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Disclaimer / Limitations
This country’s legal measures were reviewed by our legal staff in consultation with in-country lawyers and/or CRVS legal experts. All efforts were made to ensure the accuracy of the legal analysis, however, if you consider there to be any discrepancies or if there have been changes in the law of the country since our staff last updated the legal analysis, we welcome any additional information or insights. Please contact us via this form.
Birth Registration
Ghana
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Ghana
Birth Registration
Universal Coverage and Definition
Universal Coverage and Definition
Universal Coverage and Definition
Is birth registration available and compulsory for all births occurring within the country's jurisdiction?
Yes
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
The law should provide that registration is available to, and compulsory for, all births occurring in every geographical area and for every population group in the country. Examples of possible discriminations are: sex; race ethnicity, religion or population group; marital status; nationality, citizenship, residency or refugee/asylum status; or any other characteristic such as prisoners or persons with disabilities
All births that occur in the country – including births to refugees, undocumented migrants, internally displaced persons, stateless persons, persons of undetermined nationality and members of nomadic peoples – must be registered in the civil registration system. Where necessary, legislation should include specific provisions to guarantee the registration of these populations regardless of whether the person has legal residency status.
The Registration of Births and Deaths Act requires that the birth of every child born in Ghana must be registered. In addition, the Children’s Act gives children a right, from birth, to a name and nationality and imposes a duty on every parent to register their child’s birth.
Is birth registration or reporting available for children born to citizens residing abroad?
Yes
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
When a child is born to parents who are residing outside their country of citizenship, the country in which the birth occurred has an obligation to register the birth and issue a birth certificate. While the home country of the parents will not issue a new birth certificate, there should be a process by which the parents report the birth to the parents’ home country. This is important for purposes of establishing citizenship and receiving a passport for the child. The law should provide a process for citizens temporarily residing abroad to report the birth of a child to the registrar (or the passport agency). This is usually facilitated by a country’s embassies and consulates.
The Registration of Births and Deaths Act is silent on the birth registration of children born to Ghanaian citizens residing abroad, but the Registration of Births and Deaths Regulations state that they are applicable to births occurring overseas in respect of Ghanaian citizens. Thus, it appears that the procedures for registering births that take place abroad are the same as those for births occurring inside Ghana.
Does the law provide a clear definition of live birth? If yes, does the definition accord with international guidelines?
Yes live birth is defined by law and accords with international guidelines
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
The provision of clear definitions in the law is an important tool to ensure the continuous and permanent recording of vital events in all areas. Live birth is defined as "The complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy, which, after such separation, breathes or shows any other evidence of life, such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or any definite movement of voluntary muscles, whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut or the placenta is attached."
Section 48 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act defines “birth” as meaning “live-birth”, which is described in wording that replicates the internationally-suggested definition: “‘birth’ means live-birth or complete expulsion or extraction from the mother of a product of conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy, which breathes or shows evidence of life like the beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord or definite movement of voluntary muscles whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut or the placenta is detached.”
