Bhutan
Bhutan
Civil registration in Bhutan is the responsibility of the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs' Department of Civil Registration and Census (DCRC). District-specific Civil Registration and Census Offices were institutionalized under 20 District Administration to manage the flow of the registration process for vital events. The DCRC and the Department of Immigration are responsible for registering Bhutanese citizens and Special Resident Permit holders, as well as foreign nationals and non-Bhutanese individuals, respectively.
Starting in mid-2017, Bhutan established the Civil Registration System for online reporting births and deaths at registration points in all 20 districts (dzongkhags), most of its 205 sub-districts (dungkhags), as well as it 4 major municipalities (thromdes). Unique personal identification numbers are assigned to the completed registration of each new birth. The unique PINs are then printed on Citizenship Identity Cards which are made available for citizens upon reaching the age of 15.
Birth registration is fee and Bhutanese citizenship laws make registration compulsory within one year of the occurrence. Deaths occurring in Bhutanese medical facilities use a standard medical cause of death form and verbal autopsy is used for deaths outside of medical facilities, but its usage is not compliant with international standards.
No statistical data is produced from the registration systems, instead, the National Statistics Bureau, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, produces vital statistics reports compiled from survey, census and administrative data. Primary sources of vital statistics in Bhutan include National Health Surveys, Bhutan Multiple Cluster Survey (2010), Population and Housing Censuses, and relevant administrative data as reported to the Civil Registration and Census Offices by Bhutanese health facilities.
CRVS Focal Point:
Mr. Sonam Wangdi, Sr. Planning Officer, Health Management & Information System Unit, Policy and Planning Division, Ministry of Health
Bhutan
Goal 1. Universal civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events |
Goal 1 Targets:
1.A
By 2024, at least 95 per cent of births in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered
1.B
By 2024, at least 97 per cent of children under 5 years old in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered
1.C
By 2024, at least 99 per cent of all individuals in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered
1.D
By 2024, at least 90 per cent of all deaths that take place in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.
1.E
By 2024, at least 85 per cent of all deaths recorded by the health sector in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year have a medically certified cause of death recorded using the international form of the death certificate.
Goal 2. All individuals are provided with legal documentation of civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events, as necessary, to claim identity, civil status and ensuing rights |
Goal 2 Targets:
2.A
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all births registered in the territory and jurisdiction are accompanied with the issuance of an official birth certificate that includes, as a minimum, the individual’s name, sex, date and place of birth, and name of parent(s) where known.
2.B
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all deaths registered in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are accompanied with the issuance of an official death certificate which includes, as a minimum, the deceased’s name, date of death, sex, and age.
Goal 3. Accurate, complete and timely vital statistics (including on causes of death) are produced based on registration records and are disseminated |
Goal 3 Targets:
3.A
By 2020 annual nationally representative statistics on births – disaggregated by age of mother, sex of child, geographic area and administrative subdivision – are produced from registration records or other valid administrative data sources
3.B
By 2022 annual nationally representative statistics on deaths – disaggregated by age, sex, cause of death defined by ICD (latest version as appropriate), geographic area and administrative subdivision – are produced from registration records or other valid administrative data sources.
3.C
By 2024, at least 85 per cent of deaths occurring in health facilities or with the attention of a medical practitioner have an underlying cause of death code derived from the medical certificate according to the standards defined by ICD (latest version as appropriate)
3.D
By 2024, the proportion of deaths coded to ill-defined codes will have been reduced to … per cent.
3.E
By 2024, at least 70 per cent of deaths taking place outside of a health facility and without the attention of a medical practitioner have their underlying cause of death code determined through verbal autopsy in line with international standards.
3.F
By 2022, key summary tabulations of vital statistics on births and deaths using registration records as the primary source, are made available in the public domain in electronic format annually, and within one calendar year.
3.G
By 2022, key summary tabulations of vital statistics on causes of death using registration records as the primary source, are made available in the public domain in electronic format annually, and within two calendar years.
3.H
By 2024 an accurate, complete and timely vital statistics report for the previous two years, using registration records as the primary source, is made available in the public domain.
Goal 1. Universal civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events |
Goal 1 is an expression of the internationally accepted principle of the universal coverage of civil registration. The CRVS system should register all vital events occurring in the territory and jurisdiction of the country or area, including among hard-to-reach and marginalized populations.
National Targets:
1.A
By 2024, at least 95 per cent of births in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered
BASELINE
201785%
MIDTERM
201888%
TARGET
202495%
1.B
By 2024, at least 97 per cent of children under 5 years old in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered
Note: These figures are from an administrative source, and not from surveys like for most countries.
baseline
201482.7%
MIDTERM
201895.6%
TARGET
202497%
1.C
By 2024, at least 99 per cent of all individuals in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered
baseline
201498%
MIDTERM
201899%
TARGET
202499%
1.D
By 2024, at least 90 per cent of all deaths that take place in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.
baseline
201764%
MIDTERM
201875%
TARGET
202490%
1.E
By 2024, at least 85 per cent of all deaths recorded by the health sector in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year have a medically certified cause of death recorded using the international form of the death certificate.
TARGET
202485%
Goal 2. All individuals are provided with legal documentation of civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events, as necessary, to claim identity, civil status and ensuing rights |
Goal 2 reflects that CRVS systems provide legal documentation of civil registration to individuals and families for legal and administrative purposes. Legal documentation is strongly linked with a broad range of rights and activities, in particular legal identity. This goal addresses the distinction between the civil registration of a vital event and the possession of formal proof that it took place, in the form of legal documentation.
National Targets:
2.A
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all births registered in the territory and jurisdiction are accompanied with the issuance of an official birth certificate that includes, as a minimum, the individual’s name, sex, date and place of birth, and name of parent(s) where known.
2.B
By 2024, at least 100 per cent of all deaths registered in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are accompanied with the issuance of an official death certificate which includes, as a minimum, the deceased’s name, date of death, sex, and age.
TARGET
2024100%
Goal 3. Accurate, complete and timely vital statistics (including on causes of death) are produced based on registration records and are disseminated |
Goal 3 highlights the critical importance of civil registration being linked to the production and quality assurance of vital statistics on the occurrence and characteristics of vital events.
National Targets:
3.A
By 2020 annual nationally representative statistics on births – disaggregated by age of mother, sex of child, geographic area and administrative subdivision – are produced from registration records or other valid administrative data sources
TARGET
2020
3.B
By 2022 annual nationally representative statistics on deaths – disaggregated by age, sex, cause of death defined by ICD (latest version as appropriate), geographic area and administrative subdivision – are produced from registration records or other valid administrative data sources.
TARGET
2022
3.C
By 2024, at least 85 per cent of deaths occurring in health facilities or with the attention of a medical practitioner have an underlying cause of death code derived from the medical certificate according to the standards defined by ICD (latest version as appropriate)
Note: This target was not monitored as part of the Midterm Questionnaire on the Implementation of the Regional Action Framework for CRVS in Asia and the Pacific.
baseline
201411.1%
TARGET
202485%
3.D
By 2024, the proportion of deaths coded to ill-defined codes will have been reduced to … per cent.
3.E
By 2024, at least 70 per cent of deaths taking place outside of a health facility and without the attention of a medical practitioner have their underlying cause of death code determined through verbal autopsy in line with international standards.
Note: In light of recent countries’ experiences, Verbal autopsy is not encouraged to be applied to a large population scale, but rather on a representative sample. To reflect this, Target 3E is not anymore monitored by the coverage percentage of Verbal autopsy, but by the use or not of Verbal autopsy and its different applications.
MIDTERM
No
TARGET
2024Yes
3.F
By 2022, key summary tabulations of vital statistics on births and deaths using registration records as the primary source, are made available in the public domain in electronic format annually, and within one calendar year.
TARGET
2022
3.G
By 2022, key summary tabulations of vital statistics on causes of death using registration records as the primary source, are made available in the public domain in electronic format annually, and within two calendar years.
TARGET
2022
3.H
By 2024 an accurate, complete and timely vital statistics report for the previous two years, using registration records as the primary source, is made available in the public domain.
TARGET
2024
Bhutan
National Coordination Mechanism
Status in Bhutan: Complete
Comprehensive Assessment
Status in Bhutan: Complete
National Targets for 2024
Status in Bhutan: Complete
Monitoring & Reporting Plan
Status in Bhutan: Not started
Inequality Assessment
Status in Bhutan: Not started
National Strategy
Status in Bhutan: Plans
National Focal Point
Status in Bhutan: Complete
Reporting to ESCAP - Baseline
Status in Bhutan: Complete
Reporting to ESCAP - Midterm
Status in Bhutan: Complete
Bhutan Events
09 December 2015 - 10 December 2015
The workshop for National CRVS Focal Points is aimed at strengthening capacities for setting national targets and collecting, compiling and…
18 October 2017 - 20 October 2017
The Regional Steering Group provides guidance for the implementation of the Regional Action Framework on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in…
13 November 2018 - 15 November 2018
The Regional Steering Group is responsible for providing regional oversight and guidance for the implementation of the Regional Action…
24 July 2018 - 25 July 2018
(Newsletter: CRVS Insight August 2018)
The UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia (UNICEF-ROSA) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission…
26 November 2019 - 28 November 2019
(Newsletter: CRVS Insight November 2019)
The second CR8 meeting was jointly organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for…
Since the beginning of the Asia-Pacific CRVS Decade, multiple countries in the region have embarked on using civil registration records for the…
One-day inception workshop will be organized by the National Statistics Bureau of Bhutan (NSB) in consultation with the national consultant and the…
Bhutan News
29 October 2024
The UN Legal Identity Agenda (UNLIA) actively promotes and assists member states in the initial management and integration of Civil Registration and…
29 October 2024
Our community newsletter puts a spotlight on people who have gone above and beyond in their efforts to support CRVS programmes in Asia and the…
29 October 2024
Two capacity building workshops were held 24-27 September and 30 September-3 October in Paro, Bhutan. With participants from the Ministry of Home…
26 June 2024
Bhutan's National Statistics Bureau has published the 2023 Vital Statistics Report. The report uses administrative data maintained by the Department…
20 October 2021
(Newsletter: CRVS Insight October 2022)
The preparations for the Second Ministerial Conference on CRVS in Asia and the Pacific are nearly complete…
21 May 2021
(Newsletter: CRVS Insight May 2021)
The next Stats Café session will highlight the experiences of Georgia, Bhutan and Fiji in utilizing civil…
21 May 2021
(Newsletter: CRVS Insight May 2021)
To leverage the use of administrative data for statistical purposes, the National Statistics Bureau has…
20 August 2020
(Newsletter: CRVS Insight August 2020)
As part of its ongoing support for countries improving the performance of their CRVS systems, particularly…
20 July 2020
(Newsletter: CRVS Insight July 2020)
The Civil Registration Professionals of South Asia (CR8) is a network dedicated to improving the national CRVS…
14 December 2018
Bangkok, Thailand
For the concluding activity of the collaborative ESCAP-Vital Strategies project to strengthen national capacities in producing and…
30 August 2018
The first meeting of the Civil Registration Professionals of South Asia (CR8) took place between 24 - 25 July in Kathmandu, Nepal. Co-organized by…
29 January 2018
The CRVS Secretariat of the Cabinet Division, Government of Bangladesh organized the "International Conference on CRVS, 2018" on 23-25 January 2018…
03 April 2017
Do you want to know how many countries in Asia and the Pacific have a CRVS coordination mechanism? Are you interested in how ambitious the national…
25 November 2016
The Statistics Division of ESCAP has sent invitations to National Statistical Offices (NSOs) to express their interest in participating in a project…
29 April 2016
Here you can find recent news, events and blogs relevant for CRVS in Asia and the Pacific.
Subscribe for more ! To receive regular…
19 April 2016
On 18-19 April, ESCAP convened a regional workshop for countries who received small grants to support national CRVS improvement activities. The…
Bhutan Resources
Advocacy Materials, Meeting Documents, Report, 2020
This publication builds on the success of the first meeting of the Civil Registration Professionals of South Asia in July 2018 and expands on the…
Country Assessments and Strategies, 2020
Meeting Documents, 2024
This resource provides a full list of members for the Regional Steering Group for CRVS in Asia and the Pacific. The list includes members for the…
Newsletters, 2019
Articles
23 Member Countries have already reported on their CRVS progress since 2015
South Asia makes huge progress in birth registration, shows…
Report, 2018
Civil registration is a priority on the policy agenda of countries across South Asia. The governments in the region are committed to achieving the…
Meeting Documents, Presentations, 2019
Country Assessments and Strategies, Report, 2019
The "Status of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in South Asia" report documents the policies, systems and procedures in place for the…
Advocacy Materials, 2017
Civil Registration and Vital Statistics play a key role in facilitating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. A well-functioning CRVS…
Advocacy Materials, Country Assessments and Strategies, 2017
Do you want to know how many countries in Asia and the Pacific have a CRVS coordination mechanism? Are you interested in how ambitious the national…
Newsletters, 2017
Articles
New Chair of the Regional Steering Group on CRVS in Asia and the Pacific
Reporting on baselines and national targets for…
Country Assessments and Strategies, Presentations, 2015
Bhutan's country presentation made at the 1st Regional Steering Group for Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Meeting, Bangkok, 28-30 July…
Meeting Documents, UN Official Documents, 2016
The seventy-first session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific adopted resolution 71/14 on the Asian and Pacific Civil…
International Standards and Recommendations, UN Official Documents, 2014
Through Commission resolution 69/15, countries in Asia and the Pacific requested that further regional action be taken to support the improvement of…
Country Statements, 2014
Bhutan issued this statement in the Ministerial Conference agenda item 6 regarding the State of civil registration and vital statistics in Asia and…
Country Statements, 2014
Country statement delivered during the Ministerial Conference under agenda item 4 - Implementation of the Regional Action Framework on CRVS in Asia…
Meeting Documents, 2014
Advocacy Materials, Meeting Documents, 2014
The Ministerial Declaration to "Get every one in the picture' in Asia and the Pacific was made at the Ministerial Conference on Civil Registration…
Meeting Documents, Report, UN Official Documents, 2014
The Report of the Ministerial Conference on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Asia and the Pacific gives an overview of the main outcomes of…
Events
News
Resources
Advocacy Materials, Meeting Documents, Report, 2020
Country Assessments and Strategies, 2020
Meeting Documents, 2024