World Bank Group (ID4D) · Foundational ID Ownership
ID ownership by country
What share of adults own a national ID or similar identity document?
Of the 120 countries compared in 2024, 4 countries shared the highest reading, 100.000%, and Sierra Leone had the lowest reading, 42.620%. In the middle country the figure was 94.396%. Among the 66 countries measured in every edition since 2017, the middle one moved from 94.109% to 95.825%.
Share
ID ownership · 2024
Context statistic
4 countries share the highest value, 100.000% — no single country is named first.
012024 · values only
Who leads
The three countries at the highest end of 120 compared, the three at the other end, and the first on each continent.
Highest in 2024 · shared
4 countries share the highest reading, 100.000%
No single country is named first: picking one from a shared value would be a choice the data does not make.
Lowest in 2024
Sierra Leone42.620%
Guinea47.331%
Laos47.526%
Where a country sits says how it compares with the others measured, and nothing about why.
Highest on each continent
- Africa
Tunisia99.875% - Americas
Paraguay99.591% - Asia
Azerbaijan100.000% - Europe
3 countries share 100.000%
- Oceania
New Zealand96.195%1 of 21 measured
- Every region
02Every measured country
ID ownership on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is a higher value — the better end.
- 42.620–86.686%
- 87.740–92.738%
- 92.821–96.195%
- 96.223–98.510%
- 98.551–100.000%
- No reading in 2024 (28 measured in an earlier edition)
- Americas
98.238%
the middle country, of 19 measured · 48 members
Paraguay99.591%
United States89.797%Highest and lowest reading in Americas.
- Europe
96.460%
the middle country, of 30 measured · 49 members
3 share 100.000%
Austria58.322%Highest and lowest reading in Europe.
- Asia
95.859%
the middle country, of 33 measured · 52 members
Azerbaijan100.000%Laos47.526%Highest and lowest reading in Asia.
- Africa
87.775%
the middle country, of 37 measured · 55 members
Tunisia99.875%Sierra Leone42.620%Highest and lowest reading in Africa.
- Oceania
1 of 21 measured — too few for a middle: New Zealand.
New Zealand96.195%Highest and lowest reading in Oceania.
- Every region
19 sub-regions, highest middle country first
- Northern Europe
99.525%
the middle country, of 9 measured · 13 members
2 share 100.000%
Ireland85.307%Highest and lowest reading in Northern Europe.
- Northern Africa
98.778%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 6 members
Tunisia99.875%
Morocco94.390%Highest and lowest reading in Northern Africa.
- Eastern Asia
98.608%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 8 members
Hong Kong99.902%
Japan94.382%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Asia.
- South America
98.510%
the middle country, of 9 measured · 12 members
Paraguay99.591%
Ecuador98.223%Highest and lowest reading in South America.
- Eastern Europe
97.720%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 10 members
Ukraine100.000%
Czechia95.336%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Europe.
- Western Asia
97.394%
the middle country, of 12 measured · 19 members
Azerbaijan100.000%
Jordan86.150%Highest and lowest reading in Western Asia.
- Central America
95.942%
the middle country, of 7 measured · 8 members
Panama98.459%
Nicaragua92.738%Highest and lowest reading in Central America.
- Southern Europe
95.133%
the middle country, of 10 measured · 17 members
Italy98.356%
Portugal90.625%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Europe.
- South-eastern Asia
94.867%
the middle country, of 7 measured · 11 members
Vietnam99.325%Laos47.526%Highest and lowest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Western Europe
93.995%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 9 members
Germany97.958%Austria58.322%Highest and lowest reading in Western Europe.
- Southern Asia
92.397%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 9 members
India99.187%
Bangladesh89.291%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Asia.
- Southern Africa
89.318%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
Namibia95.790%
Eswatini85.399%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Africa.
- Eastern Africa
88.385%
the middle country, of 11 measured · 19 members
Mauritius99.243%
Mozambique61.228%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Africa.
- Western Africa
78.743%
the middle country, of 12 measured · 16 members
Mauritania94.326%Sierra Leone42.620%Highest and lowest reading in Western Africa.
- Australia and New Zealand
1 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: New Zealand.
New Zealand96.195%Highest and lowest reading in Australia and New Zealand.
- Caribbean
1 of 24 measured — too few for a middle: Dominican Republic.
Dominican Republic92.359%Highest and lowest reading in Caribbean.
- Central Asia
3 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan.
Kyrgyzstan97.889%
Tajikistan88.476%Highest and lowest reading in Central Asia.
- Middle Africa
4 of 9 measured — too few for a middle: Cameroon, DR Congo, Gabon, Republic of the Congo.
DR Congo86.377%
Republic of the Congo55.725%Highest and lowest reading in Middle Africa.
- Northern America
2 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Canada, United States.
Canada93.075%United States89.797%Highest and lowest reading in Northern America.
03The whole field at once
The spread
120 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 94.396%; a quarter are above 98.350%, and a quarter below 89.080%. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
04All 148 ever measured
Every country
In order, highest value first. No rank or position is shown: too many countries share the same value for an order to mean anything. Countries that issue no single national ID card read lower than their access to identity documents suggests, because respondents answer with whatever they count as their main ID — which is why the United States and the Netherlands sit below several far poorer countries with universal cards. With many countries at or near 100%, no positions are shown; the bottom of the table is where the measure matters.
Showing 25 of 148 countries
Values for 2024. The change column compares 2024 with 2021 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
052017–2024 · 3 editions
Over time
The question has been asked in three survey waves — 2017, 2021 and 2024 — and not in every country each time, so a line has at most three points. Most richer countries were first asked in 2024.
- the middle country
- the middle half of countries
- the middle of the 66 countries measured every time
- each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
| Year | Countries | Middle country | Middle half | Measured every time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 120 | 94.396% | 89.080% – 98.350% | 95.825% |
| 2021 | 113 | 96.089% | 87.982% – 98.530% | 96.193% |
| 2017 | 98 | 93.884% | 85.637% – 97.786% | 94.109% |
062021 → 2024
Who rose and fell
The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.
Improved most
before → after
Togo40.318% → 61.971%+21.652
Mali69.315% → 77.522%+8.208
Burkina Faso83.145% → 90.216%+7.071
Senegal82.469% → 89.196%+6.726
Côte d’Ivoire71.751% → 78.406%+6.655
Declined most
before → after- Sierra Leone61.496% → 42.620%−18.876
- Guinea58.627% → 47.331%−11.296
- Jordan96.795% → 86.150%−10.645
- Laos55.334% → 47.526%−7.809
- Republic of the Congo63.176% → 55.725%−7.451
92 countries were measured in both 2021 and 2024. The field changed from 113 to 120 countries, so a place can move for reasons that have nothing to do with the country itself.
07Across every edition
ID ownership in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
Reached 6 times by 6 countries — shared, so no holder is named
100.000%
Adults who own a foundational ID (% of population aged 15+)
Lowest reading on record
13.159%
Adults who own a foundational ID (% of population aged 15+)
Biggest improvement between editions
+69.107
16.037% → 85.145%
Biggest decline between editions
−18.876
61.496% → 42.620%
Most improved since first measured
+72.348
16.037% → 88.385%
08By sex
Inside the number
World Bank Group (ID4D) also publishes separate female and male readings. The gap between them, where both exist.
Of the 120 countries with both readings, the female reading is higher in 64, the male reading in 52, and they are equal in 4. The widest gaps each way:
09The measure
About ID ownership
This is the share of adults who say they own a foundational ID — a national identity card or similar document that proves who they are — from the World Bank's ID4D programme, asked in the Global Findex survey. An ID is often what a person needs to open a bank account, register a SIM card, receive benefits or vote, and the Sustainable Development Goals call for legal identity for all.
What the number is: Adults who own a foundational ID (% of population aged 15+).
10Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
Context, with no vote
This statistic is published in full under Governance & Institutions and Development & Human Capital, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.
Governance & InstitutionsDevelopment & Human CapitalWhich statistics vote, and why
Moves with
Where ID ownership is higher, these tend to be higher too.
- Youth Literacy RateUIS · 83 countries in commonρ 0.64
- Adult Literacy RateUIS · 80 countries in commonρ 0.64
- Mobile Phone OwnershipWorld Bank Group · 120 countries in commonρ 0.59
Moves against
Where ID ownership is higher, these tend to be lower.
- Working Poverty RateILO · 81 countries in commonρ −0.69
- Net Official Development Assistance ReceivedOECD Development Assistance Committee · 83 countries in commonρ −0.60
- Multidimensional Poverty MeasureWorld Bank Group · 98 countries in commonρ −0.57
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 328 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
11Keep reading
Explore further
The data, edition by edition
The countries at either end
12Questions
ID ownership: questions and answers
Which country has the highest ID ownership?
4 countries share the highest reading, 100.000%, among the 120 compared in 2024, so no single country is named.
Which country has the lowest ID ownership?
Sierra Leone, at 42.620%, among the 120 countries compared in 2024.
How many countries does the Foundational ID Ownership cover?
120 in 2024, and 148 at least once across all editions. The number measured varies from 98 to 120 between editions.
What is the world average ID ownership?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 120 compared in 2024, the figure was 94.396%.
Is this World Bank Group (ID4D)’s own ranking?
No ranking is shown. World Bank Group (ID4D) publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything, so none is derived.
How often is the Foundational ID Ownership published?
This site holds 3 editions, describing 2017 to 2024.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From World Bank Group (ID4D), under CC BY 4.0. From World Bank Data360 (ID4D Global Dataset), one file per survey wave. Female and male shares are the Bank's own. Every edition is on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, and downloads as a CSV file with every value unrounded.
13Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
Foundational ID Ownership — World Bank Group (ID4D)
From World Bank Data360 (ID4D Global Dataset), one file per survey wave. Female and male shares are the Bank's own.
Newest edition
Report year 2024Data year 2024
Cite the source as: World Bank. Identification for Development (ID4D) Global Dataset. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.
Licence: CC BY 4.0, checked 2026-10-03.
How this page reads the numbers
- No rank or position is shown: World Bank Group (ID4D) publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything.
- Which end is better follows the publisher’s own reading of the measure.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The file itself, column by column — where it came from, what each column holds, and every edition as a CSV — is on its dataset page.
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). ID ownership by country: Foundational ID Ownership, data from World Bank Group (ID4D). https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/id-ownership