Estimating completeness of birth and death registration: Methods and options for estimating completeness of civil registration

Reliably estimating completeness of birth and death registration is central to achieving targets in the Sustainable Development Goals aiming for universal birth registration and high levels of death registration. This guide describes the key principles, data needs, and methodology for a range of methods that are available for estimating the completeness of birth and death registration at local, district, and national levels. The guide is written for demographers, epidemiologists, or statisticians advising government on measuring completeness of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) systems. It can also serve as a reference for data managers in national registration units and subnational level offices of the CRVS system, or other government and nongovernment agencies interested in assessing the completeness of birth or death registration. Where relevant, practical examples have been included, along with supporting details for conducting statistical analysis