This book brings together recent research on the sociopolitical history of Latin American statistics from the nineteenth to the first half of the twentieth century. Reflecting the influence of social constructivism in the social sciences, it sheds new light on the historical emergence and development of both statistical reasoning and practices within a region traditionally seen as a passive consumer of foreign-produced theories and methods. By analysing the processes of institutionalisation of statistics in different national spaces, from Mexico to the Southern Cone, these studies show the unique ways in which Latin America adapted and used this modern tool of government and social classification to build