For example, Colombia uses a single ministry for both, but in most other countries, they are separated. When a civil registry is created, producing a voters list is relatively efficient and inexpensive. This is because the costs are borne in the first instance by the civil registry. Population registration is of major importance to the individual. Many situations require a person to provide proof of his or her name or marital status and this can be done by means of an extract from the population registers.
Registration is a pre-condition for entitlement to child benefit or sickness benefit.
A further reason for population registration is to satisfy the needs of society with regard to basic census information. This basic information includes details of the identity, residence, and family circumstances of private individuals who are or have been resident in Sweden. Together with other personal details, this information forms part of the population registration records. One mistake in the population registration process can result in a mistake appearing in the registers maintained by many other authorities and could entail loss of an individual's rights.