The latest articles on DEV Community by Statistics of the World (@sotwdata). https://dev.to/sotwdata https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3850211%2F20f49eac-920f-492b-bf0f-05f116e193ba.png https://dev.to/sotwdata en Statistics of the World Sun, 05 Apr 2026 17:15:38 +0000 https://dev.to/sotwdata/free-api-for-global-economic-data-gdp-population-inflation-for-218-countries-41b8 https://dev.to/sotwdata/free-api-for-global-economic-data-gdp-population-inflation-for-218-countries-41b8 <p>I built a free REST API that provides economic data for every country in the world. No API key required for basic usage. Here's how it works and why I built it.</p> <h2> The Problem </h2> <p>If you've ever tried to get GDP, population, or inflation data programmatically, you know the pain:</p> <ul> <li> <strong>World Bank API</strong> — works, but complex query syntax and XML responses</li> <li> <strong>IMF API</strong> — even more complex, poorly documented</li> <li> <strong>Trading Economics</strong> — paywalled ($50+/month)</li> <li> <strong>FRED</strong> — great for US data, but limited international coverage</li> </ul> <p>I wanted a single endpoint that returns clean JSON for any country, any indicator, with zero authentication.</p> <h2> The API </h2> <p><strong>Base URL:</strong> <code>https://statisticsoftheworld.com/api/v2</code></p> <h3> Get all indicators for a country </h3> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight shell"><code>curl https://statisticsoftheworld.com/api/v2/country/USA </code></pre> </div> <p>Returns GDP, population, inflation, unemployment, government debt, life expectancy, and 440+ more indicators — all in one call.</p> <h3> Get one indicator for all countries (rankings) </h3> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight shell"><code>curl https://statisticsoftheworld.com/api/v2/indicator/IMF.NGDPD </code></pre> </div> <p>Returns GDP for all 218 countries, sorted by value. Perfect for building rankings or visualizations.</p> <h3> Historical data </h3> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight shell"><code>curl https://statisticsoftheworld.com/api/v2/history?indicator<span class="o">=</span>IMF.NGDPD&amp;country<span class="o">=</span>USA </code></pre> </div> <p>Returns yearly GDP data for the US going back to 1980.</p> <h2> Data Sources </h2> <p>All data comes from official international organizations:</p> <ul> <li> <strong>IMF World Economic Outlook</strong> — GDP, inflation, unemployment, government debt (193 countries)</li> <li> <strong>World Bank WDI</strong> — 300+ development indicators (health, education, environment)</li> <li> <strong>WHO</strong> — Health indicators (life expectancy, mortality rates)</li> <li> <strong>FRED</strong> — US economic time series</li> <li> <strong>United Nations</strong> — Population, trade statistics</li> </ul> <p>Data is updated weekly as new releases become available.</p> <h2> No Auth, No Limits (almost) </h2> <ul> <li> <strong>No API key required</strong> for up to 100 requests/day</li> <li> <strong>Free API key</strong> available for 1,000 requests/day (just sign up)</li> <li>All responses are JSON</li> <li>CORS enabled — works directly from the browser</li> </ul> <h2> Use Cases </h2> <ul> <li>📊 Build data dashboards</li> <li>📈 Economic research and analysis</li> <li>🗺️ Country comparison tools</li> <li>📱 Mobile apps with global economic data</li> <li>🤖 Feed LLMs with structured economic context</li> </ul> <h2> Try It </h2> <ul> <li> <strong>API Docs:</strong> <a href="https://statisticsoftheworld.com/api-docs" rel="noopener noreferrer">statisticsoftheworld.com/api-docs</a> </li> <li> <strong>Interactive site:</strong> <a href="https://statisticsoftheworld.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">statisticsoftheworld.com</a> — browse 218 countries with charts, rankings, and comparisons</li> <li> <strong>Example:</strong> <a href="https://statisticsoftheworld.com/us-economy" rel="noopener noreferrer">US Economic Data</a> </li> </ul> <p>The full site includes interactive charts, country comparisons, ranking tables, and a 2026 economic snapshot report — all free.</p> <p>Would love feedback from anyone working with economic data. What indicators or features would be most useful for your projects?</p> api Statistics of the World Mon, 30 Mar 2026 00:09:01 +0000 https://dev.to/sotwdata/i-built-a-free-alternative-to-bloombergs-data-api-with-490-economic-indicators-27nb https://dev.to/sotwdata/i-built-a-free-alternative-to-bloombergs-data-api-with-490-economic-indicators-27nb <p>I'm an economist who got tired of paying for Bloomberg Terminal access just to look up GDP data. So I built <a href="https://statisticsoftheworld.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Statistics of the World</a> — a free platform with 490+ economic indicators for 218 countries, with a free REST API.</p> <h2> The Problem </h2> <p>If you've ever tried to programmatically access global economic data, you know the pain:</p> <ul> <li> <strong>Bloomberg Terminal</strong>: $24,000/year</li> <li> <strong>Refinitiv/LSEG</strong>: $22,000/year</li> <li> <strong>FRED API</strong>: Free but US-only</li> <li> <strong>World Bank API</strong>: Free but slow, limited indicators, XML responses</li> <li> <strong>IMF API</strong>: Exists but documentation is... an experience</li> </ul> <p>I wanted one place where I could <code>curl</code> GDP, inflation, trade data, stock prices, and commodity prices — for any country — without paying thousands or parsing XML.</p> <h2> What I Built </h2> <p><a href="https://statisticsoftheworld.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Statistics of the World</a> aggregates data from 6 sources into a single REST API:</p> <ul> <li> <strong>IMF</strong> — World Economic Outlook, International Financial Statistics</li> <li> <strong>World Bank</strong> — World Development Indicators (490+ indicators)</li> <li> <strong>FRED</strong> — US economic data</li> <li> <strong>Yahoo Finance</strong> — Real-time stock quotes, commodities, crypto</li> <li> <strong>ECB</strong> — Exchange rates</li> <li> <strong>Alpha Vantage</strong> — Market data</li> </ul> <h3> Quick API Examples </h3> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight shell"><code><span class="c"># GDP for all countries</span> curl https://statisticsoftheworld.com/api/v2/indicators/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD <span class="c"># All indicators for Canada</span> curl https://statisticsoftheworld.com/api/v2/countries/CAN <span class="c"># Live market quotes</span> curl https://statisticsoftheworld.com/api/v2/markets/quotes <span class="c"># Search for any indicator</span> curl https://statisticsoftheworld.com/api/v2/search?q<span class="o">=</span>unemployment </code></pre> </div> <p>The free tier gives you 100 requests/day — enough for most research and side projects.</p> <h2> Tech Stack </h2> <ul> <li> <strong>Next.js 16</strong> with React 19</li> <li> <strong>Supabase</strong> (PostgreSQL) for the database</li> <li> <strong>Python ETL pipeline</strong> — 49 cron jobs pulling data from all sources</li> <li> <strong>Coolify</strong> on a $5.59/mo Hetzner VPS (replaced $45/mo Vercel + GitHub Actions)</li> <li> <strong>Stripe</strong> for paid API tiers</li> </ul> <h2> Beyond the API </h2> <p>The site also has interactive features that I haven't seen elsewhere in one place:</p> <ul> <li> <strong>Heatmap</strong>: Compare any indicator across all countries visually</li> <li> <strong>Scatter plots</strong>: Plot any two indicators against each other (GDP vs. life expectancy, etc.)</li> <li> <strong>Country comparisons</strong>: Side-by-side economic profiles</li> <li> <strong>Economic calendar</strong>: Upcoming data releases with AI-powered actuals</li> <li> <strong>Credit ratings</strong>: Sovereign ratings from all major agencies</li> <li> <strong>Prediction markets</strong>: Polymarket integration for economic events</li> <li> <strong>MCP endpoint</strong>: For AI agents that need economic context</li> </ul> <h2> What's Next </h2> <p>I'm working on:</p> <ul> <li>Historical time series charts per country</li> <li>Webhook alerts when indicators update</li> <li>An OpenAPI spec for better developer tooling</li> </ul> <p>If you work with economic data, I'd love feedback. The API is free, no credit card required.</p> <p><strong>Try it</strong>: <a href="https://statisticsoftheworld.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">statisticsoftheworld.com</a><br> <strong>API docs</strong>: <a href="https://statisticsoftheworld.com/ai" rel="noopener noreferrer">statisticsoftheworld.com/ai</a><br> <strong>GitHub</strong>: <a href="https://github.com/dregon03/statisticsoftheworld" rel="noopener noreferrer">github.com/dregon03/statisticsoftheworld</a></p> api showdev opensource webdev