wbdata
A library to access World Bank data
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you need World Bank data in Python. Install friction is low, maintenance is active, and the package is stable. The GPL-2.0+ copyleft license is the main constraint—acceptable for open-source or research work, but review if your project is proprietary or uses a different license. No known vulnerabilities.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.10 or later; World Bank API endpoint availability.
- Low friction install with eight common dependencies (requests, pandas-adjacent tools, caching utilities).
- Actively maintained as of July 2026 with stable production status.
License · maintenance · safety
GPL-2.0+ (copyleft) — GPL-2.0+ copyleft license requires derivative works and distributions to be licensed under GPL-2.0 or later; review if integrating into proprietary or differently-licensed projects.
last release 2025-10-05 (313 days) · last repo commit 2026-07-27 · 211 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 4,801,995 downloads/mo, #2,225 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install wbdata
import wbdata
data = wbdata.get_dataframe({"NY.GDP.MKTP.CD": None}, convert_date=False)- Whether the package handles World Bank API rate limits or authentication transparently.
- Current coverage of World Bank API endpoints relative to the full API surface.
- Performance characteristics when retrieving large datasets or many indicators.
What it is and what it does
Wbdata is a Python wrapper around the World Bank's public data APIs, designed to simplify querying economic and development indicators without direct HTTP calls. It abstracts the World Bank's REST endpoints and returns results in multiple formats—raw dictionaries for full metadata, or pandas DataFrames and series for analysis-ready data. The package includes convenience functions for searching indicators and countries, plus caching and retry logic via its dependencies (backoff, cachetools, shelved-cache).
Typical use is exploratory data retrieval: fetch GDP, inflation, population, or other World Bank indicators for one or more countries and time periods, then work with the result in pandas or export it. The package targets researchers, economists, and data analysts who need World Bank data without building API clients from scratch. It has been in active development since 2012 and is marked production-stable.
Use it for
- Retrieve World Bank economic indicators (GDP, inflation, employment) for a country or region into a pandas DataFrame for analysis.
- Search World Bank indicator metadata to find the correct indicator codes before querying data.
- Fetch time-series development data for multiple countries to compare trends or build datasets for econometric modeling.
- Automate periodic data pulls from World Bank APIs for dashboards or reports without writing HTTP logic.
- Export World Bank indicators to CSV or other formats via pandas after retrieval.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you need World Bank data in Python.
Install friction is low, maintenance is active, and the package is stable. The GPL-2.0+ copyleft license is the main constraint—acceptable for open-source or research work, but review if your project is proprietary or uses a different license. No known vulnerabilities.
Install
wbdata on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction install with eight common dependencies (requests, pandas-adjacent tools, caching utilities). Actively maintained as of July 2026 with stable production status.
Requires Python 3.10 or later; World Bank API endpoint availability.
License in practice
GPL-2.0+ copyleft license requires derivative works and distributions to be licensed under GPL-2.0 or later; review if integrating into proprietary or differently-licensed projects.
Quickstart
pip install wbdata
import wbdata
data = wbdata.get_dataframe({"NY.GDP.MKTP.CD": None}, convert_date=False)Verify before relying
- Whether the package handles World Bank API rate limits or authentication transparently.
- Current coverage of World Bank API endpoints relative to the full API surface.
- Performance characteristics when retrieving large datasets or many indicators.
Package facts
| License | GPL-2.0+ copyleft |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release <4,>=3.10 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 8 packagesappdirsbackoffcachetoolsdateparserdecoratorrequestsshelved-cachetabulate |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 313 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 4,801,995 / month, #2,225 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableIntended Audience :: Science/ResearchOperating System :: OS IndependentTopic :: Scientific/EngineeringTyping :: Typed |
Evidence: wbdata-1.1.0-py3-none-any.whl
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