Socio-Demographic Determinants of Birth Registration in Sindh, Pakistan: A Secondary Analysis of MICS-6

Background: Birth registration has long been associated with government planning and development in different sectors of life like education, health, socio-demographic, and socio-economic services. The objective of the study to assess the birth registration rate and its association with socio-demographic factors in Sindh, Pakistan. Methodology: This study was based on socio-demographic characteristics for children under the age of five. Data from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, Pakistan, (MICS 2018-2019) was used. Adjusted data of 17,978 children was used for analysis. To analyze association between qualitative variables, chi-square test was applied. By using binary logistic regression, odds were computed. P-value ≤0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: Birth registration rate was 50% in urban and 17.3% rural areas of Sindh. Karachi had highest rate of birth registration while Shukur had lowest rate. Birth registration rate was highest for children whose mothers had higher education. Birth registration rate was higher for the children in the richest quintile in both urban and rural areas. Conclusion: The study identified significant factors associated with birth registration. Children whose mothers had higher education had the highest birth registration rates. Additionally, birth registration rates were higher among children in the richest quintile, regardless of whether they lived in urban or rural areas. Age, division (location), mother's education, and wealth quintile were found to be significant factors influencing birth registration rates. These important factors make it clear that targeted actions are needed in Sindh to increase the number of birth registrations and make sure that every child's identity is officially recognized from birth.