This article explores the connection between indicators and international law. It maps the pathways of interaction between these two technologies of governance, sometimes complementing, sometimes in competition with each other. The text explores the challenges arising from the use of indicators in the context of global governance, and focuses on a specific challenge: Beyond the standard critique that frames indicators as the result of a neoliberal agenda, or implausible simplifications of complex realities, this article argues that, as their use increases, indicators have become veritable political spaces, in which different political agendas collide and strive to achieve the quantitative expression of values, interests and ideologies.