The geography of statistics: Social statistics from moral science to big data

Abstract

Statistics are central to the state’s capacities. However, with the advent of ‘big data’ some argue it is being undermined in favour of a new configuration of corporate power. We need to understand statistics both historically and geographically to understand how it is intertwined with the geography of power today. Three strands to the geography of statistics are proposed: the geography of statistical institutions and agencies; the geography of ‘datafication’; and the geographies produced by statistics. Tracing the geography of statistics demonstrates its role in the construction of a hierarchical world and explains the consequences of changes in statistical practice.