India’s Unique Identification (UID) project offers important lessons for other countries. UID’s performance data show that large countries can implement biometric ID programs with low levels of exclusion and high accuracy, but this requires the combined use of multiple biometrics....

This paper surveys 160 cases where biometric identification has been used for economic, political, and social purposes in developing countries. About half of these cases have been supported by donors. Recognizing the need for more rigorous assessments and more open data on performance, the paper...