Most African children never become citizens, study finds

September 05, 2012

Most of Africa’s children are born, live, and die without ever being registered as citizens, according to a study performed for UNICEF.

Because parents lack the resources to register the births of their children, many Africans completely escape official notice. They therefore have difficulty obtaining even the minimum legal protections of citizenship.

The UNICEF study estimated that more than half the children on the African continent have never been registered; the problem is acute in the most impoverished countries such as Southern Sudan, Somalia, and Uganda.

 

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Further information:

• More than half of African children are "non-existent" (Fides)