Report on the status of civil registration and vital statistics in Africa: outcome of the Africa programme on accelerated improvement of civil registration and vital statistics systems monitoring framework

Abstract

Civil registration and vital statistics is an essential administrative system in modern society. The civil registry provides individuals with essential legal documents required to secure their identity, nationality and civil rights and access social services. Well-functioning civil registration and vital statistics systems are crucial for creating inclusive societies, ensuring proper delivery of public services and realizing and protecting basic human rights of all individuals. This monitoring report was prepared based on the Africa Program on Accelerated Improvement of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics web-based monitoring results conducted in October 2016 to measure progress achieved by each country in various aspects of civil registration and vital statistics systems. The report presents a summary of the findings based on responses obtained from 39 countries out of the 54 member States expected to fill in the online monitoring form, which equates to a 72 percent response rate. The findings provide a broad overview on the status of national civil registration and vital statistics systems and help to identify strengths and weaknesses of different components of the systems.