Where rural and urban birth registration diverged in Central Africa

Cameroon and the Central African Republic had 32.8-point gaps

Cameroon’s 2018 survey estimated 79.9% in urban areas and 47.1% in rural areas. The Central African Republic’s 2018 to 2019 survey gave 67.9% and 35.1%. Both differences were 32.8 percentage points, although the two countries were at different levels of overall registration. Source 1

Chad and DR Congo also showed large differences

Chad’s 2019 urban estimate was 50.0%, compared with 21.1% in rural areas. DR Congo recorded 55.4% urban and 24.3% rural in its 2023 to 2024 survey. The national estimate was 33.5% in DR Congo. UNICEF flags that two of 780 survey clusters there were skipped because of security concerns. Source 1

Gabon and the Republic of the Congo had smaller residence gaps

In Gabon’s 2019 to 2021 survey, the urban figure was 95.8% and the rural figure 93.5%. The Republic of the Congo’s 2014 to 2015 survey gave 98.7% and 91.4%. The surveys were conducted in different periods, so these are within-country comparisons at the recorded dates. Source 1

Registration and possession of a certificate are distinct

The survey indicator can count a child as registered based on a birth certificate or a report that the birth was registered with civil authorities. It covers the child’s registration status when surveyed. It does not count how many births occurred in that calendar year, or how many children have a certificate in hand. Source 2 Source 3

Sources

• UNICEF Data Warehouse, child protection birth registration dataset
• UNICEF, birth registration definition and survey methods
• UNICEF Data Warehouse, comparable country birth registration estimates