The IBGE is making available to society a CD ROM called "Base Estatcart de Informações Municipais 2003" [2003 Estatcart Municipal Information Database], that gathers information from several sources, about each one of the 5,560 municipal districts in Brazil.

Gathering, in the same CD, information about education, health, political participation, public finances, transport, medical-sanitary assistance, civil registries, among other themes, withdrawn from the databases of the IBGE and from the Electoral Superior Court (TSE), Central Bank (BACEN), Secretariat of the National Treasury (STN), DENATRAN, DATASUS and INEP, this new Municipal Information Database may be of great use for public administrators, journalists and researchers in general, in becoming acquainted with the national reality.

Through the CD ROM, one may access, for example, data about the number of deaths for different causes, available hospital equipment, banking institutions, companies, automobiles, motorcycles, schools, enrollments, teachers, weddings, divorces, etc.., in any Brazilian municipal district.

The theme of Public Finances, for example, has 42 items, that include budget information for incurred revenues and expenses, such as charged taxes and fees, intergovernmental transfers, investments, personnel payment and even the value of the Municipal District Participation Fund. In this theme, the data refers to 2002, but the CD includes data for 2000, from the census and the TSE; as from 2001, in the case of the business structure of municipal districts; of 2002, in the case of Public Finances and farming and medical—sanitary assistance statistics, or of 2003, in the case of data from Denatran, the Central Bank and from DATASUS, which is the database of the Public Health System.

There are 735 selected variables in all among the 15 themes and sub-themes that the Municipal Information Database covers. The CD ROM is already available in the IBGE’s online store at the portal www.ibge.com.br and, in the near future, in agencies and bookstores of the IBGE in all Federal Units.