<P> A national identification number, national identity number, or national insurance number is used by the governments of many countries as a means of tracking their citizens, permanent residents, and temporary residents for the purposes of work, taxation, government benefits, health care, and other governmentally - related functions . The number appears on identity documents issued by several of the countries . </P> <P> The ways in which such a system is implemented vary among countries, but in most cases citizens are issued an identification number upon reaching legal age, or when they are born . Non-citizens may be issued such numbers when they enter the country, or when granted a temporary or permanent residence permit . </P> <P> Many countries issued such numbers for a singular purpose, but over time, they become a de facto national identification number . For example, the United States developed its Social Security number system as a means of organizing disbursing of Social Security benefits . However, due to function creep, the number has become used for other purposes to the point where it is almost essential to have one to, among other things, open a bank account, obtain a credit card, or drive a car . Although some countries are required to collect TIN / SSN information for overseas payment procedures, some countries, like the US, are not required to collect other nations' TIN if other requirements are met, such as date of birth . Authorities use databases and they need a unique identifier in order to be that data actually refer to the searched person . In countries where there is no established nationwide number, authorities need to create their own number for each person, though there is a risk of mismatching people . </P> <P> In The Gambia, the National Identification Number (NIN) consists of 11 digits in the form DDMMYY - PG - ##CS . DD MM YY indicates date of birth, PG indicates place of issuance and nationality, ##is a serial number and also indicates sex and CS is a check sum . </P>

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