Building Statelessness-Sensitive ID Systems

Inclusive and trusted identification (ID) systems represent a cornerstone for sustainable development and digital transformation. Yet for millions of stateless people and those at risk of statelessness, lack of recognized nationality or proof of identity remains a barrier to accessing services, exercising rights, and participating fully in social and economic life. This publication provides policymakers and practitioners—including government officials, international organizations, civil society, and World Bank Group task teams—with practical guidance to design and implement statelessness-sensitive foundational ID systems that account for these populations and their specific vulnerabilities.
This publication highlights risks and opportunities that rapid modernization of ID systems —including the adoption of new forms of digital ID as part of DPI—presents to stateless people. It outlines considerations and recommendations intended to help ensure that stateless people are not left behind and instead benefit from advances in ID and DPI, consistent with the World Bank Group’s strategic goals of ending extreme poverty and increasing shared prosperity.
Drawing on global consultations co-convened by ID4D and UNHCR, as well as country experiences and emerging good practices, this note outlines key considerations to support more inclusive ID systems.