The National Population Commission (NPC) has launched an online birth and death registration system under its Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (E-CRVS) platform.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, NPC Chairman, Aminu Yusuf, said the platform became operational on July 1, 2026, and is now available across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
He said the initiative is designed to modernise civil registration, improve access to legal identity and provide accurate population data to support national planning.
According to Yusuf, Nigeria records about five million births annually, yet many births and deaths still go unregistered.
“Birth registration coverage currently stands at about 57 per cent nationwide, while death registration remains below 20 per cent. These gaps deprive many Nigerians of legal identity and limit reliable data for effective national planning,” he said.
The NPC chairman disclosed that the commission has established 4,011 registration centres across the country’s 774 local government areas and plans to increase the number to about 8,000 to improve accessibility.
He explained that the digital platform provides 24-hour online access, faster registration, digital certificate issuance where applicable, reduced paperwork, automated data validation and enhanced database security. The system is also designed to integrate with Nigeria’s digital identity ecosystem.
To expand access at the grassroots, Yusuf said the commission has partnered with the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), UNICEF and Bankforte Technologies Limited to decentralise birth registration services.
He added that the commission has reviewed fees for specialised services such as record modification, certificate reissuance and verification requests to ensure the long-term sustainability of the platform.
“Birth registration and birth notification services remain highly subsidised in line with our commitment to universal registration,” Yusuf said.
The NPC chairman called on state governments, local councils, health institutions, traditional and religious leaders, civil society organisations and the media to support efforts to ensure that every birth and death in Nigeria is promptly registered.
