As an expert in web scraping and data extraction with over a decade of experience, I’ve seen firsthand the vast troves of data governmental agencies possess. From broad economic indicators to detailed education statistics, governments collect authoritative information across countless topics. But this data is often scattered across various websites, portals, and databases, making it challenging to access and analyze effectively.
This is where governmental APIs come in.
APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) serve as a bridge, enabling access to internal systems and allowing the exchange of information between organizations. For developers, researchers, businesses, and analysts like myself, governmental APIs unlock the ability to tap into these invaluable public data resources.
In this comprehensive guide, I’ll explore the top 5 use cases of governmental APIs with 13 example APIs you can leverage today. I’ll also share my insights on how analysts can tap into these resources based on my expertise in data extraction.
The Power of Governmental APIs
To understand the value of governmental APIs, it helps to first recognize the vast data resources governments possess. In the United States alone, there are over 50 major federal agencies that produce and leverage data, from the Census Bureau to the EPA. Governments also invest significant resources into collecting authoritative information on topics that impact society, dedicating over $80 billion annually in the US.
However, this data is often fragmented across agencies and programs, trapped in internal silos. Governmental APIs serve as the key that unlocks these silos.
APIs enable direct, structured access to internal government data in a consistent, controlled manner. This opens up tremendous possibilities for developers, researchers, businesses, and analysts to leverage this high-value data.
Let‘s explore the top 5 use cases of governmental APIs and 13 specific examples you can access today.
1. Education
Education is a major focus of government agencies. In the US, over 50 million students enroll in elementary through high school each year, with 20 million students in colleges and universities.
To administer and manage this massive system, various government entities like the Department of Education and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) gather extensive data on all facets of education. Governmental education APIs aggregate and deliver these rich data resources.
Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC)
The CRDC API provides insightful data gathered from over 17,000 school districts including:
- Advanced placement (AP) course participation
- Incidents of bullying and harassment
- SAT/ACT assessment participation
This enables analysis into equity issues across schools. For instance, the API data could uncover disparities in AP course access for minority students.
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
The NCES API delivers a wealth of longitudinal data on topics like:
-Enrollment and graduation rates
-Public and private school numbers
-Teacher statistics
Researchers can use this API to analyze historical changes and future projections for these key education data points.
College Scorecard
The College Scorecard API provides access to the most comprehensive dataset on US colleges, including:
- Location data
- Cost of attendance trends (Tuition grew ~40% from 07-08 to 17-18)
- Graduation rates (6-year graduation rate average is 65.7%)
- Post-graduation median earnings
Developers have leveraged this API to build insightful tools like the PyBylls package for Python. Businesses can use the API to target graduated candidates by institution and salary data.
Urban Institute Education Data Portal
The Urban Institute Education API provides a single API to harmonize and query dozens of education datasets from sources like:
- National Student Loan Data System
- Stanford Education Data Archive
- Civil Rights Data Collection
This powerful API enables joining disparate education data sources to conduct multifaceted analysis.
Key Benefits
Education APIs unlock the ability to:
- Conduct broad analysis across institutions and demographics.
- Build tools and applications using authoritative, aggregated data.
- Gain insights into equity, access, outcomes, and other education topics.
- Inform decisions using comprehensive, timely education data.
2. Regulation
Staying abreast of new and changing regulations is crucial but complex for businesses and analysts. Fortunately, government agencies provide APIs that streamline regulatory tracking and analysis.
For instance, over 3,000 federal regulations are issued each year, while over one million users visit Regulations.gov annually to track regulation changes. Government regulatory APIs enable programmatic access to these resources.
Regulations.gov API
The Regulations.gov API enables users to search, retrieve, and analyze:
- Comments on proposed rules
- Details of public regulatory dockets
- Full regulatory documents
The API delivers structured regulatory data that can inform decision making and automate tracking.
FTC Early Termination Notices API
Certain large mergers and acquisitions require government approval through the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) process. The FTC Early Termination Notices API provides real-time data on whether proposed deals receive early termination approval.
Businesses can leverage this API to monitor regulatory risk exposure associated with M&A deals. The API is updated daily, enabling rapid insights.
FTC Do Not Call Registry Data API
The FTC Do Not Call API delivers data on consumer complaints about robocalls and violations of the Do Not Call registry.
Analysts can tap into this API to identify trends in unwanted calls, develop consumer protection tools, and more.
Key Benefits
Regulatory APIs enable users to:
- Automate daily regulatory monitoring with real-time, structured data.
- Gain insights into regulatory trends and actions.
- Inform business decisions by staying atop changing regulations.
- Develop tools and applications to improve regulatory transparency.
3. Trade & Commerce
Governments closely track and analyze data on trade, GDP, and economic indicators. For businesses seeking to monitor trends and identify opportunities, trade and commerce APIs deliver invaluable data.
BEA API
The BEA API from the Bureau of Economic Analysis provides time series data on topics like:
- GDP by state and industry
- International trade in goods and services
- Foreign direct investment data
The API enables customized reports and analysis on economic trends.
Census Foreign Trade API
The Census Foreign Trade API delivers monthly and yearly U.S. import and export data including:
- Commodity classifications
- Countries of origin/destination
- State exports data
Businesses can analyze trade flows and emerging trade partners through this API.
BLS Data API
The BLS Data API from the Bureau of Labor Statistics provides access to consumer and producer price index data, employment statistics, and other indicators.
Developers can leverage this API to build economic dashboard tools while analysts can retrieve authoritative trend data.
Key Benefits
Trade and commerce APIs enable users to:
- Monitor economic trends with timely trade, GDP, and jobs data.
- Inform business decisions using authoritative commerce and trade statistics.
- Build analytical tools and dashboards powered by harmonized economic data.
- Conduct customized analysis into specific indicators, regions, and business sectors.
4. Healthcare
Government healthcare agencies aggregate extensive data to monitor public health, track outcomes, regulate industries, and more. Healthcare APIs provide access to these vital datasets.
However, it‘s crucial healthcare APIs undergo rigorous testing and security given the sensitive nature of the data. As an API testing expert, I recommend combining automated tools like Testifi PULSE with manual testing and external audits to ensure robust validation.
FDA APIs
The FDA offers APIs to tap into data on:
- Food – Food recalls, facility inspections, product labeling
- Drugs – Drug recalls, label info, adverse events
- Devices – Device registration, recalls, approvals
These APIs aid analysis into product safety, drug efficacy, monitoring adverse events, and more.
CDC Public Health Data API
The CDC Public Health Data API enables access to datasets on:
- Emergency department visits
- Hospital inpatient stays
- Prescription drug monitoring
Researchers can analyze treatment patterns, demographics, and outcomes through this API.
HHS Tools & Resources API
The HHS Tools & Resources API delivers consumer-focused health articles and tools the government has reviewed for accuracy and actionability.
Developers can integrate this content through the API into health sites and applications.
Key Benefits
Healthcare APIs empower users to:
- Conduct healthcare research and analysis with robust data.
- Develop apps and tools to improve care and outcomes.
- Aggregate disparate data sources to gain holistic insights.
- Monitor emerging health trends and risks with timely data.
- Enhance healthcare products and services using government data.
5. Energy
Tracking energy production, consumption, and emerging technologies is crucial for governments, businesses, and researchers alike. Government agencies collect expansive data in these areas and provide APIs for access.
For instance, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) alone takes over 900,000 readings daily across the energy industry. Energy APIs deliver a data portal into these rich resources.
EIA APIs
The EIA APIs enable access to dozens of datasets and hundreds of time series covering topics like:
- Petroleum and natural gas statistics
- Renewable energy generation
- Electricity generation by energy source
- Residential vs commercial energy consumption patterns
Researchers, energy companies, and analysts can all derive value from the broad data offerings through these APIs.
NREL Renewable Resource Data Center
The NREL Resource Data API delivers solar and meteorological data curated by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), including:
- Global horizontal solar irradiance data
- Direct normal irradiance covering over 100,000 locations
- Gridded meteorological data
Developers can leverage this API to build solar energy tools and analysis products.
Key Benefits
Energy APIs empower users to:
- Conduct detailed energy research and analysis powered by robust datasets.
- Develop energy tools and products with access to authoritative data through APIs.
- Gain market intelligence into technology adoption, consumption shifts, and more.
- Optimize energy operations with data-driven insight into demands, capacity, and other dynamics.
Unlocking the Vast Potential of Government Data
As this analysis illustrates, government agencies collect expansive high-value data spanning education, healthcare, trade, energy, regulations, and more. However, extracting insights from this data has historically been difficult given the fragmented data resources.
Governmental APIs are the key that unlocks these vast data stores.
By delivering structured programmatic access, governmental APIs empower developers, researchers, businesses, and analysts to tap into authoritative public data. This opens up the potential to extract powerful insights, make data-driven decisions, provide transparency, and improve society.
While this guide covered 5 top use cases and 13 governmental APIs available today, hundreds of additional public APIs exist at federal, state, and local levels.
As an expert in data extraction and analytics, I highly encourage analysts and developers to continue exploring the possibilities with governmental APIs. The opportunities to innovate, conduct research, inform decisions, and build public-minded tools are tremendous.