evidoria

← Back to browse

Good practice Imported

Bhutan National Digital Identity (NDI) – Self-Sovereign ID for All Citizens

Bhutan · Thimphu · See the Bhutan profile · See the Thimphu profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 31% 80/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Bhutan's GovTech Agency built a blockchain-based, self-sovereign digital ID reaching over 230,000 users and 234,568 foundational credentials by March 2025 — about 30% of the population — integrated with 40+ government and private services.

234,568
Foundational ID credentials issued (by 31 March 2025)
230,000+
Active users (by 31 March 2025)
~30%
Share of population enrolled within 18 months of launch
40+
Integrated government and private services
Bhutan National Digital Identity (NDI) – Self-Sovereign ID for All Citizens

Details

Maturity
Scaling
Promoter
Government Technology Agency (GovTech), Royal Government of Bhutan
Period
2023–present
Keywords
digital identity, e-government, blockchain, self-sovereign identity

Context

Launched nationwide in October 2023 by Bhutan's Government Technology Agency (GovTech) with Druk Holding & Investments, the Bhutan National Digital Identity (NDI) is one of the world's first national self-sovereign identity systems, letting citizens hold verifiable credentials in a personal digital wallet rather than in a centralised government database. The credential is integrated with more than 40 government and private services spanning health, banking, education, telecom and transport.

Results

By 31 March 2025, GovTech reported 234,568 foundational ID credentials issued and more than 230,000 active users, in a country of roughly 786,000 people — around 3 in 10 citizens enrolled within 18 months of launch. In October 2024, Bhutan became the first country to bring a national digital ID programme into the Global Acceptance Network.

Conclusions

Independent reporting (Biometric Update, April 2025) noted that public uptake had been slower than officials initially hoped, prompting dedicated awareness campaigns, particularly outside the capital Thimphu.

Implementation

Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

Do you run this practice? Claim it — verified implementers get a public contact pathway and can propose corrections.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

Similar practices you may find useful