NPC Sounds Alarm as 43% of Births Go Unregistered, Launches Nationwide Free Digital Registration Drive…says fewer than one in five deaths are officially recorded

By Iyojo Ameh

The National Population Commission (NPC) has raised concerns over Nigeria’s weak civil registration system, revealing that about 43 per cent of births and more than 80 per cent of deaths in the country are never officially recorded, a development it says is undermining national planning and denying millions of citizens legal identity.

To tackle the challenge, the Commission has launched a nationwide digital civil registration platform, VitalReg, urging Nigerians to register births and deaths free of charge through designated registration centres across the country.

Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, NPC Chairman, Dr. Aminu Yusuf, disclosed that although Nigeria records an estimated five million births annually, only about 57 per cent are officially registered, while death registration remains below 20 per cent.

According to him, the new Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (e-CRVS) platform became fully operational on July 1, 2026, across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, marking a major shift from the country’s decades-old paper-based registration system.

He described the initiative as one of the most significant reforms in Nigeria’s civil registration history, saying it would improve data accuracy, strengthen national planning, enhance service delivery and ensure every Nigerian has a legal identity from birth.

“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 explained that the digital platform offers faster registration, 24-hour online access, automated data validation, reduced paperwork, shorter processing time and a more secure national database. The system is also designed to integrate with other government agencies within Nigeria’s digital identity ecosystem.

The NPC chairman disclosed that the Commission currently operates 4,011 registration centres across the country’s 774 local government areas and is expanding the network to about 8,000 centres to make registration services more accessible to Nigerians.

Yusuf 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 birth registration services and bring them closer to communities.

While announcing a review of charges for specialised administrative services such as record modification, certificate reissuance, attestations and verification requests, he stressed that birth registration and birth notification services remain highly subsidised.
He urged parents and guardians to take advantage of the new digital platform, assuring that the fee review would not 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.

Also speaking, the Federal Commissioner representing Oyo State, Dr. Eyitayo Oyetunji, described the transition to a fully digital registration process as a historic milestone, noting that it was the first time since the Commission began civil registration in 1988 that Nigerians would no longer depend on paper forms.

Oyetunji added that the new platform also enables Nigerians living abroad to access self-service registration from anywhere in the world.

He appealed to the media to intensify public awareness on the initiative, reminding Nigerians that birth registration for children aged zero to five years and death registration remain free government services aimed at guaranteeing legal identity and strengthening the country’s demographic database.

The Commission urged parents to register newborns promptly, saying accurate civil registration is critical for effective governance, national development and access to essential public services.