Civil registration, vital statistics essential administrative system in modern society |10 August 2018

Civil registration and vital statistics is an essential administrative system in modern society. The civil registry provides individuals with essential legal documents required to secure their identity, nationality and civil rights and access to social services.

Well-functioning civil registration and vital statistics systems are crucial for creating inclusive societies, ensuring proper delivery of public services and realising and protecting basic human rights of all individuals.

In general, building viable and universal civil registration and vital statistics systems help to make everyone in Africa visible, protect human rights and address inequalities. Compilation and analysis of vital statistics from civil registration are critical for estimating annual changes in population size and structure, and for planning and monitoring social programmes, such as health, education and population intervention.

Comprehensive, accurate and timely vital statistics are also essential for monitoring and reporting regularly on the progress in achieving the globally agreed development goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs) and implementing the regional Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, which calls for a united, prosperous and peaceful Africa.

Even though these values of civil registration and vital statistics systems are well recognised, many African countries do not have properly functioning civil registration and vital statistics systems. Currently, only four countries – Egypt, Mauritius, Seychelles and South Africa – have managed to maintain a compulsory and universal registration system that meets international standards, including a satisfactory level of registration coverage and completeness of recording vital events and information on cause of death. During the last few years, in recognising the poor status of civil registration and vital statistics systems in the region, African states have stepped up their efforts to improve their systems through regional initiatives.

The first step of regional initiatives began in June 2009 in an expert group workshop held in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. The experts recognised that civil registration and vital statistics is multi-sectoral and multidisciplinary in nature and can be strengthened only through a holistic and integrated approach, and identified political commitment as the first major step towards this end. Following the first conference of ministers responsible for civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) held in August 2010, in Addis Ababa, regional institutions were constituted to coordinate and advance civil registration and vital statistics policies in Africa.

Seychelles has a well-established and functional CRVS system. The Civil Status Division in the Ministry of Employment, Immigration and Civil Status and the National Bureau of Statistics are the primary agencies responsible for such a system. Both are governed by their own laws.

The Civil Status records were computerised in 1989, subsequent to the setting up of the National Population Database (NPD) in 1988. At the same time, the National Identity Number (NIN) system was introduced. The latter was made compulsory in June 1995. Currently two sets of records are maintained in respect of the Civil Status. The manual record, maintained in accordance with the Civil Status Act and the computerised record for use of the NPD. This dual system ensures the protection of source data against possible destruction and as a means of double check on the source of the statistical data. The NPD, which is the population register, was set up using variables from the 1997 Population Census under special administrative procedures. It is updated on a daily basis from occurrences registered by the Civil Status and validated periodically through National Population Censuses.

There is a strong collaboration between the Civil Status Division and the National Bureau of Statistics. Vital records are submitted to the NBS on a regularly basis both in electronic and manual format for the production and dissemination of vital statistics.

The confidentiality of the information obtained from the civil registration system is assured and published only in aggregated form.  The Vital Statistics are published by the NBS on a bi-annual basis and disseminated through various publications in electronic format.

Contributed