According to the World Bank Group, a billion people across the globe are unregistered, lacking any identity documents. This is an enormously challenging problem for the individuals involved, their families, and their countries. Those without identity documents could be considered stateless by governments as they lack proof of citizenship for any country. This situation could result in expulsion from a country; rejection for government services such as credentials, education, and medical care; professional blocks to employment and business ownership; and personal obstacles to obtaining a mobile phone, opening bank accounts, enrolling in school, and renting or buying a residence. The lack of opportunity for the individual and the cost in lost economic development for the country cannot be overstated.
Africa specifically has a significant problem issuing identity documents with half of all unregistered individuals living in Sub-Saharan Africa. The problem will only get worse as the population continues to grow rapidly. Governments that have had difficulty issuing identity documents in the past will struggle to provide their ever growing populations with the necessary government issued identity documents.
This is a particularly acute problem for African women as half of unregistered Africans are women.
In addition to facing the typical obstacles of the unregistered, African women face two problems their male peers do not. One is establishing her own citizenship. Citizenship in African countries is generally established by descent. However, citizenship by descent is not always treated identically from either the father or the mother. In addition, retention of her citizenship can be jeopardized by marriage to a non-citizen. Her citizenship is derived from her relationship to others and not from place of birth within an African country.
The other problem is establishing the citizenship status of her children. According to UNHRC, countries that do not grant citizenship by descent through the mother include Somalia and Eswatini. Even countries that do grant citizenship through the mother may do so in only limited and highly restrictive conditions such as in Burundi, Liberia, Libya, Mauretania, Sudan, and Togo. Children’s citizenship can be affected by factors such as whether the father is married to the mother, if the father is a citizen, if they were born abroad, or if their parents hold citizenships from different countries. In general, the father’s citizenship determines the citizenship of the children. However, if the birth is not recorded, the children lack proof of citizenship by descent. This then prevents the issuance of identity documents.
Below is a table showing the top ten countries with the largest unregistered populations. Also below is a table of the top ten African countries with the largest unregistered populations and showing the percentage of population affected. Nigeria has the second largest unregistered with over 140 million unregistered individuals and comprising of 72% of the country’s population.
Lack of documentation is a global problem that needs to be addressed one person at a time. If you have family members who are unregistered, you may be able to help them obtain their identity documents by helping them to establish their identity through your identity.
Top 10 countries with largest number of individuals without ID
| Country | Total Estimated Unregistered Population |
| India | 161,910,117 |
| Nigeria | 140,465,270 |
| Pakistan | 76,543,997 |
| Ethiopia | 69,383,063 |
| Bangladesh | 53,190,219 |
| Congo, Dem. Rep. | 33,361,806 |
| Tanzania | 27,826,393 |
| Indonesia | 22,417,919 |
| Uganda | 21,786,593 |
| Angola | 17,359,571 |
Source: http://id4d.worldbank.org
The World Bank, “Global ID4D Dataset 2018” April 2018
Top 10 countries with largest percentage of population without ID
| Country | Number of Unregistered Population | % of Population |
| Nigeria | 140,465,270 | 72 |
| Ethiopia | 69,383,063 | 65 |
| Democratic Republic of Congo | 33,361,806 | 40 |
| Tanzania | 27,826,393 | 47 |
| Uganda | 21,786,593 | 49 |
| Angola | 7,359,571 | 56 |
| Sudan | 15,801,190 | 38 |
| South Africa | 15,341,719 | 27 |
| Mozambique | 12,053,521 | 39 |
| Somalia | 11,739,625 | 77 |
Source: http://id4d.worldbank.org
The World Bank, “Global ID4D Dataset 2018” April 2018