I wouldn't be surprised if more countries follow the lead of Switzerland and delete place of birth. It is increasingly being used to discriminate against naturalized citizens. For example, China is now causing problems for Canadian citizens who were born in what is now China (but was not at the time of their birth), refusing to issue them Chinese visas in their Canadian passport.

The benefits to the issuing country in terms of identifying the bearer are small in comparison with the opportunity for foreign states to discriminate against a country's naturalized citizens.