API Documentation

Free REST API for China's official government statistics. No authentication required.

Base URL

https://chinadata.live/api/v2

Get Dataset

GET /data/:dataset_id

Returns metadata and all data points for a specific dataset.

Example Request

curl https://chinadata.live/api/v2/data/gdp

Example Response

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "id": "gdp",
    "slug": "gdp",
    "title": "China GDP",
    "category": "Economy",
    "description": "China's gross domestic product (GDP) in current USD",
    "source": "World Bank, National Bureau of Statistics",
    "unit": "Billion USD",
    "frequency": "yearly",
    "tags": ["economy", "gdp", "growth"],
    "isComparison": false,
    "data": [
      { "date": "1990", "value": 360.86 },
      { "date": "2000", "value": 1211.35 },
      { "date": "2023", "value": 17794.78 }
    ]
  }
}

Python

import requests

response = requests.get('https://chinadata.live/api/v2/data/gdp')
dataset = response.json()['data']

print(f"Dataset: {dataset['title']}")
print(f"Unit: {dataset['unit']}")
for point in dataset['data'][-5:]:  # last 5 years
    print(f"  {point['date']}: {point['value']}")

Python + pandas

import requests
import pandas as pd

response = requests.get('https://chinadata.live/api/v2/data/gdp')
dataset = response.json()['data']

df = pd.DataFrame(dataset['data'])
df['date'] = pd.to_numeric(df['date'])
df['value'] = pd.to_numeric(df['value'])
df = df.set_index('date')

print(df.tail(10))
# df.plot(title=dataset['title'])

JavaScript / Node.js

const res = await fetch('https://chinadata.live/api/v2/data/gdp');
const { data } = await res.json();

console.log(data.title, data.unit);
data.data.slice(-5).forEach(({ date, value }) => {
  console.log(`${date}: ${value}`);
});

List All Datasets

GET /datasets

Returns a list of all available datasets with metadata (no data points).

Example Request

curl https://chinadata.live/api/v2/datasets

Example Response

{
  "success": true,
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "gdp",
      "slug": "gdp",
      "title": "China GDP",
      "category": "Economy",
      "description": "China's gross domestic product (GDP) in current USD",
      "unit": "Billion USD",
      "frequency": "yearly",
      "tags": ["economy", "gdp"]
    },
    ...
  ]
}

Python — fetch all datasets

import requests

response = requests.get('https://chinadata.live/api/v2/datasets')
datasets = response.json()['data']

print(f"Total datasets: {len(datasets)}")
for ds in datasets:
    print(f"  {ds['id']:30s} {ds['category']}")

JavaScript

const res = await fetch('https://chinadata.live/api/v2/datasets');
const { data } = await res.json();

const economy = data.filter(ds => ds.category === 'Economy');
console.log('Economy datasets:', economy.map(ds => ds.id));

FAQ

Do I need an API key?

No. The API is completely free and requires no authentication or registration.

Is there a rate limit?

We recommend keeping requests under 100/minute for fair use. No hard limit enforced.

What response format is used?

All endpoints return JSON. Dates are strings (e.g. "2023"), values are numbers.

Can I download raw CSV data?

Yes — visit any dataset page and click the Download button, or use the dataset page URL with /download.

Ready to Start?

No sign-up. No API key. Just fetch and use.

Browse Datasets More Examples

Need higher limits or custom data?

Commercial API access, bulk exports, custom datasets, and dedicated support available.

Contact Us →
💬 Need custom data?