The Madagascar identity crisis

An estimated six million adults in Madagascar, around 40% of the population, lack birth certificates, excluding them from jobs and basic services. On May 28, 2026, the government passed a law allowing mass birth registration as part of a biometric enrollment operation. Over 2,000 teams are deploying biometric kits nationwide, and more than 3.25 million adults have been enrolled in the national database. Fokontany chiefs help verify the identity of people without documents.