5 Free Data APIs Every AI Developer Should Bookmark in 2026

Building AI agents that need real-world data? Here are 5 authoritative, free APIs you should know about — plus a bonus tool that helps you discover them all. 1. 🌍 World Bank Open Data API What: GDP, population, poverty, education indicators for 200+ countries API: https://api.worldbank.org/v2/ Format: JSON/XML Rate limit: None (public) # Get China GDP (current USD) curl "https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/CN/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?format=json&date=2020:2024" Perfect for: economic analysis, country comparisons, development research. 2. 📊 IMF Data API What: World Economic Outlook, Balance of Payments, financial statistics API: https://dataservices.imf.org/REST/SDMX_JSON.svc/ Format: JSON (SDMX) Rate limit: Reasonable # Get available datasets curl "https://dataservices.imf.org/REST/SDMX_JSON.svc/Dataflow" Perfect for: macroeconomic forecasting, financial modeling, policy analysis. 3. 🏥 WHO Global Health Observatory API What: Health indicators, disease statistics, mortality data for 19