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IBGE leads debate on new statistical production model based on administrative records in Brasil
April 02, 2026 02h03 PM | Last Updated: April 06, 2026 05h43 PM
Brazil has been advancing in the construction of a new statistical production model based on the integrated use of administrative records. The issue was debated at a technical meeting held at Serpro in Brasília, which brought together public institutions and included the participation of international experts responsible for presenting the experiences of Norway and Uruguay.
The initiative is part of the “Program to Support the Strengthening of Administrative Records in Brazil,” coordinated by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The meeting is part of technical agendas carried out in conjunction with international organizations, including the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Norwegian statistical agency, with the aim of supporting the construction of an agreement in line with Brazilian necessities.
The event focused on the need to overcome statistical models based exclusively on periodic surveys and move towards an approach that uses administrative records continuously produced by the State, in a structured way.
Administrative records and paradigm shift
“The challenge is not simply to gather databases, but to move towards a data federation model, as already occurs in other countries, allowing for faster and less costly integration,” stated the president of the IBGE, Marcio Pochmann. The approach is based on the articulation between different databases, without centralization.
He highlighted that the traditional model of statistical production no longer keeps pace with the speed of social and economic transformations. “The first Census carried out in Brazil, in 1872, was released four years later. At the time, this was not a problem. Today, the dynamics of society demand much faster responses,” he considered.
According to Mr. Pochmann, the qualified use of administrative records paves the way for a structural change in the formulation of public policies. “Today, we act on the reality already observed. The advancement in the use of administrative records opens space to anticipate phenomena and act before they occur, enabling predictive public policies,” he concluded.
The viability of this new model depends on a technological infrastructure capable of guaranteeing not only the articulation of data, but above all its governance and security over large volumes of public data. It is in this context that Serpro acts as an operator of the State's structuring platforms and a provider of critical infrastructure for the processing and protection of this information.
Infrastructure, Governance, and Institutional Cooperation
According to Alexandre Ávila, Serpro's Business Superintendent responsible for giving support to the IBGE, the evolution of the use of administrative records is directly related to the capacity for secure and interoperable data processing.
“The integration of this data requires an infrastructure capable of guaranteeing traceability, governance, and digital sovereignty. Serpro acts as the technological arm of the IBGE and several other institutions involved, supporting the operation of structuring databases and enabling the safe use of this information on a large scale,” Mr. Ávila assessed.
The coordinator of the initiative at the IBGE, Daléa Soares Antunes, highlighted that the advancement in the use of administrative records depends on the coordination between national institutions and the continuous improvement of data production and management processes, paying attention to legal and technical requirements.
“Qualifying and coordinating different databases requires not only institutional alignment, but also adherence to legal frameworks for data protection, in order to enable the statistical use of this information with consistency and safety. The construction of this model must consider the specificities of each database, respecting its limits and guaranteeing the production of relevant information for the country,” stated Ms. Antunes.
The experiences presented by Norway and Uruguay indicate paths for the consolidation of statistical systems based on administrative records, with gains in efficiency and information quality.
The project coordinator emphasized that the technical exchange seeks to identify practices that can be adapted to the Brazilian reality, considering the institutional and operational specificities of each country, with the objective of structuring a robust statistical model, in convergence with international benchmarks.
Representatives from institutions responsible for structuring databases in the country participated in the meeting, including the Ministry of Health, the Public Prosecutor's Office, Ipea, Inep, the Ministry of Social Development, Dataprev, the Central Bank, the Ministry of Social Security, Incra, as well as the IBGE and Serpro themselves. The program also included a technical workshop focused on the operational aspects of administrative records and a visit to the Serpro Data Center, where the infrastructures responsible for processing and protecting this information on a large scale were presented.
