Keeping tabs around the world
• Compulsory national identity cards are used in about 100 countries including Germany, France, Belgium, Greece, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain
• ID cards are not used in the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the Irish Republic or Nordic countries
• German police can detain people who are not carrying their ID card for up to 24 hours
• The Bush Administration resisted calls for an identity card in the US after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001
• In Australia street protests in the 1980s forced the Government to abandon its plans for a card
• Plastic cards are favoured over paper documents because they are harder to forge
• Most identity cards contain the name, sex, date of birth and a unique number for the holder
• South Korean, Brazilian, Italian and Malaysian ID cards contain fingerprints. Cards in some countries contain information on any distinguishing marks of the holder
• Objections to card schemes have focused on the cost and invasion of privacy
• Supporters say that they prevent illegal immigration and fraud
• In the European Union some cards can be used instead of a passport for European travel
Sources: Privacy International; Times database
• Compulsory national identity cards are used in about 100 countries including Germany, France, Belgium, Greece, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain
• ID cards are not used in the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the Irish Republic or Nordic countries
• German police can detain people who are not carrying their ID card for up to 24 hours
• The Bush Administration resisted calls for an identity card in the US after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001
• In Australia street protests in the 1980s forced the Government to abandon its plans for a card
• Plastic cards are favoured over paper documents because they are harder to forge
• Most identity cards contain the name, sex, date of birth and a unique number for the holder
• South Korean, Brazilian, Italian and Malaysian ID cards contain fingerprints. Cards in some countries contain information on any distinguishing marks of the holder
• Objections to card schemes have focused on the cost and invasion of privacy
• Supporters say that they prevent illegal immigration and fraud
• In the European Union some cards can be used instead of a passport for European travel
Sources: Privacy International; Times database
