National identification number

A national identification number, national identity number, or national insurance number is used by the governments of many countries as a means of tracking their citizens, permanent residents, and temporary residents for the purposes of work, taxation, government benefits, health care, and other governmentally-related functions. The number appears on identity documents issued by several of the countries.

The ways in which such a system is implemented vary among countries, but in most cases citizens are issued an identification number upon reaching legal age, or when they are born. Non-citizens may be issued such numbers when they enter the country, or when granted a temporary or permanent residence permit.

Many countries issued such numbers for a singular purpose, but over time, they become a de facto national identification number. For example, the United States developed its Social Security number system as a means of organizing disbursing of Social Security benefits. However, due to function creep, the number has become used for other purposes to the point where it is almost essential to have one to, among other things, open a bank account, obtain a credit card, or drive a car. Although some countries are required to collect TIN/SSN information for overseas payment procedures, some countries, like the US, are not required to collect other nations' TIN if other requirements are met, such as date of birth. Authorities use databases and they need a unique identifier in order to be sure that data actually refer to the searched person. In countries where there is no established nationwide number, authorities need to create their own number for each person, although there is still a risk of mismatching people.

In The Gambia, the National Identification Number (NIN) consists of 11 digits in the form DDMMYY-PG- ##CS. DD MM YY indicates date of birth, PG indicates place of issuance and nationality, ## is a serial number and also indicates sex and CS is a check sum.

The Nigerian National Identification Number (NIN) is issued and managed by National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), and it's a set of eleven digits (e.g.: XXXXXXXXXXX), assigned to 16+ years old Nigerians and legal residents by the Government.

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Wikipedia