Percent of US births registered in all 50 states and the District of Columbia

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Headline data

Percent of US births registered in all 50 states and the District of Columbia
Year Value
2000 99
2001 99
2002 99
2003 99
2003 99
2004 99
2005 99
2006 99
2007 99
2008 99
2009 99
2010 99
2011 99
2012 99
2013 99
2014 99
2015 99
2016 99
2017 99
2018 99
2019 99
2021 99
2022 99

Source: National Center for Health Statistics/Final natality data

Geographical Area:

Unit of Measurement:

Footnote:

This table provides metadata for the actual indicator available from United States statistics closest to the corresponding global SDG indicator. Please note that even when the global SDG indicator is fully available from American statistics, this table should be consulted for information on national methodology and other American-specific metadata information.

Indicator

Percent of US births registered in all 50 states and the District of Columbia
Organisation

National Center for Health Statistics/Final natality data
Data sources

National Center for Health Statistics/Final natality data - http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/vitalstatsonline.htm
Data providers

Reproductive Health Statistics, Division of Vital Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics
Comment and limitations

Births are registered by state vital registration systems. Reported births are based on 100% of all birth certificates registered in all states and the District of Columbia. It is estimated that more than 99 percent of births occurring in the US are registered based on previous results of a national test of birth-registration completneness according to place of delivery and race.
Method of computation

Estimated percent of births registered by all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Actual indicator available - description

Percent of annual births occurring in the United states to residents and non-residents registered by a vital statistics jurisdiction
Date of national source publication

September, 2017
Periodicity

Annual
Scheduled update by national source

September, 2024
Date metadata updated

July, 2024
Time period

2000-2022

This table provides information on metadata for SDG indicators as defined by the UN Statistical Commission. Complete global metadata is provided by the UN Statistics Division.

Indicator

Indicator 16.9.1: Proportion of children under 5 years of age whose births have been registered with a civil authority, by age
Target

Target 16.9: By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration
Organisation

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
Definition and concepts

Definition:

Proportion of children under 5 years of age whose births have been registered with a civil authority.

Concepts:

• Birth registration: Birth registration is defined as ‘the continuous, permanent and universal recording, within the civil registry, of the occurrence and characteristics of births in accordance with the legal requirements of a country’.

• Birth certificate: A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a child. The term ‘birth certificate’ can refer either to the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth, or to a certified copy or representation of the registration of that birth, depending on the practices of the country issuing the certificate.

• Civil authority: Official authorized to register the occurrence of a vital event and to record the required details.
Unit of measure

Percent (%) of children under 5 years of age
Data sources

Description:

Censuses, household surveys such as Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) and Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and national civil registration systems.

Civil registration systems: Civil registration systems that are functioning effectively compile vital statistics that are used to compare the estimated total number of births in a country with the absolute number of registered births during a given period. These data normally refer to live births that were registered within a year or the legal time frame for registration applicable in the country.

Household or other population-based surveys: In the absence of reliable administrative data, household surveys have become a key source of data to monitor levels and trends in birth registration. The standard indicator used in DHS and MICS to report on birth registration refers to the percentage of children under age 5 (0-59 months) with a birth certificate, regardless of whether or not it was seen by the interviewer, or whose birth was reported as registered with civil authorities at the time of survey. Depending on the country, surveys collecting these data may be conducted every 3-5 years, or possibly at more frequent intervals.

Censuses can also provide data on children who have acquired their right to a legal identity. However, censuses are conducted only every ten years (in most countries) and are therefore not well-suited for routine monitoring.
Data providers

National Statistical Offices (for the most part) and line ministries/other government agencies responsible for maintaining national vital registration systems
Comment and limitations

The number of children who have acquired their right to a legal identity is collected mainly through censuses, civil registration systems and household surveys. Civil registration systems that are functioning effectively compile vital statistics that are used to compare the estimated total number of births in a country with the absolute number of registered births during a given period. However, the systematic recording of births in many countries remains a serious challenge. In the absence of reliable administrative data, household surveys have become a key source of data to monitor levels and trends in birth registration. In most low- and middle-income countries, such surveys represent the sole source of this information.

Data from household surveys like Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) or Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) sometimes refer only to children with a birth certificate. UNICEF methodically notes this difference when publishing country-level estimates for global SDG monitoring.
Method of computation

Number of children under age of five whose births are reported as being registered with the relevant national civil authorities divided by the total number of children under the age of five in the population multiplied by 100.
Metadata update

2024-08-02
International organisations(s) responsible for global monitoring

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
Related indicators

Not applicable
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