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Get School Census (Censo Escolar) data

Source: R/get-censo-escolar.R
get_censo_escolar.Rd

Downloads and processes microdata from the Brazilian School Census (Censo Escolar), conducted annually by INEP. Returns school-level data with information about infrastructure, location, and administrative details.

Usage

get_censo_escolar(
  year,
  file = NULL,
  uf = NULL,
  n_max = Inf,
  keep_zip = TRUE,
  quiet = FALSE
)

Arguments

year

The year of the census (1995-2025).

file

Optional. Name (or partial name) of a specific CSV file to load. By default, loads the main school data file. Use list_censo_files() to see available files for a given year.

  • 1995-2006: Multiple legacy files (e.g. "EDUCPROF", "DADOSCURSO").

  • 2007-2024: Single file with all data (escola, matrícula, docente, turma).

  • 2025+: Data split into separate tables. Use file to select: "Escola" (default), "Matricula", "Docente", "Turma", "Gestor", "Curso_Tecnico". Non-escola tables lack CO_UF, so the uf filter does not apply to them.

uf

Optional. Filter by state (UF code or abbreviation).

n_max

Maximum number of rows to read. Default is Inf (all rows).

keep_zip

Logical. If TRUE, keeps the downloaded ZIP file in cache.

quiet

Logical. If TRUE, suppresses progress messages.

Value

A tibble with school data in tidy format.

Details

The School Census is the main statistical survey on basic education in Brazil. It collects data from all public and private schools offering basic education (early childhood, elementary, and high school).

Important notes:

  • The microdata contains one row per school (~217,000 schools in 2023).

  • Column names are standardized to lowercase with underscores.

  • Use the uf parameter to filter by state for faster processing.

  • Older years (1995-2006) contain multiple CSV files with different data. Use list_censo_files() to discover available files, then pass the desired file name to the file parameter.

Data dictionary

For detailed information about variables, see INEP's documentation: https://www.gov.br/inep/pt-br/acesso-a-informacao/dados-abertos/microdados/censo-escolar

See also

Other School Census functions: list_censo_files()

Examples

if (FALSE) { # \dontrun{
# get schools data for 2023
escolas <- get_censo_escolar(2023)

# get schools from Sao Paulo state only
escolas_sp <- get_censo_escolar(2023, uf = "SP")

# read only first 1000 rows for exploration
escolas_sample <- get_censo_escolar(2023, n_max = 1000)

# list available files for an older year
list_censo_files(1995)
# [1] "CENSOESC_1995.CSV" "DADOS_DESP_1995.CSV" "DADOSCURSO_1995.CSV"

# load a specific file from an older year
cursos <- get_censo_escolar(1995, file = "DADOSCURSO")

# 2025: data is split into separate tables
list_censo_files(2025)
escolas_2025 <- get_censo_escolar(2025)
matriculas_2025 <- get_censo_escolar(2025, file = "Matricula")
docentes_2025 <- get_censo_escolar(2025, file = "Docente")
turmas_2025 <- get_censo_escolar(2025, file = "Turma")
} # }