The session will bring together official statisticians from INE Paraguay, IBGE Brazil, ONE Dominican Republic, DANE Colombia as well as from United Nations Statistics Division, to discuss progress, challenges and problems yet to be solved to make big data a source for official statistics. An overview on the use of big data for official and experimental statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean will be provided and topics around mainstreaming the use of big data for official statistics will be discussed. Chair: Andrea Diniz da Silva, National School of Statistical Sciences of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics – ENCE/IBGE Speakers Maria Teresa Chica de Valenzano, IT Director, Instituto Nacional de Estadistica – INE, Paraguay Vladimir Gonçalves Miranda, Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics – IBGE, Brazil Augusto de los Santos, Director de Estadísticas Económicas, Oficina Nacional de Estadística – ONE, Dominican Republic Discussants: Ronald Jansen, United Nations Statistics Division – UNSD Juan Daniel Oviedo, Diretor Geral, Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística – DANE, Colombia

Over the last years, long term challenges due to declining in financing and respondent cooperation were exacerbated by the Covid-19 outbreak. Long-term effects in the economy and new lifestyle of the population make National Statistical Offices to consider alternative data sources to replace or complement the traditional surveys. In this context, the use of big data for official statistics is more than a promising way for maintaining and even improving statistical production. The use of such data source is spreading fast and to know the extent in Latina America and the Caribbean, the Regional Hub for Big Data in Brazil sent a consultation to the National Statistical Offices in the region. Preliminary results account for 7 countries using big data for official or experimental statistics and 11 conducting studies on the use of satellite imagery, web scraping and other sources in applications such as  price statistics, coverage and land use and migration. In this session, speakers from National Statistical Offices in Latin America and the Caribbean, at different level on the use of big data, will discuss progress, challenges and problems yet to be solved to make big data a source for official statistics. An overview of updated situation in the Region will be given and topics around mainstreaming the use of big data for official statistics will be discussed.

Organiser: Dr Andrea Diniz da Silva

Chair: Dr Andrea Diniz da Silva

Speaker: Leonardo Trujillo Oyola

Speaker: Vladimir Gonçalves Miranda

Speaker: Ms. Iliana Vaca Trigo 

Discussant: Dr Ronald Jansen