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Making data access easier

FAOSTAT launches a new application programming interface (API) developer portal

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13/04/2026
FAOSTAT is one of the Organization’s flagship corporate platforms and the world’s largest statistical database on food and agriculture. It provides free access to high‑quality data covering more than 245 countries and territories, across all FAO regions, from 1961 to the most recent year available. 

To make this wealth of data even more accessible and interoperable, FAOSTAT has launched a new API developer portal. The portal offers a suite of tools and APIs that enable seamless access to FAO’s extensive food and agriculture datasets. Developers can explore detailed documentation, sample queries, and data visualisation examples, making it easier to integrate FAOSTAT data into applications, research projects and analytical workflows. 

What the FAOSTAT API offers 

Through the API developer portal, users can: 

  • Access all FAOSTAT domains through a single, consistent interface 
  • Filter data by area, item, element, year and more dimensions 
  • Access metadata and dimension codes  
  • Use the query builder to easily import the data into Microsoft Excel 
  • Access related resources, including release calendars, food balance sheets and analytical reports 
  • Download machine‑readable outputs in multiple formats, such as JSON and CSV 
The FAOSTAT API developer portal opens up new possibilities for how data can be used and shared. With API access, users can automate data extraction, build reproducible analytical pipelines, integrate FAOSTAT data into dashboards and power external tools and applications.  

As Mario Triani (FAO Statistics Division) notes, “No more manual downloads or tracking data updates: as a complement to querying the web interface, the FAOSTAT API provides real-time access to up-to-date data and functionalities, enabling reproducible workflows with your tools of choice and marking a step forward in modernising FAOSTAT.” 

By making FAOSTAT data easier to integrate, the API developer portal helps ensure that global food and agriculture statistics are not only accessible but also actionable.  

Visit the FAOSTAT and start exploring the new API developer portal today. 

 

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