WASHINGTON, D.C., OCTOBER 27, 2025—Haiti has an opportunity to build on recent gains in identification and extend the benefits of a valid Unique National Identification Card to more people, according to a new World Bank Group report issued today, Diagnostic of ID Ecosystems: Haiti. An estimated 2.7 to 3.1 million Haitian adults—about one in three—still need a valid card. Expanding coverage can help more people access essential services, jobs and economic opportunities.
“Improving the ID system so that public and private service providers can use it will enable key identity verification and authentication services, such as verification of uniqueness, authenticity of credentials, and validation of identity information”, said Anne Lucie Lefebvre, World Bank Group Country manager for Haiti. “Investing in the ID ecosystem is not only a matter of fulfilling a basic right, but also a strategic opportunity to foster inclusive and sustainable access to jobs in Haiti”.
Over recent decades, Haiti has made meaningful progress. Unique National Identification Cards have been issued to about 67 percent of adults. Among children under five, 85 percent have had their births registered and 77 percent hold a birth certificate. The 2020 Decree introducing biometric, chip-enabled ID cards, together with efforts to decentralize card printing and expand service points, demonstrates the Government’s commitment to reform. These advances provide a strong foundation for reaching poorer and rural households.
Further progress will depend on predictable financing, clearer institutional mandates and a unified, costed national strategy. Targeted action can extend coverage to the poorest 40 percent of households, residents of remote or insecure areas, women who face cultural barriers to declaring births, and people displaced by insecurity, including deportees and internally displaced people.
Bringing services closer to rural and insecure communities would make access easier and more affordable. Although credentials are officially free, reducing informal fees, travel costs, repeat visits and lost income would help more people enroll. Streamlining late birth registration, supporting single mothers who declare births, shortening waits, ensuring adequate materials and strengthening accountability can further build public trust.
“Without valid ID or civil registration, people struggle to enroll in school, receive social assistance, open bank or mobile money accounts, find formal employment, and take part in civic and political life”, said Alexandre Amard, Digital specialist at the World Bank Group, co-author of the report. “Weak ID systems also make social protection programs less efficient, while keeping low-income households out of the digital economy. The lack of links between civil registration, ID and statistics data prevents reliable population estimates to guide policy”.
Closing the remaining gaps will advance Sustainable Development Goal Target 16.9, which calls for legal identity for all, including birth registration. The diagnostic offers a practical reform agenda under three pillars: inclusion, system design and governance. Key recommendations include expanding credentials and coverage by decentralizing services, improving enrollment through mass campaigns, securing long-term financing, and modernizing laws and policy by clarifying the legal framework, adopting data protection and cybersecurity laws, and setting out a shared national vision.
“Haiti’s identity system offers a strong foundation to build on,” the diagnostic concludes. With sustained commitment and coordinated implementation, these reforms can help all Haitians exercise their rights and gain greater access to services, social protection, financial inclusion, civic participation and economic opportunity.
About ID4D
The World Bank Group’s Identification for Development (ID4D) Initiative helps countries realize the transformational potential of inclusive and trusted identification and civil registration systems. ID4D’s work is made possible by the generous support of the Gates Foundation, UK International Development, the French Government, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, and the Omidyar Network.
