Global Birthright Citizenship Laws: How Inclusive?

The principal way in which formal citizenship status is acquired is on the basis of birth, whether by descent (ius sanguinis) or territory of birth (ius soli), and most people retain their citizenship of birth for life. Yet birthright citizenship laws have received less attention than naturalisation procedures. Drawing on GLOBALCIT data on citizenship laws in 177 countries in 2016, and indicators of birthright citizenship laws constructed from these, we analyse how global provisions for birthright citizenship vary across the world. We examine the extent to which provision is automatic and unconditional or subject to conditions or restrictions, and the implications for inclusion, in particular of immigrants. Almost all states provide for ius sanguinis citizenship, although with varying restrictions, especially for those born to citizens abroad. Ius soli is unconditional in a small minority of countries, but in half the countries studied it is limited to foundlings and children who would otherwise be stateless, and it is entirely absent in some. Different levels of conditionality of ius soli citizenship exclude the children of immigrants from citizenship of the country in which they live, and can also produce statelessness. Notwithstanding international laws and conventions, some birthright provisions also explicitly exclude on the basis of the marital status of parents, and on gender, racial, ethnic, religious or cultural groundsall with potentially significant impact on immigrants. Finally, birthright citizenship laws display clearly differentiated geographical patterns, and ius soli is by no means always strongly provided in countries with the largest immigrant populations.