• Lack of knowledge about the registration process continues to be an obstacle in many places. In half of 45 countries with available data, a majority of mothers/caregivers of unregistered children lack knowledge of how to register a child’s birth. In the other half of countries, most mothers/caregivers seem aware of the birth registration process, suggesting other barriers to registration. • Disparities in birth registration based on a mother’s education are evident. Globally, about 80 per cent of children under age 5 whose mothers have at least a secondary education have their births registered compared to just 60 per cent of children whose mothers have no education. • In some countries, children from marginalized groups may face higher barriers to registration. These barriers can result from living in remote areas or among communities that frequently move, making access to birth registration services more difficult. Children of parents who migrate or are refugees can be particularly vulnerable to statelessness since, without birth registration, they cannot prove their nationality or legal identity. In addition, traditional customs or practices may discourage formal birth registration processes. In Montenegro and Serbia, for example, birth registration levels among Roma infants under age 1 are lower than national averages (90 per cent versus 98 per cent in both countries). • • In no region are significant differences found in the prevalence of birth registration between boys and girls. Gender parity in birth registration has been achieved in practically all countries with available data. However, gender inequality might still impact registration. For example, in some countries, single mothers, mothers who have not registered their marriage, or mothers without a marriage certificate (as in cases where children are born of religious, customary or polygamous marriages), may not be allowed to register the birth of their children. Some countries impose fees to register a child and/or obtain a birth certificate. Around 65 million unregistered children under age 5 live in sub-Saharan African countries where there are fees associated with birth registration. Birth registration is free by law in all South Asian countries, except the Maldives. However, every country in the region, with the exception of Afghanistan, has fees associated with birth registration, which typically reflect fines for late registration. • Children from the poorest households are less likely than their richest counterparts to have their births registered. Even in countries where birth registration is free by law, there are often opportunity costs, including those related to travel, that are difficult to measure but can directly affect registration levels. Globally, children from the poorest 20 per cent of households are one-quarter less likely to have their births registered than their richest counterparts. This gap is especially pronounced in some regions. In sub-Saharan Africa, children in the poorest quintile are less than half as likely to have their births registered than those in the richest quintile. In South Asia, 86 per cent of children under age 5 from the richest quintile have their births registered compared to 53 per cent of those from the poorest quintile. • Globally, children living in urban areas are around 30 per cent more likely to be registered than their rural counterparts. An analysis of 70 countries (about one third of which are lowincome countries) shows that urban populations of children fare better in terms of birth registration in about 80 per cent of countries.26 Targeted campaigns in rural areas aimed at boosting levels of birth registration may partly explain why a clear urban advantage is not systematically seen across all countries. • However, not all urban children benefit equally, since the advantage for urban children is strongly associated with household wealth. In nearly half of the 70 countries analysed, children from households in the richest urban quintile are more likely to have their births registered than those from households in the poorest urban quintile.27 This suggests that the indirect costs of registration must also be addressed by bringing service points closer to communities and using innovative solutions such as technology and mobile services to reduce travel costs and time away from employment to register children. This is especially pertinent in countries where the civil registry is centralized, and district offices are some distance from communities. Barriers and disparities 25