Our World in Data
Our World in Data brings together statistics on poverty, health, energy, the environment, education, and dozens of other topics, then cleans and harmonises them into consistent, comparable series. Each topic pairs clear writing with interactive charts, and every figure traces back to its original source.
For builders, the practical appeal is the packaging: every chart can be downloaded as a ZIP holding the data as a CSV file, the metadata in JSON format, and a README explaining what you are looking at. The same data is reachable through an API, and everything is released under CC BY 4.0, so you can reuse it commercially with attribution.
Related sources
Eurostat
The statistical office of the European Union, providing official statistics for Europe. Covers the economy, population, environment, agriculture, trade, and more across EU member states, with harmonised figures that let you compare countries on a like-for-like basis.
IMF Data
A gateway to the IMF's global economic data, giving streamlined access to macroeconomic and financial statistics. Includes International Financial Statistics covering balance of payments, interest rates, national accounts, prices, production, trade, and population for more than 200 countries.
OECD Data
Reports, data, and publications on the economic, environmental, and social conditions in hundreds of countries. Includes International Development Statistics covering aid volume, origin, and types, plus the Creditor Reporting System with detailed information on individual aid activities.
SDMX (Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange)
An open standard for exchanging statistical data and metadata electronically, developed jointly by the BIS, ECB, Eurostat, IMF, OECD, UN, and World Bank. Not a dataset itself but the interchange format many statistical agencies use to publish their figures.