About this API
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) is the official source of cross-nationally comparable data on education, science and technology, innovation, and culture and communication. The public API exposes more than 4,000 indicators straight from the UIS Data Browser: you request values by indicator code and three-letter country code (ISO3), optionally bounded by a year range, and the response is plain JSON. Separate endpoints return the list of data versions, indicator definitions, and the geo-unit dictionary. The data is published under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an API key?
No. The API is fully public and free — no registration, no key required.
What data does this API return?
Values of UNESCO statistical indicators — education, science and technology, innovation, and culture — returned as a time series for a chosen indicator and country (ISO3 code), in JSON. Lists of data versions, indicator definitions, and the geo-unit dictionary are also available.
Can this API be called directly from a browser?
Yes — the API returns a CORS header allowing calls from any domain, so it works directly from frontend code (hence the live "Try it" button above).
Who runs this API?
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) — UNESCO's specialised statistical agency, based in Montreal. Full documentation is available at api.uis.unesco.org.