CIVIL REGISTRATION AND VITAL STATISTICS
IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
Myanmar
- COUNTRY PROFILE
- GOALS
- Goal 1
- Goal 2
- Goal 3
- Implementation steps
- Events
- News
- Resources
- LIST OF COUNTRIES
Myanmar
The registration of births and deaths in Myanmar started in 1907. The system was gradually improved in order to reach all the areas to register the vital events. Nowadays, four institutions are involved in the CRVS system. At the village level, data collection is the responsibility of the local workers of the General Administration Department, in collaboration with midwives. They work in close collaboration with the Department of Immigration for household listing. At the township level, medical officer, under the Ministry of Health and Sport (MOHS), issue the certificates. At the national & sub-national levels, the gathering of vital events in a database is carried by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) under the Ministry of Planning and Finance, which then proceeds to produce and publish vital statistics. Considering the complexity of such relations, coordination committees on Birth and Death Registration were formed at the national level, state/regional level, district level, township level, ward and village tract level. The national level committee is led by Deputy Minister for Immigration and Population
Any death must be registered within 3 days. Birth registration has currently been extended to all children under 10 years old without fees to speed up the process to universal registration. According to the 2010 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, the birth registration completeness was 72%. However, there is a strong inequality between urban and rural, with 93.5% and 63.5% respectively. In 2014, the government estimated that death registration was 60% complete. For cause of death coding, only hospital deaths (16% of total deaths) have medically certified cause of death by doctors, and the coding is usually of poor quality, with an estimated 45% of these deaths coded to ill-defined codes.
Reliable cause of death information for community deaths (84% of total deaths) is not available.
The challenges for Myanmar include its lack of a legislative framework for CRVS and limitation in resources and personnel. Combined with a lack of community awareness on the importance of birth and death registration, this has led to inequitable access to services within the country. Suggested solutions include the linkage between birth registration and public services such as immunization, school enrolment, and application of household registration, as an incentive for registration.
CRVS Focal Point:
Mr. Tun Hla Aung, Director General of General Administration Department, Ministry of Home Affairs
Myanmar
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 95 per cent of children under 5 years old in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.
1.C
By 2024, at least … per cent of all individuals in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.
1.D
By 2024, at least 75 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 75 per cent of all deaths that take place in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.
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 95 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 75 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 … (year), 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 ...(year), annual nationally representative statistics on deaths –disaggregated by age, sex, cause of death defined by ICD, geographic area and administrative subdivision –are produced from registration records or other valid administrative data sources.
3.C
By 2024, at least … 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 … 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 … (year), 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 … (year), 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 … (year), 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.
Note: Information comes from the baseline report (E/ESCAP/72/22: www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/E72_22E.pdf) since no midterm questionnaire has been submitted yet.
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
201374%
TARGET
202495%
1.B
By 2024, at least 95 per cent of children under 5 years old in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.
TARGET
202495%
1.C
By 2024, at least … per cent of all individuals in the territory and jurisdiction have had their birth registered.
1.D
By 2024, at least 75 per cent of all deaths that take place in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.
baseline
201350%
TARGET
202475%
1.E
By 2024, at least 75 per cent of all deaths that take place in the territory and jurisdiction in the given year are registered.
TARGET
202475%
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.
Note: Information comes from the baseline report (E/ESCAP/72/22: www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/E72_22E.pdf) since no midterm questionnaire has been submitted yet.
National Targets:
2.A
By 2024, at least 95 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.
TARGET
202495%
2.B
By 2024, at least 75 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
202475%
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.
Note: Information comes from the baseline report (E/ESCAP/72/22: www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/E72_22E.pdf) since no midterm questionnaire has been submitted yet.
National Targets:
3.A
By … (year), 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 ...(year), annual nationally representative statistics on deaths –disaggregated by age, sex, cause of death defined by ICD, geographic area and administrative subdivision –are produced from registration records or other valid administrative data sources.
3.C
By 2024, at least … 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.
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 … 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.
3.F
By … (year), 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 … (year), 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 … (year), 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.
Myanmar
National Coordination Mechanism
Status in Myanmar: Not started
Comprehensive Assessment
Status in Myanmar: Not started
National Targets for 2024
Status in Myanmar: Complete
Monitoring & Reporting Plan
Status in Myanmar: Not started
Inequality Assessment
Status in Myanmar: Not started
National Strategy
Status in Myanmar: Plans
National Focal Point
Status in Myanmar: Complete
Reporting to ESCAP - Baseline
Status in Myanmar: Complete
Reporting to ESCAP - Midterm
Status in Myanmar: In progress
Myanmar 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…
06 March 2017 - 10 March 2017
The Asia eHealth Information Network (AeHIN), together with the Ministry of Health and Sports (Myanmar), World Health Organization (WHO), the Asian…
13 November 2017 - 17 November 2017
UN Statistics Division is organising a workshop on the Operation of Civil Registration, Vital Statistics and Identity Management Systems in East…
Myanmar News
20 August 2020
As part of its ongoing support for countries improving the performance of their CRVS systems, particularly death registration and causes of death,…
14 December 2018
angkok, Thailand
For the concluding activity of the collaborative ESCAP-Vital Strategies project to strengthen national capacities in producing and…
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…
09 May 2016
This workshop joins ESCAP's latest efforts to improve CRVS in the region by using an Enterprise Architecture approach on the existing Civil…
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 updates on the…
Myanmar Resources
International Standards and Recommendations, Meeting Documents, Presentations, 2017
UN Statistics Division organized a workshop on the Operation of Civil Registration, Vital Statistics and Identity Management Systems in East Asian…
Advocacy Materials, 2017
Civil Registration and Vital Statistics play a key role in facilitating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. A well-functioning CRVS…
Newsletters, 2017
Articles
Smart phone app to revolutionize the birth registration system in Pakistan
Afghanistan making strides towards universal registration…
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 the Regional …
Country Assessments and Strategies, 2016
As part of the CRVS D4H Initiative, Myanmar aims to increase the registration of deaths, improve the quality of cause of death data, and enhance…
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…
Meeting Documents, 2010
This publication serves as a report of an Expert Roundtable that was held in Bangkok on the 28th and 29th of October 2010 to discuss initiatives in…
Country Statements, 2014
Country statement delivered during the Ministerial Conference under agenda item 4 - Implementation of the Regional Action Framework on CRVS in Asia…
Country Statements, 2014
Myanmar issued this statement in the Ministerial Conference agenda item 6 regarding the State of civil registration and vital statistics in Asia and…
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…
Myanmar
The registration of births and deaths in Myanmar started in 1907. The system was gradually improved in order to reach all the areas to register the vital events. Nowadays, four institutions are involved in the CRVS system. At the village level, data collection is the responsibility of the local workers of the General Administration Department, in collaboration with midwives. They work in close collaboration with the Department of Immigration for household listing. At the township level, medical officer, under the Ministry of Health and Sport (MOHS), issue the certificates. At the national & sub-national levels, the gathering of vital events in a database is carried by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) under the Ministry of Planning and Finance, which then proceeds to produce and publish vital statistics. Considering the complexity of such relations, coordination committees on Birth and Death Registration were formed at the national level, state/regional level, district level, township level, ward and village tract level. The national level committee is led by Deputy Minister for Immigration and Population
Any death must be registered within 3 days. Birth registration has currently been extended to all children under 10 years old without fees to speed up the process to universal registration. According to the 2010 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, the birth registration completeness was 72%. However, there is a strong inequality between urban and rural, with 93.5% and 63.5% respectively. In 2014, the government estimated that death registration was 60% complete. For cause of death coding, only hospital deaths (16% of total deaths) have medically certified cause of death by doctors, and the coding is usually of poor quality, with an estimated 45% of these deaths coded to ill-defined codes.
Reliable cause of death information for community deaths (84% of total deaths) is not available.
The challenges for Myanmar include its lack of a legislative framework for CRVS and limitation in resources and personnel. Combined with a lack of community awareness on the importance of birth and death registration, this has led to inequitable access to services within the country. Suggested solutions include the linkage between birth registration and public services such as immunization, school enrolment, and application of household registration, as an incentive for registration.
CRVS Focal Point:
Mr. Tun Hla Aung, Director General of General Administration Department, Ministry of Home Affairs
Events
News
Resources
International Standards and Recommendations, Meeting Documents, Presentations, 2017
Advocacy Materials, 2017
Newsletters, 2017