Brazil faces a “statistical blackout”

The Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute (IBGE) was created in 1930 to produce, perhaps for the first time in the country’s history, systematic and reliable data about Brazil. The institute’s mission, according to itself, is “to supply Brazil with the information it needs to know its own reality and allow the exercise of citizenship.” The data it produces is used by the government to allocate chunks of the budget to states and municipalities. It is also used by investors and international agencies to assess Brazil in comparison to other countries.

But the IBGE is under threat, due to a lack of staff and funds.

Right now, Brazil’s official statistics agency has 583 regional offices across the country, of which 232 operate with only two people. Another 61 have only one staff member and could be shut down within the next few months. Since 2014, 16 agencies have been closed as servants retired with no one else to replace them.

In order to operate smoothly and carry out a proper census in 2020, IBGE needs 1,800 new employees and at least BRL 1 billion in funding in 2019. According to officers within the...