BIRTH REGISTRATION IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN: CLOSING THE GAPS2016 UPDATE

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Every child's birth rightA name and nationality is every child’s right, enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international treaties. Birth registration is the CONTINUOUS, PERMANENT and UNIVERSAL recording, within the civil registry, of the occurrence and characteristics of births in accordance with the legal requirements of a country.

The lack of formal recognition by the State usually means that a child is unable to obtain a birth certificate. As a result, he or she may be denied health care or education. Later in life, the lack of official identification documents can mean that a child may enter into marriage or the labour market, or be conscripted into the armed forces, before the legal age. If accused of a crime, unregistered children may be prosecuted as adults, due to their inability to prove their age. In adulthood, birth certificates may be required to obtain social assistance or a job in the formal sector, to buy or prove the right to inherit property, to vote and to obtain a passport. Registering children at birth is the first step in securing their recognition before the law, safeguarding their rights, and ensuring that any violation of these rights does not go unnoticed.

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Until the last child is reachedThanks to a range of initiatives over the past decades, many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are getting close to reaching universal birth registration. Behind this success is the enhanced capacity of institutions in charge of civil registration to deliver services, the establishment of such services in public hospitals, the elimination of fees, public policies linking birth registration to access to social protection mechanisms, and massive information campaigns – initiatives supported by UNICEF in many countries. Still, the data on birth registration among excluded groups, in particular indigenous populations, tell a different story. The registration process in a number of countries lacks sensitivity to indigenous peoples’ culture and tradition. The cross-border ‘nature’ of indigenous communities adds to these obstacles. Urban-rural differences also mask deeper underlying disparities, mainly related to poverty. In addition, excluded populations such as undocumented migrants are often unaware of their rights regarding birth registration or may be reluctant to register their children for fear of deportation to their country of origin.

Reaching the last 10 to 20 percent of children who are not yet registered will require a focus on those groups that in some way or another are excluded from access to public services. Above all, it will require increased political commitment to intensify efforts that address the root causes of under-registration.

UNICEF in Latin America and the Caribbean is committed to continuing its support to governments throughout the region to ensure equity in birth registration access, along with bringing the rich and successful experiences of countries in the region to the benefit of other countries around the world.

Where we stand today

Percentage of children under age five whose births are registered and number of children under age five whose births are not registered

Note: Estimates are based on a subset of 24 countries with data between 2010 and 2015, covering 94 per cent of the regional population of children under age five.

Notes: The map is stylized and not to scale. It does not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers. Data for Argentina and the Plurinational State of Bolivia refer to the percentage of children under age five with a birth certificate. Data for the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Costa Rica refer to the percentage of births registered. Data for Chile refer to the percentage of children aged 0 to 7 years whose births are registered. Data for Paraguay refer to the percentage of children under 1 year of age with a birth certificate. Data for Peru refer to the percentage of children aged 6 to 59 months whose births are registered.

Percentage of children under age five whose births are registered

Number of children under age five whose births are not registered, in the five countries with the largest number of unregistered children in the region

The lowest birth registration level in the region is found in the Plurinational State of Bolivia

1 in 4 children who lack birth registration in the region live in Mexico

The births of around 3 million children under the age of five in Latin America and the Caribbean have never been recorded

Countries with no comparable data in the UNICEF global database

84% – 76%94% – 85%95% and above

Mexico 800,000

Brazil 600,000

2,51

0,00

0

Bolivia (Plurinational State of)290,000

Haiti 250,000

Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 570,000

94% of children under age five have

had their births registered, leaving

3.2 million children under age five

without registration

Percentage distribution of children under age five whose births are registered, by whether or not they have a birth certificate

Percentage distribution of children under age five whose births are not registered, by a mother’s (or caregiver’s) knowledge of how to register a child, in countries with available data

Note: Data for Costa Rica are from an older source as disaggregation by possession of a birth certificate is not available yet for the latest source.

Note: Data for Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago are based on 25-49 unweighted cases.

Note: Data for Argentina, Costa Rica, Cuba, Suriname and Uruguay were excluded from the chart since they show no difference in birth registration levels by age (only countries with a ratio of more than 1.0 between the oldest and youngest age groups are included).

Percentage of children under age five whose births are registered, by age (in months) in countries with differences in birth registration levels by age

Percentage of children under age five whose births are registered and gross national income (GNI) per capita in US$ (2015), in countries with available data

The lowest levels of birth registration are found among infants

Many countries have achieved a high birth registration rate even with low per capita income

Most children whose births are recorded have proof of registration

In Guyana and Suriname, more than half of mothers lack knowledge of how to register a child’s birth

Saint Lucia

Trinidad and Tobago

Haiti

Dominican Republic

Belize

Suriname

Honduras

Panama

Costa Rica

Guyana

Uruguay

Barbados

Cuba

Barbados

Colombia

Panama

Trinidad and Tobago

Belize

Dominican Republic

Mexico

Saint Lucia

Honduras

Guyana

Haiti

Bolivia (Plurinational State of)

0 10 30 50 70 9020 40 60 80 100 0 10 30 50 70 9020 40 60 80 100

Do not have a birth certificate Have a birth certificate 48–59 36–47 24–35 12–23 0–11

0SurinameGuyana PanamaDominican

RepublicBelize 0

2,00

0

4,00

0

6,00

0

8,00

0

10,0

00

12,0

00

14,0

00

16,0

00

18,0

00

20,0

00Trinidad and Tobago

100

90

80

70

60

50

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

Unregistered children whose mothers do not know how to register them

Unregistered children whose mothers know how to register them

High income countries with GNI per capita of $12,476 or moreUpper middle-income countries with GNI per capita of between $4,036 and $12,475Lower middle-income countries with GNI per capita of between $1,026 and $4,035Low income countries with GNI per capita of $1,025 or less

Argentina

Panama

Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

Chile

BarbadosUruguay

Trinidad and TobagoBelizeHonduras

Nicaragua

Haiti

Bolivia (Plurinational State of)

Paraguay

Guyana Dominican Republic

GuatemalaEl Salvador Jamaica

Peru

Ecuador Saint Lucia Mexico

BrazilSuriname

Costa Rica

Colombia

The children left behind

Percentage of children under age five whose births are registered, by sex

Percentage of children under age five whose births are registered and the geographic area with the highest and lowest levels of birth registration

Note: Data for Costa Rica and El Salvador are from older sources as disaggregation by sex is not available yet for the latest sources.

Notes: Some countries could not be included since subnational disaggregation is not available yet for the latest sources. For Argentina, Cuba and Uruguay, the line with the geographic areas is not visible because the levels are around 100 per cent.

Notes: Each dot represents a country. Data for Mexico are from an older source as disaggregation by place of residence is not available yet for the latest source.

Note: Data for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico and Paraguay are from older sources as disaggregation by wealth is not available yet for the latest sources.

Percentage of children under age five whose births are registered, by place of residence

Percentage of children under age five whose births are registered, by wealth quintiles

In countries with lower overall levels, birth registration is more common in urban than rural areas; where levels are higher, disparities due to place of residence diminish

Disparities by a family’s wealth are only evident in countries with lower birth registration levels

No differences are found in birth registration rates between boys and girls

National birth registration prevalence may hide important geographic disparities

Boliv

ia (P

lurina

tiona

l Sta

te of

)

Haiti

Para

guay

Domi

nican

Rep

ublic

Guya

na

Saint

Lucia

Ecua

dor

Hond

uras

Beliz

e

Pana

ma

Trinid

ad an

d Tob

ago

Colom

bia

Barb

ados

El Sa

lvado

r

Surin

ame

Jama

ica

Arge

ntina

Costa

Rica

Urug

uay

Cuba

Boliv

ia (P

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)Ha

iti

Nica

ragu

a

Domi

nican

Rep

ublic

Guya

na

Ecua

dor

Hond

uras

Beliz

e

Pana

ma

Braz

il

Trinid

ad an

d Tob

ago

Guat

emala Peru

Colom

bia

Barb

ados

Surin

ame

Arge

ntina

Urug

uay

Cuba

Para

guay

Boliv

ia (P

lurina

tiona

l Sta

te of

)Ha

iti

Domi

nican

Rep

ublic

Guya

na

Ecua

dor

Pana

ma

Hond

uras

Peru

Colom

bia

Beliz

e

Trinid

ad an

d Tob

ago

Surin

ame

El Sa

lvado

r

Barb

ados

Jama

ica

Costa

Rica

Arge

ntina

Boys Girls

100

90

80

70

60

50

100

90

80

70

60

50

100

90

80

70

60

50

100

90

80

70

60

50

Child

ren

livin

g in

rura

l are

as

50 70 9060 80 100

Children living in urban areas

Children from urban areas are more likely to be registered

Children from rural areas are more likely to be registered

Birth registration rate at the national level (dot) and intra-country variation in birth registration rates by geographic area of residence (line)

Richest quintile Fourth quintile Middle quintile

Second quintile Poorest quintile

Haiti

Bolivia (Plurinational State of)

Paraguay

Dominican RepublicMexico

Progress and prospects

Note: Estimates are based on a subset of 11 countries with available trend data, covering more than 50 per cent of the regional population of children under age five.

Notes: This list does not include countries with no available trend data in UNICEF global databases and does not include countries that have recorded no significant change in birth registration levels over time. Countries listed for 'today' have current birth registration levels of either 99 or 100 per cent. The information presented in the timeline reflects the year by which a country is projected to reach universal coverage of birth registration if observed trends continue rather than the exact year in which this will be achieved. Projections are calculated on the basis of annual rates of change observed over time, in order to estimate what the prevalence would be in the future if these rates of change persist. They are meant to be illustrative, showing scenarios which could reasonably be expected based on available evidence to date. It is possible for the rates of change to move faster or slower than these projected scenarios.

Levels of birth registration in Latin America and the Caribbean have steadily been rising since the early 2000s, resulting in fewer unregistered children in the region

If observed trends continue, countries in the region will reach universal coverage of birth registration at different times

90% of children under age five whose births

are registered

94% of children under age five whose births

are registered

76% of children under age five whose births

are registered

14 million unregistered children

under age five

5.5 million unregistered children

under age five 3 million unregistered children

under age five

Early 2000s Mid-2000s Today

Today

2020

2030

2040

2050

2060

2070

2080

ArgentinaBarbados

ChileCosta Rica

Cuba

El SalvadorJamaicaSurinameUruguay

Brazil Belize Haiti Peru

Nicaragua

Colombia Dominican Republic

Ecuador

Notes: Data for Argentina and the Plurinational State of Bolivia refer to the percentage of children under age five with a birth certificate. Data for the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Costa Rica refer to the percentage of births registered. Data for Chile refer to the percentage of children aged 0 to 7 years whose births are registered. Data for Paraguay refer to the percentage of children under 1 year of age with a birth certificate. Data for Peru refer to the percentage of children aged 6 to 59 months whose births are registered.

Sources: UNICEF global databases, 2016, based on Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) and other national household surveys, censuses and vital registration systems, 2006-2015. Population data are from: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects: The 2015 revision, CD-ROM edition, United Nations, New York, 2015. Data on GNI per capita are from the World Bank, 2015 (available at: <http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNP.PCAP.CD>).

Prepared by the Data and Analytics Section, Division of Data, Research and Policy UNICEF New York, September 2016.

For information on the data contained in this brochure:

UNICEF Data and Analytics Section Division of Data, Research and Policy 3 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA Tel: +1 (212) 326-7000 Email: data@unicef.org data.unicef.org

For information on programmatic work in birth registration in the region:

UNICEF Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean PO Box 0843-03045 Panama City, Panama Tel: (+507) 301 7400 uniceflac.org