Lao PDR | Get Every One in the Picture

COUNTRY PROFILE
GOALS
Goal 1
Goal 2
Goal 3
Implementation steps
Events
News
Resources

Lao PDR

The main authority for civil registration in Laos is the Department of Citizen Management, a bureau of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA). Other stakeholders include the Ministry of Health, which structures are supposed to notify births and deaths happening in hospitals. The Ministry of Justice is also in charge of registering some specific events. The registrations are not necessarily recorded through individual documents, but in family books. The Lao Statistics Bureau is responsible for the production and dissemination of vital statistics. At the moment, the civil registration system is still largely paper-based, which in turn affects the vital statistics accuracy and timeliness. To tackle those issue, a Civil Management Information System (CMIS) is being piloted in 3 provinces and 31 districts. With this centralized database, all provincial and district offices of the MOHA will send real-time online data directly to the central office. Health facilities that have internet access will also do electronic birth notification. Unique identification number (UIN) will be assigned at birth on the birth certificate and the same number will be used at age 15 and above for the issuance of national ID card.

Currently, the birth registration completeness rate is estimated to be around 34% (2017), with an equivalent level for death registration. This leaves Laos with one of the most challenging situations in South-East Asia on the road to complete and accurate CRVS.

CRVS Focal Point:

Ms. Thirakha Chanthalanouvong, Director General Social Statistics Department, Lao Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Planning and Investment;
Mr. Vandy Chanthalidethl, Deputy Director General, Department of Citizen Management Ministry of Home Affairs

RSG Member:

Ms. Thirakha Chanthalanouvong, Director General Social Statistics Department, Lao Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Planning and Investment;

Mr. Vandy Chanthalidethl, Deputy Director General, Department of Citizen Management Ministry of Home Affairs

Lao PDR

Goal 1. Universal civil registration of births, deaths and other vital events

Goal 1 Targets:

1.A

By 2024, at least 70 per cent of births in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.

1.B

By 2024, at least 80 per cent of children under 5 years old in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.

1.C

By 2024, at least 70 per cent of all individuals in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.

1.D

By 2024, at least 60 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 2022, 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 75 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 60 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 2022, 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 70 per cent of births in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.

Note: This country has not submitted estimates for the number of births for all years. The level of completeness of birth registration was therefore assessed with international estimates for every year, to allow comparison. These measurements are therefore to be interpreted with caution.

BASELINE

2014

32%

MIDTERM

2018

42%

TARGET

2024

70%

1.B

By 2024, at least 80 per cent of children under 5 years old in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.

MIDTERM

2017

73%

TARGET

2024

80%

1.C

By 2024, at least 70 per cent of all individuals in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.

TARGET

2024

70%

1.D

By 2024, at least 60 per cent of all deaths that take place in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.

Note: This country has not submitted estimates for the number of deaths for all years. The level of completeness of death registration was therefore assessed with international estimates for every year, to allow comparison. These measurements are therefore to be interpreted with caution.

baseline

2014

33%

MIDTERM

2018

42%

TARGET

2024

60%

1.E

TARGET

2024

85%

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

baseline

2014

100%

MIDTERM

2018

100%

TARGET

2024

100%

2.B

baseline

2014

100%

MIDTERM

2018

100%

TARGET

2024

100%

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

TARGET

2022

3.B

TARGET

2022

3.C

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.

TARGET

2024

75%

3.D

By 2024, the proportion of deaths coded to ill-defined codes will have been reduced to … per cent.

3.E

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

2024

Yes

3.F

TARGET

2022

3.G

TARGET

2022

3.H

By 2022, 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