The G20 Collection of Digital Identity Practices has been published and reflects a brilliant period of close collaboration between the OECD team (my lead, under Barbara’s oversight and with Cecilia’s great support), the Italian government (grazie Daniela) and governments from across the G20 and beyond.
We ran quite an extensive survey that has allowed us to bring together examples from across the G20 and its partners, showing how different governments are approaching digital identity.
What’s the TL;DR?
A comparative mirror of digital identity in 2021.
The report documents how countries are designing, governing and using digital identity; the role identity played through COVID-19; and what it takes to make identity usable, portable and trusted. It doesn’t prescribe a single model; it surfaces patterns, trade-offs and enabling conditions.
Who’s in the compendium?
The survey and annex capture practices from: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, the European Union, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Türkiye, and the United Kingdom.
Full information was unavailable for Democratic Republic of Congo and Mexico whose approaches are under development, and a note is included on the United States on the use of state-level credentials rather than a single federal solution.
Why digital identity matters
Identity is core public infrastructure. It underpins access to services, economic participation and cross-border movement. Yet it sits at the intersection of technology, law, institutions and public trust: one part infrastructure, one part service, one part social contract.
What the report covers
- Policy & norms. Legal identity rights, privacy, consent, security, and emerging ideas like SSI and EU wallet proposals.
- COVID-19 use cases. Digital identity enabling continuity of services, payments, logistics and vaccination credentials.
- Enabling conditions. Leadership and funding, UX choices, privacy and oversight, driving adoption, and three forms of portability (cross-platform, cross-sector, cross-border).
The big patterns
- No one-size-fits-all. Context shapes what’s viable.
- Governance is the hard part. Technology is rarely the blocker; clarity of mandate, oversight and coordination are.
- Interoperability lags ambition. Everyone talks about it, few achieve it.
Takeaways
- Identity adds most value when embedded in everyday life across sectors and borders.
- Keep user experience front and centre and not just for citizens but cruicially the relying parties who are essential to adoption.
- Give people visibility and control over their data.
- Anchor systems in comprehensive governance: clear mandates, laws, collaboration and resources.
The blurb
This report acts as a descriptive guide to the experience of digital identity for individuals and a potential departure for future work to realise the opportunities offered by trusted and portable digital identity. It presents the policy and normative context for digital identity, uses of digital identity during the COVID-19 crisis and the necessary enabling conditions for successful development and adoption. This report was originally submitted to the G20 Digital Economic Task Force in July 2021.