"We want to make things easier for citizens," Deputy Interior Minister Johann Hahlen told daily Süddeutsche Zeitung on Thursday. "Citizens should give the same information nationwide, not different information in different places."

A central federal register would also make it easier for residents to find out exactly what the government agencies knows about them by going to a single office, Hahlen added. Currently a resident would have ask each of the more than 40 authorities permitted to access portions of the information what personal details they have on file.

Though the details of the new plan have not been announced, it would allow people to see which authorities know what by visiting a single office, Hahlen said. He added that government agencies would be forbidden from accessing more information than they need for their work or sharing their data with others.

Additionally, organizers said they hope the central register will cut down on the problem of non-existent records and double records. There are some 3.2 million extra records for people regarded as residents although they no longer live in the country or are incorrectly registered in multiple places, according to official estimates reported in the Süddeutsche Zeitung.

Privacy rights advocates told the Munich-based daily they wanted to make sure the proposed federal register adhered to current privacy laws and gathered only relevant information.

"Why does someone need to know if you have a gun license when you register your address?" German Federal Data Protection Commissioner Peter Schaar told the paper. "There is a lot of excess (information), and that needs to be severely reduced."

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