---
license: cc-by-4.0
language:
  - en
tags:
  - geography
  - countries
  - world-data
  - geospatial
  - population
  - demographics
size_categories:
  - n<1K
task_categories:
  - tabular-classification
  - feature-extraction
pretty_name: World Countries Dataset 2026
---

# World Countries Dataset 2026

Structured dataset of **261 countries and territories** with population, area, geographic region, coordinates, and ISO codes.

## Dataset Description

- **Source:** [Bamwor](https://bamwor.com) — aggregated from CIA World Factbook, United Nations, World Bank
- **Records:** 261 countries and territories
- **Format:** CSV and Parquet
- **Languages:** English (names only — full multilingual data via API)
- **License:** CC BY 4.0
- **Last Updated:** March 2026

## Fields

| Column | Type | Description |
|--------|------|-------------|
| name | string | Country name (English) |
| slug | string | URL-friendly identifier |
| iso_code | string | ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code |
| region | string | Geographic region (e.g. "Europe", "South America") |
| population | int | Total population |
| area_sq_km | int | Total area in square kilometers |
| latitude | float | Center latitude |
| longitude | float | Center longitude |
| category | string | "country" or "territory" |

## Usage

```python
from datasets import load_dataset

ds = load_dataset("bamwor/world-countries")
df = ds["train"].to_pandas()

# Top 10 most populous countries
print(df.nlargest(10, "population")[["name", "population", "region"]])
```

## What's NOT included (available via API)

The free dataset provides basic identification and location data. The following are available through the [Bamwor API](https://bamwor.com/en/developers):

- 20+ statistics per country (GDP, HDI, life expectancy, literacy, etc.)
- Multilingual names (English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian)
- Multilingual URL slugs
- Country sections (detailed text descriptions)
- Resources and external links
- City data (13.4M cities — see [bamwor/world-cities](https://huggingface.co/datasets/bamwor/world-cities))

## Full Data Access

- **REST API:** [bamwor.com/developers](https://bamwor.com/en/developers) — free tier: 1,000 requests/day
- **MCP Server:** [bamwor-mcp-server](https://npmjs.com/package/bamwor-mcp-server) — AI agent integration for Claude Desktop, Cursor, and more
- **GitHub:** [bamwor-dev/bamwor-mcp-server](https://github.com/bamwor-dev/bamwor-mcp-server)

## Citation

```bibtex
@misc{bamwor2026countries,
  title={World Countries Dataset 2026},
  author={Bamwor},
  year={2026},
  url={https://bamwor.com},
  note={Aggregated from CIA World Factbook, UN, World Bank}
}
```