The World Bank Group has published a diagnostic of Haiti’s identification system, estimating that 2.7 million to 3.1 million adults, about one in three, still lack a valid Unique National Identification Card. The report recommends expanding coverage and strengthening system design and governance to address barriers to essential services, financial accounts and formal employment. Priority groups include the poorest 40% of households, residents of remote or insecure areas, and people displaced by insecurity. Recommended measures include decentralizing services and conducting mass enrollment campaigns. Although credentials are officially free, informal fees, travel costs and repeat visits make obtaining them more expensive. Streamlining late birth registration and supporting single mothers who declare births would address additional barriers. Further progress depends on predictable financing, clearer institutional mandates and a unified, costed national strategy. The reform agenda also calls for clarifying the legal framework and adopting data protection and cybersecurity laws. Weak links between civil registration, identification and statistics currently limit reliable population estimates for policymaking.
World Bank recommends identification reforms as 2.7 million to 3.1 million Haitian adults lack valid national ID cards
A World Bank Group diagnostic estimates that 2.7 million to 3.1 million Haitian adults lack valid national ID cards, restricting access to services, financial accounts and formal jobs. It recommends decentralizing services, conducting mass enrollment campaigns and reducing enrollment barriers for underserved groups. Governance priorities include predictable financing, clearer institutional responsibilities and laws covering data protection and cybersecurity.