
The Indicator NPR hide caption
The World's Identity Crisis

The Indicator NPR hide caption

Toby Norman, winner of the World Bank's Mission Billion contest, aimed at increasing access to government ID around the world. Darian Woods hide caption
Toby Norman, winner of the World Bank's Mission Billion contest, aimed at increasing access to government ID around the world.
Darian WoodsOne billion people — roughly a seventh of the world's population — do not have any official identification. That includes birth certificates, passports, and driver's licenses.
Identity can be a double-edged sword. Without ID, you often can't get a bank account, a phone connection, or access to government services like healthcare. But, as history has shown, ID can also be used to nefarious ends.
Today on The Indicator, we learn about how to better design ID systems, and we go to a Shark Tank-style pitch contest at the World Bank.
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