World Bank Open Data API

Base URL

https://api.worldbank.org/v2

Authentication

No API key required. The API is fully open.

Key Endpoints

1. Get Indicator Data for a Country

GET /country/{country_code}/indicator/{indicator_code}

Example (GDP for USA, 2015-2023):

https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/US/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?format=json&date=2015:2023

Example (most recent 5 values):

https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/US/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?format=json&MRV=5

2. Get Indicator Data for Multiple Countries

GET /country/{code1};{code2};{code3}/indicator/{indicator_code}

Example:

https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/US;GB;CN;IN/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?format=json&date=2020:2023

3. Get Indicator Data for All Countries

GET /country/all/indicator/{indicator_code}

Example:

https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/all/indicator/SI.POV.DDAY?format=json&date=2020&per_page=300

4. Get Indicator Data by Region/Income Group

GET /country/{aggregate_code}/indicator/{indicator_code}

Aggregate codes: EAS (East Asia), ECS (Europe & Central Asia), LIC (Low Income), HIC (High Income), WLD (World), etc.

Example:

https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/WLD/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?format=json&date=2020:2023

5. List All Countries

GET /country

Example:

https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country?format=json&per_page=300

6. Get Country Info

GET /country/{country_code}

Example:

https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/US?format=json

7. List All Indicators

GET /indicator

Example:

https://api.worldbank.org/v2/indicator?format=json&per_page=100

8. Search Indicators

GET /indicator

Use the query string directly in the URL path or filter by topic/source.

By topic:

https://api.worldbank.org/v2/topic/3/indicator?format=json

By source:

https://api.worldbank.org/v2/source/2/indicator?format=json&per_page=50

9. List Topics

GET /topic

Example:

https://api.worldbank.org/v2/topic?format=json

10. List Sources

GET /source

Example:

https://api.worldbank.org/v2/source?format=json

Common Indicator Codes

Common Country Codes (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2)

US (USA), GB (UK), CN (China), IN (India), JP (Japan), DE (Germany), FR (France), BR (Brazil), ZA (South Africa), NG (Nigeria), AU (Australia), CA (Canada)

Response Format

Important: JSON responses are returned as a two-element array. The first element is pagination metadata; the second is the data array.

Indicator observations

[
  {
    "page": 1,
    "pages": 1,
    "per_page": 50,
    "total": 9,
    "sourceid": "2",
    "lastupdated": "2024-03-28"
  },
  [
    {
      "indicator": {
        "id": "NY.GDP.MKTP.CD",
        "value": "GDP (current US$)"
      },
      "country": {
        "id": "US",
        "value": "United States"
      },
      "countryiso3code": "USA",
      "date": "2023",
      "value": 27360935000000,
      "unit": "",
      "obs_status": "",
      "decimal": 0
    },
    {
      "indicator": { "id": "NY.GDP.MKTP.CD", "value": "GDP (current US$)" },
      "country": { "id": "US", "value": "United States" },
      "countryiso3code": "USA",
      "date": "2022",
      "value": 25462700000000,
      "unit": "",
      "obs_status": "",
      "decimal": 0
    }
  ]
]

Note: value is null when data is unavailable for that year.

Country info

[
  { "page": 1, "pages": 1, "per_page": 50, "total": 1 },
  [
    {
      "id": "USA",
      "iso2Code": "US",
      "name": "United States",
      "region": { "id": "NAC", "iso2code": "XU", "value": "North America" },
      "adminregion": { "id": "", "iso2code": "", "value": "" },
      "incomeLevel": { "id": "HIC", "iso2code": "XD", "value": "High income" },
      "lendingType": { "id": "LNX", "iso2code": "XX", "value": "Not classified" },
      "capitalCity": "Washington D.C.",
      "longitude": "-77.032",
      "latitude": "38.8895"
    }
  ]
]

Rate Limits

• No formal rate limits published; the API is open and generous.
• For bulk downloads, use per_page=32500 to minimize requests.
• Be respectful: 1-2 requests/second for automated scripts.
• For very large datasets, consider the World Bank bulk download facility.

Notes

• Always include format=json -- the default is XML.
• Results are returned in descending date order by default.
• null values are common for recent years (data not yet published) or for indicators with sparse coverage.
• Pagination: check pages in the metadata; iterate page=1, page=2, etc.
• Country codes follow ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 (2-letter) in the URL path. The response also includes countryiso3code.