Connections Transport & ICT 96254 Digital IDs for Development Access to Identity and Services for All Mariana Dahan and Randeep Sudan Lack of personal official identification (ID) prevents $ 50 billion people from fully exercising their rights and isolates them socially and economically—voting, legal action, receipt of government benefits, banking, and borrowing are all virtually closed off. The widespread lack of ID in developing countries is a critical stumbling block to national growth. Digital ID, combined with the already extensive use of mobile devices in the developing world, offers a transformative solution to The potential annual savings the problem—a simple means for capturing personal in 2020 for governments that ID that can reach far more people; and new, more adopt nationwide digital ID efficient ways for government and business to reach systems and serve the population. Robust digital ID systems can produce huge savings for citizens, government, and business, increase transparency and accountability, and drive innovation. Harnessing their power will require strong political will and leadership, foreign assistance matched with local incentives, and a supportive institutional environment. Trust in data security will be critical to achieving tangible results. Identity: A Fundamental Right and a burden on poor rural women, whose lack of an ID of- ten nullifies their legal right to divorce or exert prop- Gateway to Development erty claims or directly receive government benefits. Official identification (ID) is more than a conve- The expansion of digital mobile phone technology in nience; it is a fundamental human right. It is in- developing countries has accelerated the emergence dispensible for connecting residents to electoral of digital identification and the electronic delivery of participation, educational opportunities, financial services. In sub-Saharan Africa, more than half of the services, health and social welfare benefits, and population in some countries is without official ID, economic development. It gives people a chance to but more than two-thirds of residents in the region better communicate with and be recognized by their have a mobile phone subscription. Over the past government while giving governments the opportu- few years, digital IDs have become a game-changer, nity to listen and improve the lives of their citizens. overcoming the barriers to distributing official ID nationwide and opening the way to digital service Yet in the developing world, nearly 2 billion people delivery as a key development tool. lack an official ID. The problem imposes a particular APRIL 2015 NOTE 13 A digital ID can be established biometrically through waste by idenitifying duplicate records and de- a person’s facial or optical characteristics or finger- ceased beneficiaries. prints, all of which can be verified online, in real time, using a smartphone or other connected device. Harnessing the Power of Digital IDs In Ghana, a new digital national ID system is using fingerprints for registration. Targeted at the entire Countries seizing the opportunities presented by population of more than 25 million, the system aims digital ID must have robust legal and technical frame- to better connect citizens to government and com- works for the protection of data and privacy. Success mercial services. will depend on government instilling a climate of trust through such systems, and these in turn require strong political commitment and leadership. Benefits for Citizens and Businesses A recent study estimated that in 2020 alone, two- Full deployment of digital IDs could put a bank ac- thirds, or $480 billion, of the potential value of digital count within reach of the 500 million people whose ID in the European Union is at risk if personal data is lack of recognized ID excludes them from banking. not trusted. Moreover, government missteps in ad- For social services, a biometric ID system in India dressing trust and handling citizens‘ data can affect the allowed the first-ever delivery of social welfare pay- economy as a whole, threatening revenues and efficien- ments directly to all female beneficiaries instead of cy gains derived from all personal data applications. to one of their male relatives. Pakistan has used digi- tal ID embedded in smart cards to facilitate transfers Establishing digital ID systems can be costly. An to poor women and emergency disaster relief. important way for governments to reduce the initial financial burden is to establish public-private part- Modernizing government ID systems is opening the nerships that will create revenue flows and ensure way to the huge efficiency gains in business that sustainability. come from digital transactions—so long as the data are trusted. In the G20 countries, Internet com- merce could be reduced by as much as $1 trillion A Global Agenda per year if trust in digital ID is undermined. Recognizing the transformational potential of 21st- century ID systems for the delivery of basic ser- Benefits for Government vices to the poor, the World Bank recently launched its Identification for Development (ID4D) agenda. Digital ID systems yield gains in efficiency and The goal is “making everyone count” by “provid- convenience that could yield global taxpayer sav- ing an identity and delivering digital ID-enabled ings of up to $50 billion per year by 2020. Through services to all.” online transactions and other e-services, digital ID systems also can reduce the corruption and theft in The Digital ID program is a key element of the mul- paper-based systems that siphons off entitlement tisectoral ID4D agenda. The latter is aligned with payments from their intended recipients. Sustainable Development Goal 16.9, “legal identity for all, including birth registration,” by 2030. As it Digital ID systems also advance government ac- pursues ID4D, the World Bank will collaborate with countability and transparency. A 2010 biometric development partners and governments to provide census of civil servants in Guinea-Bissau report- unified technical and financial support to low- and edly identified 4,000 nonexistent workers on the middle-income countries. public payroll. Nigeria reported eliminating 43,000 “ghost” workers in the first phase of a pilot in 2011 For more information on this topic: http://blogs.worldbank.org/ic4d/using-digital-identities-fight that saved $67 million. In Botswana, biometric -poverty enrollment of pensions and social grants eliminated https://www.secureidentityalliance.org/index.php/news-events/ news/311-mobile-identity-gsma-sia Connections is a weekly series of knowledge notes from the World Bank Group’s Transport & Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Global Practice. Covering projects, experiences, and front-line developments, the series is produced by Nancy Vandycke, Shokraneh Minovi, and Adam Diehl and edited by Gregg Forte. The notes are available at http://www.worldbank.org/transport/connections APRIL 2015 NOTE 13