Only 57% of births, under 20% of deaths in Nigeria are registered — NPC

The National Population Commission (NPC) has raised concern over the country’s low civil registration coverage, revealing that only 57 per cent of births and less than 20 per cent of deaths are officially registered, despite Nigeria recording an estimated five million births every year.

The Commission said the figures underscore the need for a modern digital registration system as it announced the nationwide rollout of the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (e-CRVS) platform, known as VitalReg, to improve the registration of births and deaths across the country.

Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja, Chairman of the Commission, Dr Aminu Yusuf, said the digital platform officially commenced operations on July 1, 2026, and is now operational across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

“Nigeria records an estimated five million births annually, yet millions of these births and deaths go unregistered. Birth registration coverage currently stands at about 57 per cent nationwide, while death registration remains below 20 per cent. These gaps deprive many Nigerians of legal identity and limit the availability of reliable data needed for effective national planning,” Yusuf said.

He described the initiative as one of the most transformative reforms in Nigeria’s civil registration history, noting that it would strengthen data integrity, improve service delivery and ensure that every birth and death is documented accurately and securely.

“It is my distinct honour and privilege on behalf of the National Population Commission to formally announce the full commencement of the digital registration of births and deaths on the VitalReg platform under the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics system. This transformative initiative is now operational across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory,” he said.

Yusuf disclosed that the Commission has established 4,011 functional registration centres across the country’s 774 local government areas and is expanding the network to about 8,000 centres to improve access to registration services nationwide.

According to him, the VitalReg platform will provide faster registration services, 24-hour online access, digital certificate issuance where applicable, automated data validation, reduced paperwork and waiting time, and a more secure and credible national civil registration database.

He added that the platform was designed to integrate with other government institutions within Nigeria’s digital identity ecosystem in line with the Federal Government’s digital transformation agenda.

The NPC chairman also announced a partnership involving the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), UNICEF and Barnfort Technologies Limited to decentralise and localise birth registration services, making them more accessible at the grassroots.

While noting that the Commission had reviewed fees for specialised administrative services such as record modification, certificate re-issuance, attestations and verification requests, Yusuf assured Nigerians that birth registration and birth notification services would remain highly subsidised.

“Let me assure Nigerians that this review is not intended to create barriers to access. Birth registration and birth notification services remain highly subsidised, in line with the Commission’s commitment to achieving universal registration,” he said.

Earlier, the Federal Commissioner representing Oyo State, Dr. Eyitayo Oyetunji, described the transition to a fully digital registration system as a historic milestone for the Commission.

He said that for the first time since the Commission began carrying out civil registration in 1988, Nigerians would no longer rely on manual, paper-based registration.

“From July 1, 2026, civil registration is no longer being done manually using paper forms. The new system also allows Nigerians living abroad to access self-service registration from anywhere in the world,” Oyetunji said.

He urged the media to sensitise Nigerians on the new platform, stressing that birth registration for children aged zero to five years and death registration remain free government services aimed at guaranteeing legal identity for every Nigerian and strengthening the country’s demographic database.