An effective Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) system helps secure a person’s legal identity, tracks the major events of an individual’s life such as; birth, adoption, marriage, divorce, death, and cause of death, and is essential for planning, measuring and monitoring progress of development. In the past few years, several initiatives have been underway to harness the potential of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to strengthen CRVS.
This report presents innovative approaches used by thirteen countries, including Armenia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Iran, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United States of America, and Vanuatu, in applying ICT to improve CRVS systems. Success has varied; however, a wealth of lessons learned and knowledge is available to lead the way forward in modernizing CRVS and developing well-functioning systems.