One in Three Haitian Adults Lacks Valid ID: World Bank Sets Out Path to Wider Access

The report, Diagnostic of ID Ecosystems: Haiti, says expanding coverage would help more people access essential services, formal employment and economic opportunities.

An estimated 2.7 million to 3.1 million Haitian adults, roughly one in three, still lack a valid Unique National Identification Card, according to a new World Bank Group report. The report, Diagnostic of ID Ecosystems: Haiti, says expanding coverage would help more people access essential services, formal employment and economic opportunities. It identifies recent progress as a foundation for reforms that could reach households facing the greatest difficulties in obtaining identification.

About 67 per cent of Haitian adults have received Unique National Identification Cards, reflecting progress made over recent decades. Among children younger than five, 85 per cent have had their births registered and 77 per cent hold a birth certificate. A 2020 decree introducing biometric cards with embedded chips, together with decentralised card printing and additional service points, demonstrates the government's commitment to improving the system.

World Bank Group Country Manager for Haiti Anne Lucie Lefebvre said stronger identification services would allow public and private providers to check whether identities are unique, verify credentials and validate personal information. She described investment in identification as both a matter of basic rights and an opportunity to expand inclusive, sustainable access to jobs. The report calls for predictable financing, clearer institutional responsibilities and a shared national strategy with defined costs to turn that opportunity into wider coverage.

Bringing registration closer to excluded communities

The diagnostic recommends targeted support for the poorest 40 per cent of households, residents of remote or insecure areas, women facing cultural barriers to declaring births, deportees and internally displaced people. Bringing services closer to these communities would reduce travel expenses, repeated visits and income lost during registration, addressing costs that persist even though credentials are officially free. Reducing informal fees, simplifying late birth registration, supporting single mothers who declare births, shortening waits and ensuring sufficient materials would make the process more accessible and strengthen public trust.

Why identification matters for services and employment

People without valid identification or civil registration face difficulties enrolling in school, receiving social assistance, opening bank or mobile money accounts, finding formal work and participating in civic and political life. Alexandre Amard, a World Bank Group digital specialist and report co-author, said weaknesses in identification systems reduce the efficiency of social protection programmes and exclude low-income households from the digital economy. Poor connections between civil registration, identification and statistics systems also prevent reliable population estimates, making it harder to plan public policies around people's needs.

A reform agenda covering inclusion, design and governance

The report organises its recommendations around inclusion, system design and governance, with priorities including decentralised services, mass enrolment campaigns and secure long-term financing. It calls for a clearer legal framework, data protection and cybersecurity laws, stronger accountability and a shared national vision to guide coordinated implementation. Closing the remaining gaps would advance Sustainable Development Goal Target 16.9 on legal identity for all, including birth registration, and help more Haitians exercise their rights and access social protection, financial services and economic opportunities.