According to a 2022 United States Agency for International Development (USAID) report, the “roughly 1.1 billion people” lacking official identity are in many ways “invisible, discounted, and left behind.” Without a national identity, these individuals face barriers to accessing public services, exercising voting rights, and, in some cases, utilizing services offered by the private sector, like bank accounts and SIM cards. Indeed, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call on UN member states to provide legal identity for all, including free registration at birth, as one means to bridge socio-economic divides.
