NOTE: National Benefits of Ethiopia’s Digital ID Project and Its Implementation (Amharic)

Identification system is divided into Foundation ID and Functional ID. There is the need for foundational ID in Ethiopia that fulfills international standards even though Kebele ID serves as a de-facto foundational ID. Driving license, work ID, bank passbook and other IDs are considered as functional ID. The Kebele ID is not backed by technology. It does not uniquely identify a person and is open for fraud. The Government of Ethiopia is thus implementing foundational digital ID by using modern technology. Ethiopia’s digital ID is expected to strengthen national peace and security, national development planning, good governance and avert duplication of efforts, and eliminate the risk of exclusion in development works. The Ethiopian Digital ID Proclamation No. 1284/2023 is meant to enable the smooth implementation of digital ID in Ethiopia and has drawn lessons from the comparative experience of other countries. Registration for digital ID has three modalities. The first modality is through the registration centers of the institution; secondly through registration of clients by partner organizations; and the third modality of registration is conducted (with modest service charges) by entities permitted by the institution. The first and the second registration modalities are currently being implemented. The third modality requires establishing a policy direction and operating procedures, and it may not be implemented soon. The implementation of the first and the second modalities are expected to ensure effective registration within a short period of time. The digital ID registration process is expected to be completed within three to five years. As the Proclamation pursues the minimal data paradigm, the demographic data required for a digital ID are first name, father’s name, grandfather’s name, citizenship, date of birth (including month and year), gender and domicile address. Moreover, mother’s name, telephone number, as well as email and postal address can be included. The biometric data collected for obtaining a digital ID are limited to ten fingerprints, iris of both eyes, and facial photo.