The move towards more open data, both in government and business, seems to be gaining steam around the world. As a long-time user of the World Development Indicators (WDI), I was impressed when the World Bank (WB) decided to open up their data repository to the world and started the Apps for Development challenge to [...]

Had some very welcome interest in the openfisheries.org project from a PhD student at UC Davis, Carl Boettiger. Due to this interest I’ve pushed out some decent updates to the data API, so now you can download fishery landings data either globally, by country, or by species group in the familiar JSON format. Ever since [...]

A very good case for open data is made by David Eaves on his personal website. David recounts a story where a consultant who was hired to analyze charitable giving in Toronto stumbled upon something he didn’t expect; donations to illegal charities were rampant in the Toronto area and had gone un-noticed by the Canada [...]

Today the World Bank opened up its large repository of international data for everyone. According to the World Bank, they have opened up more than 2,000 indicators to be downloaded in various formats including Excel, CSV, XML, and SDMX. Among the databases currently available are: World Development Indicators African Development Indicators Education Statistics Additionally, the [...]