More than 8.3 million people have also verified their personal information since the programme began in 2025, NIDA Director General Josephine Mukesha said.
The exercise is now being completed in the Northern and Western provinces, as well as Nyamagabe and Nyaruguru districts in the Southern Province.
“We have now registered more than 8 million people,” Mukesha said, adding that more than 8.3 million had verified their information while 7.2 million had completed biometric registration.
Under the new system, electronic identity cards will be issued from birth, replacing the previous system under which national identity cards were issued from the age of 16.
Children below five years will have their facial photographs captured, while those aged five and above will undergo full biometric registration, including facial images, fingerprints and iris scans.
NIDA plans to equip sector offices with photography equipment before moving more services to cell offices, which are closer to residents.
The agency says the system will also strengthen civil registration and help the government improve planning by providing reliable information on births, marriages and deaths.
Rwanda began registering newborns at health facilities in 2020. Children born outside health facilities are registered through local administrative offices.
Mukesha said the system had helped raise the rate of child registration to about 96%, from between 70% and 80% previously.
NIDA has also encountered cases where parents had several children but only some were registered, requiring the unregistered children to be added to the system.
Rwandans living abroad will also be able to access the electronic ID programme through the Irembo platform, while biometric registration will be conducted through Rwandan embassies.
NIDA said people who miss the current registration exercise will still be able to obtain the service through sector offices because the programme will continue.
The agency is responsible for issuing national identity cards and providing civil registration services.
