Nearly half of all United Nations (U.N.) member states are now issuing biometric e-passports, according to the newest data from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the U.N. agency that oversees international air travel. ICAO, which held its 20th TAG/MRTD meeting in September, reports that 93 out of 193 U.N. member states now issue e-passports, with 21 additional countries ready to deploy the technology in the next 12 to 48 months. ICAO estimates that as of July 2011, these 93 states have issued more than 345 million e-passports, of which almost 340 million are in circulation.
As per ICAO specifications, each of these documents contains a contactless integrated circuit chip that stores biometric data–i.e. facial, fingerprint or iris–of the passport holder as well as other encrypted identification data. Forty-five of the e-passport issuing states store both fingerprint and facial data on their documents, while 34 store only the facial data. The remaining 14 states currently use facial data, but will begin including fingerprints by the end of 2011.
According to ICAO’s findings, the U.S. remains the largest issuer with 72 million documents issued to date. The U.S. issued 13 million in the past year. The UK, which issued 5 million e-passports in 2011, ranks as the second largest issuer with 27 million in total.
According to ICAO, just eight states read e-passports at airports and borders. These include the U.S., the U.K., Singapore, Portugal, New Zealand, Japan, Indonesia and Germany. IMS Research predicts that within five years 90% of passport holders will be using e-passports with integrated smart card IC chips.
Nearly half of all current passports issued today use smart chip technology, thanks to a rapid migration started in 2007. “This trend is set to continue,” states Alex Green, author of the IMS report “Electronic Government and Health Care ID Cards.” There are still a few countries around the world that are not yet issuing e-passports. However, most have started and with the typical five to ten year replacement rates for passports, it is only a matter of time before all passports in circulation are e-passports,” explains Green.
The report examines the use of biometrics in e-passports, which is still largely limited to a digital image of the holders face stored on the IC. Green says this will change: “By 2014, the situation is forecast to have been reversed. By this time the majority of passports being issued will also include additional biometric data such as one or more fingerprints, iris scans, etc.”
As per ICAO specifications, each of these documents contains a contactless integrated circuit chip that stores biometric data–i.e. facial, fingerprint or iris–of the passport holder as well as other encrypted identification data. Forty-five of the e-passport issuing states store both fingerprint and facial data on their documents, while 34 store only the facial data. The remaining 14 states currently use facial data, but will begin including fingerprints by the end of 2011.
According to ICAO’s findings, the U.S. remains the largest issuer with 72 million documents issued to date. The U.S. issued 13 million in the past year. The UK, which issued 5 million e-passports in 2011, ranks as the second largest issuer with 27 million in total.
According to ICAO, just eight states read e-passports at airports and borders. These include the U.S., the U.K., Singapore, Portugal, New Zealand, Japan, Indonesia and Germany. IMS Research predicts that within five years 90% of passport holders will be using e-passports with integrated smart card IC chips.
Nearly half of all current passports issued today use smart chip technology, thanks to a rapid migration started in 2007. “This trend is set to continue,” states Alex Green, author of the IMS report “Electronic Government and Health Care ID Cards.” There are still a few countries around the world that are not yet issuing e-passports. However, most have started and with the typical five to ten year replacement rates for passports, it is only a matter of time before all passports in circulation are e-passports,” explains Green.
The report examines the use of biometrics in e-passports, which is still largely limited to a digital image of the holders face stored on the IC. Green says this will change: “By 2014, the situation is forecast to have been reversed. By this time the majority of passports being issued will also include additional biometric data such as one or more fingerprints, iris scans, etc.”
