The number of people using government issued identity credentials worldwide is expected to grow by over 150% over the next five years, according to new research.
Juniper Research has published an estimate that the total number will rise from an expected 1.7 billion in 2019 to over 5 billion in 2024.
Its Digital Identity: 2019-24 report says the growth is likely to be strongest in countries, largely in Asia and Africa, without legacy systems. They are following Estonia’s lead in rapidly developing digital identities.
For Europe and North America it forecasts that the growth will be led by digital driving licences and the financial services sector rather than formal government identification. This reflects the suspicion held by many people in developed countries towards government issued cards and apps.
The analyst company predicted that mobile single sign-ons will be a major element of several digital identity platforms, with over 1 billion users by 2023, and that there will be smaller contributions from blockchain solutions.
Research author James Moar said: “We expect strong growth in blockchain based digital identity solutions over the next five years. However, with simpler apps being quick to develop and almost indistinguishable from a user perspective, companies and operators will need to be the ones to drive the use of self-sovereign identity forward.”
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