What country does not require you to carry an id at all times where outside your house? Most countries do and most don't even accept alternate id's like driver's license.
I don’t drive either which is a much bigger drive as to why I don’t feel the need to constantly have official identification.
Edit: I suppose it is important if anything “went wrong” and I needed my body to be identified, but again, that would be a case where people are wondering where I’m at quite quickly and the cops likely putting something out to identify such a person.
Edit 2: I also did try to get a state ID but they make the process so laughably difficult that getting a passport was easier - further, they don’t accept a passport as a main source of identification. I instead needed to also have a physical copy of my social security card (despite the other mountain of evidence I brought about my existence and propriety living in the state) and I never quite understood that. They do gladly accept the taxes I pay though. No questions asked!
In my case (Austria, EU), when the police is required to check your identity, and if you aren't carrying some allowed form of identification (id card [most people don't have one around here, no one needs it but it costs as much as renewing your passport], passport [who carries their passport around, might even be expired], drivers license [you might not have one]) they have to follow you home or wherever an recognized identity document of yours may be (e.g. some people store them at a safe deposit box at a bank).
Is it really common in other countries that you legally need your ID on you at all times?
You only need your driver's license if you're driving, and ID in general is only required for certain activities that directly require identification or use the ID to confirm other information (eg age when buying alcohol).
The Wikipedia article on the subject[0] is incomplete, but the only countries whose laws it specifically describes (Germany & Sweden) do not require carrying the ID with you. Rather than it being the norm to require ID, I'm having a very hard time finding out any countries that do require it.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obligation_of_identification
Sweden doesn't for one.
Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States.
I'm not sure if anyone on HN lives in any of those countries, though. I know I'm a Russian disinformation worker, and I assume everyone else is, too.
my country "requires" it, but I never have my id with me unless I need it e.g going to gov office