The quality of Ecuador’s statistics on intentional homicides reaches a “B” certification level

The statistics on intentional homicides, derived from the administrative records of deaths from external causes kept by the Ministry of Government of Ecuador, have reached a “B” rating, exceeding the rating of their first certification in 2015. This grade of quality, awarded by the country’s National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC), means that significant improvements have been made in the various stages of the statistical operation, which range from planning to evaluation and archiving of information, including the design, construction, collection, processing, analysis and dissemination of data. All of this within the framework of the INEC Code of Good Practices and the Model of Statistical Production and the United Nations Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics.

As part of the certification process, the Centre of Excellence was invited by the INEC to evaluate the Thematic, Statistical Processes and Statistical Production components, analyzing more than 250 documents submitted as evidence by the Ministry of Government. The results of this evaluation allowed the identification of areas for improvement and some critical weaknesses on which an improvement plan was elaborated to be fulfilled in the period 2020-2023.

The INEC will follow up on the fulfillment of this improvement plan and will liaise with the Center of Excellence to provide additional technical advice to the Ministry of Government for the implementation of the recommendations. This activity reinforces the link between INEC and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and strengthens cooperation within the framework of the very statistical quality assurance that the Centre of Excellence promotes throughout the region.