Domestic Misfits, Social Physics and the Problem of International Statistical Standardization

During the 19th century, driven by the ideas of Adolphe Quetelet, population statistics were actively being developed and debated by many nascent nation-states. The International Statistical Institute (ISI) was one of the premier statistical organizations of the 19th and 20th centuries that possessed a very international and prestigious membership including representatives from across Europe, Latin America and Japan. During this “first principles” period, statisticians were openly grappling with both the practical questions related to the “conditions of production” of data as well as questions of statistical theory and good practice. This article analyzes some of the debate the ISI held on the problem of international social statistical category standardization that the ISI encountered as well as the factors and “tests” they used to resolve these issues.