 per cent registration, Western Africa has made significant strides, reaching 63 per cent, Eastern and Middle Africa trail at 41 per cent.

According to a statement by UNICEF, slow pace of improvement combined with a rapidly growing child population means that sub-Saharan Africa could have over 100 million unregistered children by 2030 if current trends continue.

The statement also identified persistent barriers to birth registration.

“Many families around the world continue to face barriers due to weak political commitment, long distances and multiple visits to registration facilities, lack of knowledge about the registration process, unaffordable fees and prohibitive indirect costs, and, in some places, discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, or religion,” the statement said.