list_popular_indicators
Discover commonly requested World Bank indicators across demographics, economy, health, education, and other categories to identify relevant data for analysis without manual searching.
Instructions
Get a curated list of popular World Bank indicators.
This tool helps users discover commonly requested indicators without searching.
Perfect for getting started or exploring what data is available.
Categories included:
- Demographics: Population, growth rate, density, fertility
- Economy: GDP, GDP per capita, growth, inflation, trade
- Health: Life expectancy, mortality rates (infant, under-5, maternal)
- Education: Literacy rates, school enrollment
- Labor: Unemployment, labor force participation, employment ratios
- Poverty & Inequality: Poverty rates, Gini index, income distribution
- Environment: Greenhouse gas emissions, forest area, renewable energy
- Infrastructure: Electricity access, water, sanitation
- Technology: Internet usage, mobile subscriptions, broadband
Returns: List of 38 curated indicators with codes, names, descriptions, and categories.
Usage: Browse the list, pick an indicator code, then use search_datasets
to find the exact database ID before retrieving data.
Input Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
No arguments | |||
Output Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
No arguments | |||
Implementation Reference
- src/world_bank_mcp/server.py:529-579 (handler)Handler function for the 'list_popular_indicators' tool. Loads popular indicators from JSON, groups by category, and returns structured response. Registered via @server.tool() decorator.
@server.tool() def list_popular_indicators() -> dict[str, Any]: """Get a curated list of popular World Bank indicators. This tool helps users discover commonly requested indicators without searching. Perfect for getting started or exploring what data is available. Categories included: - Demographics: Population, growth rate, density, fertility - Economy: GDP, GDP per capita, growth, inflation, trade - Health: Life expectancy, mortality rates (infant, under-5, maternal) - Education: Literacy rates, school enrollment - Labor: Unemployment, labor force participation, employment ratios - Poverty & Inequality: Poverty rates, Gini index, income distribution - Environment: Greenhouse gas emissions, forest area, renewable energy - Infrastructure: Electricity access, water, sanitation - Technology: Internet usage, mobile subscriptions, broadband Returns: List of 38 curated indicators with codes, names, descriptions, and categories. Usage: Browse the list, pick an indicator code, then use search_datasets to find the exact database ID before retrieving data. """ indicators = load_popular_indicators() if not indicators: return { "success": False, "error": "Popular indicators file not found. Please ensure popular_indicators.json exists." } # Group by category for better organization by_category = {} for ind in indicators: category = ind.get("category", "Other") if category not in by_category: by_category[category] = [] by_category[category].append({ "code": ind["code"], "name": ind["name"], "description": ind["description"][:150] + "..." if len(ind["description"]) > 150 else ind["description"] }) return { "success": True, "total_indicators": len(indicators), "categories": list(by_category.keys()), "indicators_by_category": by_category, "note": "These are the most commonly requested indicators. Use search_local_indicators for more specific searches." } - src/world_bank_mcp/server.py:276-291 (helper)Helper function that loads and caches the popular indicators data from the local JSON file 'popular_indicators.json'.
def load_popular_indicators() -> list[dict[str, Any]]: """Load curated popular indicators from JSON file (cached)""" global _popular_cache if _popular_cache is None: popular_path = Path(__file__).parent / "popular_indicators.json" try: with open(popular_path, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f: data = json.load(f) _popular_cache = data["indicators"] except Exception as e: # Return empty list if file not found or error _popular_cache = [] return _popular_cache