FAO FAOSTAT Data API

openapi: 3.0.3
info:
  title: FAOSTAT Bulk Download Catalog Data API
  description: The FAOSTAT Bulk Download API enables retrieval of complete FAOSTAT datasets as compressed CSV archives. Users can browse the dataset catalog to discover available datasets for any FAOSTAT domain, along with last-updated dates and direct download URLs for the zipped CSV files. No authentication is required.
  version: 1.0.0
  contact:
    name: FAOSTAT Support
    email: faostat@fao.org
    url: https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data
  license:
    name: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO
    url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo/
  termsOfService: https://www.fao.org/contact-us/terms/en/
servers:
- url: https://bulks-faostat.fao.org/production
  description: FAOSTAT Bulk Download Production Server
tags:
- name: Data
  description: Operations for retrieving FAOSTAT statistical data
paths:
  /{lang}/data/{domain}:
    get:
      tags:
      - Data
      operationId: getDomainData
      summary: Query data from a FAOSTAT domain
      description: Retrieves statistical data records from a specific FAOSTAT domain. Multiple filter values can be comma-separated. Returns JSON or CSV depending on output_type. When no filters are provided, returns all data for the domain (may be large).
      parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/lang'
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/domain'
      - name: area
        in: query
        description: Comma-separated area codes (country/region codes, e.g. 5 for China). Use dimension endpoint to discover valid codes.
        schema:
          type: string
        example: 5,106
      - name: item
        in: query
        description: Comma-separated item codes (commodity codes, e.g. 15 for Wheat). Use dimension endpoint to discover valid codes.
        schema:
          type: string
        example: 15,27
      - name: element
        in: query
        description: Comma-separated element codes (statistical measure codes, e.g. 5510 for Area harvested). Use dimension endpoint to discover valid codes.
        schema:
          type: string
        example: 5510,5312
      - name: year
        in: query
        description: Comma-separated year values (e.g. 2020,2021,2022). Supports range notation.
        schema:
          type: string
        example: 2020,2021
      - name: year_start
        in: query
        description: Start year for a date range filter (inclusive).
        schema:
          type: integer
          minimum: 1961
        example: 2000
      - name: year_end
        in: query
        description: End year for a date range filter (inclusive).
        schema:
          type: integer
          minimum: 1961
        example: 2022
      - name: area_cs
        in: query
        description: 'Area code system to use: FAO (default) or ISO2, ISO3, M49.'
        schema:
          type: string
          enum:
          - FAO
          - ISO2
          - ISO3
          - M49
          default: FAO
      - name: item_cs
        in: query
        description: 'Item code system to use: FAO (default) or CPC.'
        schema:
          type: string
          enum:
          - FAO
          - CPC
          default: FAO
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/output_type'
      - name: null_values
        in: query
        description: Include null/missing values in the response (true or false).
        schema:
          type: boolean
          default: false
      - name: show_codes
        in: query
        description: Include dimension codes alongside labels in response (true or false).
        schema:
          type: boolean
          default: true
      - name: show_unit
        in: query
        description: Include unit of measurement in response (true or false).
        schema:
          type: boolean
          default: true
      - name: show_flags
        in: query
        description: Include data quality flags in response (true or false).
        schema:
          type: boolean
          default: true
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Successful data response
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/DataResponse'
            text/csv:
              schema:
                type: string
                description: CSV-formatted data (when output_type=csv)
        '400':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/BadRequest'
        '404':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/NotFound'
        '500':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/InternalServerError'
components:
  parameters:
    domain:
      name: domain
      in: path
      required: true
      description: FAOSTAT domain code (e.g. QCL for Crops and livestock products, TM for Trade, RL for Land Use)
      schema:
        type: string
      example: QCL
    output_type:
      name: output_type
      in: query
      description: 'Response format: objects (default, JSON array of objects) or arrays (JSON array of arrays) or csv (CSV text)'
      schema:
        type: string
        enum:
        - objects
        - arrays
        - csv
        default: objects
    lang:
      name: lang
      in: path
      required: true
      description: Response language code (en=English, es=Spanish, fr=French, ar=Arabic, zh=Chinese, ru=Russian)
      schema:
        type: string
        enum:
        - en
        - es
        - fr
        - ar
        - zh
        - ru
        default: en
  responses:
    NotFound:
      description: Domain or resource not found
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
    InternalServerError:
      description: Internal server error
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
    BadRequest:
      description: Bad request — invalid parameters
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
  schemas:
    DataResponse:
      type: object
      properties:
        data:
          type: array
          items:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/DataRecord'
    ErrorResponse:
      type: object
      properties:
        error:
          type: string
          description: Error message
        code:
          type: integer
          description: Error code
    DataRecord:
      type: object
      description: A single FAOSTAT statistical observation
      properties:
        Area Code:
          type: integer
          description: FAO numeric area code
          example: 5
        Area Code (M49):
          type: string
          description: M49 area code
          example: '156'
        Area:
          type: string
          description: Area name
          example: China
        Item Code:
          type: integer
          description: FAO item code
          example: 15
        Item Code (CPC):
          type: string
          description: CPC item code
          example: '0111'
        Item:
          type: string
          description: Item name
          example: Wheat
        Element Code:
          type: integer
          description: Element code
          example: 5510
        Element:
          type: string
          description: Element name (statistical measure)
          example: Area harvested
        Year Code:
          type: integer
          description: Numeric year code
          example: 2020
        Year:
          type: integer
          description: Reference year
          example: 2020
        Unit:
          type: string
          description: Unit of measurement
          example: ha
        Value:
          type: number
          nullable: true
          description: Observed statistical value
          example: 23400000
        Flag:
          type: string
          description: Data quality/source flag code
          example: A
        Flag Description:
          type: string
          description: Human-readable description of the flag
          example: Official figure
        Note:
          type: string
          nullable: true
          description: Additional notes for the observation
externalDocs:
  description: FAOSTAT Data Download Page
  url: https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data