World Bank CLI 🌐

World Bank CLI based on World Bank Open Data API, which provides query capabilities for global economic and social development data.

Features

• List countries with optional region and income-level filters
• Look up detailed metadata for a specific country
• Search indicators by keyword
• Query time-series data for a country and indicator
• Use friendly indicator aliases such as GDP, POPULATION, and LIFE_EXPECTANCY
• Show the latest available observation with --latest
• List supported World Bank income-level codes directly in the terminal
• List supported World Bank region codes directly in the terminal
• Output either readable tables or raw JSON
• Export list and time-series output as CSV

Installation

Install globally with npm

npm install -g @tianyuio/worldbank-cli
wb help

Run instantly with npx

npx @tianyuio/worldbank-cli help

Usage

wb countries [--region REGION] [--income-level LEVEL] [--limit N] [--json] [--format table|csv|json]
wb country <country-code> [--json]
wb indicators <keyword> [--limit N] [--json] [--format table|csv|json]
wb data <country-code> <indicator> [--years N] [--latest] [--json] [--format table|csv|json]
wb income-levels [--json] [--format table|csv|json]
wb regions [--json] [--format table|csv|json]
wb aliases

Examples

wb countries --limit 10
wb countries --region EAS --limit 20
wb country CN
wb indicators literacy
wb data US GDP --latest
wb data US GDP --years 5 --format csv
wb income-levels
wb regions
wb data IN SP.POP.TOTL --json
wb aliases

Commands

wb countries

List countries from the World Bank API.

Options:

• --region <code>: Filter by region code
• --income-level <code>: Filter by income level code
• --limit <n>: Limit the number of returned rows
• --json: Print raw JSON instead of a table
• --format <type>: Print as table, csv, or json

wb country <country-code>

Show country metadata such as region, income level, capital city, and coordinates.

Examples:

wb country US
wb country BR --json

wb indicators <keyword>

Search for matching indicators.

Examples:

wb indicators gdp
wb indicators "life expectancy"
wb indicators gdp --format csv

wb data <country-code> <indicator>

Query time-series indicator data for a country.

The <indicator> argument accepts either:

• A friendly alias like GDP, GDP_GROWTH, POPULATION, or LIFE_EXPECTANCY
• A raw World Bank indicator id like SP.POP.TOTL

Options:

• --years <n>: Number of years to fetch, default 10
• --latest: Return only the latest available observation
• --json: Print raw JSON instead of a table
• --format <type>: Print as table, csv, or json

Examples:

wb data CN GDP --years 10
wb data US GDP --latest
wb data US GDP --years 5 --format csv
wb data KE LIFE_EXPECTANCY
wb data DE NY.GDP.PCAP.CD

wb income-levels

List the common World Bank income-level codes used by the wb countries --income-level ... filter.

Examples:

wb income-levels
wb income-levels --format csv

wb regions

List the common World Bank region codes used by the wb countries --region ... filter.

Examples:

wb regions
wb regions --format csv

wb aliases

Print the built-in alias table for common indicators.

Supported Indicators

Economic Indicators

| Indicator Code | Description | Unit | |---------|------|------| | GDP | Gross Domestic Product | Current US$ | | GDP_GROWTH | GDP growth rate | Annual % | | GDP_PER_CAPITA | GDP per capita | Current US$ | | GNI | Gross National Income | Current US$ | | GNI_PER_CAPITA | GNI per capita | Current US$ | | EXPORTS_GDP | Exports of goods and services | % of GDP | | FDI_NET | Foreign direct investment, net inflows | Current US$ | | INFLATION | Inflation rate | Annual % | | UNEMPLOYMENT | Unemployment rate | % of total labor force |

Social Indicators

| Indicator Code | Description | Unit | |---------|------|------| | POPULATION | Population, total | People | | LIFE_EXPECTANCY | Life expectancy at birth | Years | | BIRTH_RATE | Birth rate | per 1,000 people | | DEATH_RATE | Death rate | per 1,000 people | | INTERNET_USERS | Internet users | % of population |

Education Indicators

| Indicator Code | Description | Unit | |---------|------|------| | LITERACY_RATE | Literacy rate | % of people ages 15 and above | | SCHOOL_ENROLLMENT | School enrollment, primary | % gross | | SCHOOL_COMPLETION | Primary completion rate | % of relevant age group | | TEACHERS_PRIMARY | Teachers in primary education | Count | | EDUCATION_EXPENDITURE | Government expenditure on education | % of GDP |

Health and Nutrition Indicators

| Indicator Code | Description | Unit | |---------|------|------| | HEALTH_EXPENDITURE | Current health expenditure | % of GDP | | PHYSICIANS | Physicians | per 1,000 people | | HOSPITAL_BEDS | Hospital beds | per 1,000 people | | IMMUNIZATION | Immunization, measles | % of children ages 12-23 months | | HIV_PREVALENCE | Prevalence of HIV | % of population ages 15-49 | | MALNUTRITION | Prevalence of undernourishment | % of population | | TUBERCULOSIS | Incidence of tuberculosis | per 100,000 people |

Common Country Codes

| Country | Code | Country | Code | |------|------|------|------| | China | CN | United States | US | | Japan | JP | Germany | DE | | United Kingdom | GB | France | FR | | India | IN | Brazil | BR | | Russia | RU | Australia | AU |

Project Structure

worldbank-cli/
├── src/
│   ├── cli.js         # CLI entry point
│   ├── format.js      # Table and JSON output helpers
│   └── worldbank.js   # World Bank API client and indicator aliases
├── test/
│   └── basic.test.js  # Basic tests
├── package.json       # Package configuration
├── README.md          # Documentation
└── LICENSE            # MIT license

Technology Stack

• Node.js - Runtime environment
• Native Fetch API - HTTP requests to the World Bank API
• Node Test Runner - Built-in test framework
• Plain JavaScript (ES Modules) - Lightweight CLI implementation without external runtime dependencies

API Endpoints

This project uses the World Bank Open Data API:

• Base URL: https://api.worldbank.org/v2
• Country data: /country
• Country details: /country/{code}
• Indicator catalog: /indicator
• Country indicator data: /country/{code}/indicator/{id}

Development

Run locally

node ./src/cli.js help

Install globally from a local checkout

npm install -g .
wb help

Run tests:

npm test

Run the CLI directly:

node ./src/cli.js help

Notes

• The CLI uses the public World Bank Open Data API at https://api.worldbank.org/v2
• API availability and response completeness depend on the World Bank service
• Some indicators have missing values for recent years, so the CLI filters out null observations

License

MIT