ESCAP has released a new Stats Brief on Regional estimates of death registration completeness: 2023 Update. This Stats Brief presents updated regional and subregional estimates of death registration completeness in Asia and the Pacific for 2023, drawing on official country submissions and standardized estimation methods. Overall, death registration has improved substantially over the past five years, reflecting sustained efforts under the CRVS Decade. In 2023, an estimated 88.8 per cent of deaths in the region were registered, up from 74.3 per cent in 2018. This corresponds to approximately 29.7 million registered deaths out of an estimated 33.4 million total deaths, leaving around 3.7 million deaths unregistered.

Progress, however, has been uneven across subregions. While some have achieved near-universal completeness, others continue to account for a large share of unregistered deaths, despite notable improvements over the period. The analysis also highlights persistent data gaps. Although the availability of death data has improved, many countries still lack national estimates of total deaths required to calculate completeness, underscoring ongoing challenges in producing reliable and comprehensive mortality statistics.

As the region enters the next phase of its CRVS commitment (2025–2030), achieving the global target of at least 80 per cent death registration completeness by 2030 will require stronger collaboration, renewed political commitment, and sustained investments in data, systems, and human capacity.

The full Stats Brief is available here.