Africa Digital Identity Landscape 2022
Published: 1/May/2023
Source: UNECA
Africa has seen an increase in the deployment and use of digital technologies and in its attempt to establish and improve national identification and registration systems across the region. Countries in Africa are progressively restructuring their civil registration systems in a bid to meet the pressure of effective delivery of services to their citizenry, such as security and sustainability of programmes, among other factors. Consequently, prioritizing digital solutions to facilitate these forms of registration does not come as a surprise.
The present report provides a status review of digital identity in Africa and an ecosystem scan of the current level of development in digital identification systems in African countries, while considering the legal and regulatory concerns that arise from applying such systems. Consideration is also given to the impact that digital identity systems have on the delivery of services, in both the private and public sectors, while reviewing the various types of identity systems and the impact such systems have on fundamental rights and freedoms of the people in their respective countries.
Various laws and regulations were reviewed in order to identify their impact on various ongoing initiatives in Africa, and to identify areas for reform to make specific recommendations for a sustainable and effective roll-out of digital identification in Africa.