mcp-worldbank

# World Bank — Development Indicators and Country Data

The World Bank Open Data API. Thousands of development, economic, social, and demographic indicators for every country. Time series going back decades. The canonical source for cross-country comparisons of poverty, education, health, gender, environment, infrastructure. Free, no auth.

Part of [Pipeworx](https://pipeworx.io) — an MCP gateway connecting AI agents to 1684+ live data sources.

## Why this matters for AI agents

For development questions, cross-country comparisons of social indicators, or any "how does country X compare on indicator Y" question, the World Bank's database is the right starting point. Complements [IMF](/docs/reference/imf) (macro/fiscal) with development-specific coverage (WDI, EdStats, GenderStats, etc.).

Common flows:

- **Indicator lookup.** "GDP per capita PPP for India" → World Bank indicator `NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD` for India.
- **Country comparison.** Same indicator across multiple countries.
- **Theme browsing.** Education indicators, health indicators, environment indicators, etc.

## Auth

None. World Bank Open Data is fully public, free.

## Indicator code structure

World Bank indicator codes follow a domain.theme.metric pattern:

| Code | Indicator |
|---|---|
| `NY.GDP.MKTP.CD` | GDP (current US$) |
| `NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD` | GDP per capita, PPP (current intl $) |
| `SP.POP.TOTL` | Total population |
| `SE.PRM.ENRR` | Primary school enrollment, gross % |
| `EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS` | Access to electricity, % of population |
| `SI.POV.GINI` | Gini index |
| `EN.ATM.CO2E.PC` | CO2 emissions per capita |

Search the catalog when you don't know the code.

## Country and country-group codes

World Bank uses ISO 3-letter codes (USA, BRA, IND) plus aggregate codes:

- `WLD` — World
- `EUU` — European Union
- `LMC` — Lower middle income
- `OED` — OECD members
- `SSA` — Sub-Saharan Africa

Aggregate codes are useful for "how does X compare to its peer group?" questions.

## Common pitfalls

- **Indicator deprecation.** World Bank periodically retires/replaces indicators. The API marks deprecated ones; prefer current ones for new analysis.
- **Coverage gaps.** Not every country reports every indicator every year. The API returns nulls for missing data. Compute aggregates carefully.
- **Vintages.** Indicator values can be revised. Cite the vintage if precision matters.
- **Real vs nominal.** Many financial indicators come in both nominal (current dollars) and real (constant dollars). The `.CD` suffix is current dollars; `.KD` is constant.
- **PPP vs market exchange rate.** Cross-country GDP comparison should use PPP for most "how rich is X" questions; market rates for "what does X export" questions.
- **Data freshness.** World Bank consolidates from member-country reporting; lag varies. Most recent year for many indicators is 1–2 years prior. Check data availability before promising "current."

## Quick Start

Add to your MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.):

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "worldbank": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/worldbank/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

### What this endpoint actually serves

`tools/list` at `https://gateway.pipeworx.io/worldbank/mcp` returns the tools in the table
above **plus the shared Pipeworx meta-tools** — `ask_pipeworx`,
`discover_tools`, `search_within`, `remember`/`recall` and the rest of the
gateway-wide set. So the tool count you see is larger than this table: a
single-pack endpoint currently lists roughly 30 shared tools alongside the
pack's own. The connection's `initialize` response states its exact scope, and
is the authoritative answer for a given day.

This is deliberate, not multiplexing by accident. The meta-tools are what let a
scoped connection answer a question this pack does not cover — via
`ask_pipeworx`, which routes across the whole catalog — without you adding a
second MCP server. There is currently no way to mount a pack endpoint without
them; if the extra schemas cost you more context than the routing is worth,
connect to the full gateway once rather than to several pack endpoints.

Or connect to the full Pipeworx gateway to get every pack's tools listed
directly, instead of just this one's:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pipeworx": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

Both URLs reach the same gateway and the same 1684+ data sources. The
only difference is which pack's tools are listed **directly**; `ask_pipeworx`
reaches all of them from either one.

## No MCP client? Call it over HTTP

```bash
curl -X POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/worldbank_get_country \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"country_code":"US"}'
```

No account needed for the first calls. Inspect any tool: `GET https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/worldbank_get_country`. Find one: `POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/search_packs` with `{"query":"..."}`.

## Standalone (no gateway account)

This package also runs as a local stdio MCP server — no Pipeworx account, no
gateway round-trip:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "worldbank": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@pipeworx/mcp-worldbank"]
    }
  }
}
```

Or run it directly to confirm it starts:

```bash
npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-worldbank
```

It speaks MCP over stdin/stdout and answers `initialize`/`tools/list`/`tools/call`
for **only** this pack's tools — none of the shared meta-tools the gateway
connection above adds. Same source, same tools, no ask_pipeworx routing.

## Using with ask_pipeworx

Instead of calling tools directly, you can ask questions in plain English —
this works on the pack endpoint above as well as on the full gateway:

```
ask_pipeworx({ question: "your question about Worldbank data" })
```

The gateway picks the right tool and fills the arguments automatically.

## More

- [Docs and guides](https://pipeworx.io/docs)
- [pipeworx.io](https://pipeworx.io)

## License

MIT