World Bank Has a Free API — GDP, Population, and Economic Data for Every Country

#api #python #data #tutorial

Need GDP data for 200+ countries? Population growth rates? Poverty statistics? Inflation trends?

The World Bank has been collecting economic data since 1960. And it is all available through a free API. No key. No signup.

What Data Is Available?

GDP, GNI, inflation for every country since 1960
Population, life expectancy, mortality rates
Education, literacy, school enrollment statistics
Trade, exports, imports data
Poverty headcount ratios
16,000+ indicators across 200+ countries

Quick Start

import requests

# GDP of the United States (last 5 years)
response = requests.get(
    "https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/US/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD",
    params={"format": "json", "per_page": 5, "date": "2019:2023"}
)

data = response.json()[1]
for entry in data:
    year = entry["date"]
    gdp = entry["value"]
    if gdp:
        print(f"{year}: ${gdp/1e12:.2f} trillion")

Output:

2023: $27.36 trillion
2022: $25.46 trillion
2021: $23.32 trillion
2020: $21.06 trillion
2019: $21.43 trillion

Compare Countries

countries = ["US", "CN", "IN", "DE", "JP"]
indicator = "NY.GDP.MKTP.CD"  # GDP

for code in countries:
    resp = requests.get(
        f"https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/{code}/indicator/{indicator}",
        params={"format": "json", "per_page": 1, "date": "2023"}
    )
    data = resp.json()[1]
    if data and data[0]["value"]:
        name = data[0]["country"]["value"]
        gdp = data[0]["value"]
        print(f"{name:>20}: ${gdp/1e12:.2f}T")

Population Trends

# World population over time
resp = requests.get(
    "https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/WLD/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL",
    params={"format": "json", "per_page": 10, "date": "2014:2023"}
)

for entry in sorted(resp.json()[1], key=lambda x: x["date"]):
    year = entry["date"]
    pop = entry["value"]
    if pop:
        bar = "#" * int(pop / 1e9)
        print(f"{year}: {pop/1e9:.2f}B {bar}")

Useful Indicators

Code	What it measures
NY.GDP.MKTP.CD	GDP (current US$)
SP.POP.TOTL	Total population
SP.DYN.LE00.IN	Life expectancy
SE.ADT.LITR.ZS	Literacy rate
FP.CPI.TOTL.ZG	Inflation (CPI)
SI.POV.DDAY	Poverty ($2.15/day)
SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS	Unemployment rate
NY.GDP.PCAP.CD	GDP per capita