The National Population Commission (NPC) has launched an online platform for the registration of births and deaths across Nigeria, marking a major step in the country's transition to a fully digital civil registration system.

The Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (E-CRVS) platform became operational on 1 July 2026, enabling Nigerians to register births and deaths online while reducing the need for physical visits to registration centres.

NPC Digitises Birth and Death Registration

Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja, Dr Aminu Yusuf, Chairman of the National Population Commission, said the initiative will modernise the registration of vital events while improving the quality of population data used for national planning and policymaking.

According to Yusuf, the platform is now operational across Nigeria's 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, building on the launch of the E-CRVS system and the inauguration of the National Coordination Committee on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in November 2023.

Addressing Registration Gaps

The NPC estimates that Nigeria records approximately five million births annually, yet millions of children remain unregistered. Birth registration coverage currently stands at 57%, while death registration remains below 20%, limiting access to legal identity for many citizens and affecting the availability of reliable demographic data.

To improve accessibility, the Commission has established 4,011 functional registration centres across the country's 774 local government areas, with plans to increase the number to about 8,000 centres.

Supporting Nigeria's Digital Identity Ecosystem

According to the Commission, the digital platform offers faster processing, round-the-clock online access, reduced paperwork, automated data validation, stronger database security, and digital certificate issuance where applicable.

The NPC also announced partnerships with the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), UNICEF, and Bankforte Technologies Limited to strengthen and decentralise birth registration services nationwide.

While the Commission has introduced revised charges for specialised administrative services such as record modifications, certificate reissuance, attestations, and verification requests to support the platform's sustainability, it reaffirmed that birth registration and birth notification services will remain highly subsidised as part of its commitment to achieving universal birth registration in Nigeria.