High-quality public administrative services are essential for achieving governments' objectives, including economic growth, well-being, and upholding the rule of law. To effectively deliver these outcomes and respond to citizens’ needs and expectations, administrative services must be designed and delivered to be responsive, reliable, and agile in the face of changes. Transforming administrative services to be more human-centred is an ongoing priority for governments, which requires consideration of user convenience and expectations ahead of internal processes, existing policies, and legacy systems (OECD, 2024a).
Birth registration is an essential administrative service, and often a precondition for accessing other public services and legal rights, such as enrolling in public education and accessing public healthcare. As of the latest available years, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore, and Thailand all had near-universal birth registration rates (Figure 6.13). Other countries in the region have not yet attained universal birth registration. There is the largest scope for improvement in Cambodia (73%), Lao PDR (73%) and Indonesia (77%). Administrative services can often be more difficult to attain in rural areas, where government offices may be far away from where people live, and/or Internet access may be limited. The gap between urban and rural birth registration offers insight into how access to administrative services varies across a country. Thailand performs best on this measure among SEA countries, with an urban-rural gap in birth registration of only 0.4 p.p., indicating similar access to birth registration across urban and rural areas. Other countries have larger gaps, indicating challenges in rural areas, such as accessibility, awareness and availability of registration facilities. The measure is not applicable in Brunei Darussalam and Singapore.
Digital identity facilitates secure access to public administrative services by allowing individuals to verify their identity online in a reliable and efficient manner. It reduces the need for in-person visits and paper-based processes, thereby helping to streamline service delivery and enhance the user experience. Digital identity adoption levels are measured by the percentage of the eligible population actively using it. Among SEA countries, only Singapore has made at least 75% of public services accessible through secure and user-friendly digital identity solutions, such as SMS, e-mail, or an authenticator app (Figure 6.14). Other countries in the region have made less than 50% of public services accessible in this manner.
Moreover, in seven out of eight SEA countries, less than 25% of the population eligible to create a digital identity to access public services have done so, indicating substantial room for further adoption (
Figure 6.15). Singapore is the only country in the region where at least 90% of the eligible population is using digital identity solutions to access public services. By comparison, 10 of 32 OECD Member countries have access rates of more than 75%, including Korea. Gaps in digital adoption indicate that expanding availability and usage is an area for SEA countries to strengthen. Governments may also need to consider broader factors that affect digital adoption rates, beyond the quality of the digital service provided. These can include legal or regulatory requirements to complete some transactions in person; complex or bureaucratic processes that encourage users to seek in-person support from public officials; and issues of connectivity and digital literacy.
