This first section focuses on the main registers for natural persons, and specifically natural persons who are citizens of each specific country or foreigners who have been authorised to reside in the country.
Country Description User group Status / details
Austria Central Register of Residents (Zentrales Melderegister)
Austrian nationals and non-nationals registered in Austria
Operational
Belgium National Register Belgian nationals and non-nationals registered in Belgium
Operational
Crossroads Bank of
Social Security Natural persons subject
to Belgian social security Operational. It should be noted that this is a reference database; i.e.
it refers to other databases, but contains no actual data on the
Bulgarian citizens and foreign citizens permanently residing in Bulgaria
Operational.
Croatia Birth/Death and Marriage Registers, Citizenship Register, and Register of Residences
Croatian citizens and non-nationals registered in Croatia
Operational.
Cyprus Civil Registry System Cyprus nationals and non-nationals registered in Cyprus
Operational.
Czech Republic
Population Register Czech nationals and non-nationals registered in the Czech Republic
Operational. Information is however not always considered reliable.
Denmark National Register Danish citizens and non-nationals registered in the Denmark
Operational.
Estonia Population Register Estonian citizens and foreigners who have obtained residence permits
Operational.
Finland Population Information
System Finnish citizens and
non-nationals registered in Finland
Operational. Also accessible to private entities under specific circumstances.
France National directory of natural person’s to prevent administrative errors.
ADELI Register Health care
professionals Operational Germany Registers of residence
(Melderegister) German citizens Operational. Held only at the municipal level (approx. 5.000 registers in total); is expected to be centralised in 2010 into a Federal Civil Register
(Bundesmelderegister).
Civil Status Register
(Personenstands-buch) German citizens Operational. Contains only civil status information; is expected to be transformed to an electronic register in 2009.
Greece Registers of inhabitants Greek citizens Operational. Held only at the municipal/commune level.
Hungary Register of personal data
and address Hungarian citizens and non-nationals that have been authorised to reside in Hungary
Operational
Social security register Natural persons subject to Hungarian social security
Operational
Tax register Persons subject to
Hungarian taxes Operational Iceland National Population
Register Natural persons that
have been authorised to reside in Iceland
Operational
Ireland Public Service Identity
(PSI) database Irish nationals and other individuals who have had reason to deal with the
Operational.
public services in Ireland Italy Central residents
database Italian citizens and non-nationals that have been authorised to reside in Italy
Operational. Note that the database is kept centrally, but that all data is encrypted using the public key of the originating municipality, so that only this municipality can access the data.
Latvia Population Register Latvian citizens and non-nationals that have been authorised to reside in Latvia
Operational.
Liechtenstein Civil Registers
(Zivilstandsregister) Liechtenstein citizens Operational.
Lithuania Residents’ Register Lithuanian citizens and non-nationals that have been authorised to reside in Lithuania
Operational.
Luxembourg General directory
(Répertoire general) Natural persons that have been authorised to reside in Luxembourg, and legal persons
established or
economically active in Luxembourg.
Operational.
Malta Public Registry Maltese citizens and non-nationals registered in Malta
Operational
Social Security Register All persons economically
active in Malta Operational Register of Taxpayers All persons who are
Norway Central Population Register
Poland PESEL system All Polish citizens and all natural persons authorised to reside in Poland
Operational. To be replaced by the PESEL2 system in 2010, which is expected to be centralised and more reliable than the existing PESEL system.
Register of Tax All natural and legal Operational
Identification Numbers persons economically active in Poland
Portugal Population register Portuguese citizens and Brazilian citizens covered by the Treaty of Porto Seguro
Operational
Romania National Registry of Natural Persons (Registrul National de Evidenta a Persoanelor)
Natural persons that have been authorised to reside in Romania
Operational
Slovakia Population Register Citizens of the Slovak Republic (i.e. natural persons that have been authorised to reside in the Slovak Republic)
Operational
Slovenia Slovenian Central Register of Population (CRP)
Slovenian citizens and non-nationals wishing to exercise their rights in Slovenia
Operational
Spain Civil Registry Spanish citizens and natural persons that have been authorised to reside in Spain
Operational
Sweden Population register Swedish citizens and natural persons that have been authorised to reside in Sweden
Operational. Also accessible to private entities under specific circumstances.
Turkey MERNIS database Turkish citizens and natural persons that have been authorised to reside in Turkey
Operational. The MERNIS database bundles the existing Turkish population registers.
United Kingdom
National Identity Register UK citizens and all persons wishing to
The following main conclusions can be drawn from the table above:
• Obviously, all countries have implemented basic population registers (regardless of the specific name) in which all citizens are registered with their basic identity information. Natural persons are registered in these databases at birth, or upon a judicial or administrative decision from a competent authority in that country, which ensures that the stored information can generally be relied upon.
• Despite this implied guarantee, correspondents in two countries none the less reported occasional errors impairing the reliability of these registers, specifically Poland and the Czech Republic. However, in both cases initiatives are underway to rectify this situation.
• It is interesting to note that the basic registers are often held at a regional or municipal level.
This has been reported inter alia in Germany, Greece and Italy. The latter case is somewhat
exceptional, as the actual database is held centrally, but the stored data is encrypted in a way that impedes access to the information except for the commune which had provided the information to begin with. Thus, information leaks are prevented.
• A number of context specific registers for natural persons were also reported, including the Belgian Crossroads Bank of Social Security which contains references to a multitude of databases with social security related information (but no information on the subjects as such), the French ADELI database containing information on health care professionals, or the Maltese Register of Tax Payers. Obviously, such databases have only been reported in countries where they are considered to be a key component of the country’s eIDM strategy.
For instance, tax registers can be reasonably assumed to exist in all countries, but have only been reported in countries where tax information is considered a fundamental resource for identity management.