Query the Data Commons knowledge graph using SPARQL

Returns the results of running a graph query on the Data Commons knowledge graph using SPARQL. Note that Data Commons is only able to support a limited subsection of SPARQL functionality at this time: specifically only the keywords ORDER BY, DISTINCT, and LIMIT.

General information about this endpoint

URL: /query

Methods available: POST

Required arguments:

sparql: A SPARQL query string.

How to construct a request to the SPARQL query endpoint

Step 1: Assembling the information you will need

This endpoint makes it possible to query the Data Commons knowledge graph using SPARQL. SPARQL is a query language developed to retrieve data from RDF graph content on the web. It leverages the graph structure innate in the data it queries to return specific information to an end user.

Step 2: Creating the request

Since only the POST method is available for this endpoint, you will need to assemble the request in the form of a JSON object adhering to the following form:

{"sparql": "<query>"}

Here <query> denotes the SPARQL query string. For more information on assembling SPARQL queries, check out the Wikipedia page about SPARQL and the W3C specification information.

NOTE:

In the query, each variable should have a typeOf condition, e.g. "?var typeOf City .".

What to expect in the response

A correct response will always look like this:

{
  "header": [
    <String>
  ],
  "rows": [
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": <String>
        }
      ]
    },
    ...
  ]
}

The response contains two fields, header and rows, as well as a cell object.

NOTES:

The value of header is an array of strings corresponding to the query variables.
The value of rows is an array of row objects, with each containing a cells object of an array of cells.
The cell object has a string field value corresponding to the queried variable.

Example Requests and Responses

Example 1. Retrieve the name of the state associated with DCID geoId/06.

This endpoint does not support GET requests.

curl -X POST 'https://api.datacommons.org/query' \
-d '{"sparql": "SELECT ?name \
                WHERE { \
                  ?state typeOf State . \
                  ?state dcid geoId/06 . \
                  ?state name ?name \
                }"}'

Response

{
  "header": [
    "?name"
  ],
  "rows": [
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "California"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Example 2. Retrieve a list of ten biological specimens in reverse alphabetical order.

This endpoint does not support GET requests.

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.datacommons.org/query \
  --header 'content-type: application/json' \
  --data '{
	"sparql": "SELECT ?name \
                WHERE { \
                  ?biologicalSpecimen typeOf BiologicalSpecimen . \
                  ?biologicalSpecimen name ?name
                }
                ORDER BY DESC(?name)
                LIMIT 10"
}'

Response

{
  "header": [
    "?name"
  ],
  "rows": [
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "x Triticosecale"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "x Silene"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "x Silene"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "x Silene"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "x Pseudelymus saxicola (Scribn. & J.G.Sm.) Barkworth & D.R.Dewey"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "x Pseudelymus saxicola (Scribn. & J.G.Sm.) Barkworth & D.R.Dewey"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "x Pseudelymus saxicola (Scribn. & J.G.Sm.) Barkworth & D.R.Dewey"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "x Pseudelymus saxicola (Scribn. & J.G.Sm.) Barkworth & D.R.Dewey"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "x Pseudelymus saxicola (Scribn. & J.G.Sm.) Barkworth & D.R.Dewey"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "x Pseudelymus saxicola (Scribn. & J.G.Sm.) Barkworth & D.R.Dewey"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Example 3. Retrieve a list of GNI observations by country.

This endpoint does not support GET requests.

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.datacommons.org/query \
  --header 'content-type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "sparql": "SELECT ?observation ?place \
              WHERE { \
                ?observation typeOf StatVarObservation . \
                ?observation variableMeasured Amount_EconomicActivity_GrossNationalIncome_PurchasingPowerParity_PerCapita . \
                ?observation observationAbout ?place . \
                ?place typeOf Country .\
              } \
              ORDER BY ASC (?place) \
              LIMIT 10"
  }'

Response

{
  "header": [
    "?observation",
    "?place"
  ],
  "rows": [
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "dc/o/5h86g14fj2fr8"
        },
        {
          "value": "country/ABW"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "dc/o/kg6pryqvbgd78"
        },
        {
          "value": "country/ABW"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "dc/o/7gzjqhbwpekd6"
        },
        {
          "value": "country/ABW"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "dc/o/fw0bk0ekyt94d"
        },
        {
          "value": "country/ABW"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "dc/o/rksjr0spfsq83"
        },
        {
          "value": "country/ABW"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "dc/o/7thj4d54jeb6h"
        },
        {
          "value": "country/ABW"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "dc/o/pgym0z20p7v05"
        },
        {
          "value": "country/ABW"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "dc/o/h1c0f24b48132"
        },
        {
          "value": "country/ABW"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "dc/o/q86f2x7n069w7"
        },
        {
          "value": "country/ABW"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "dc/o/wv0lv3mfgdvh4"
        },
        {
          "value": "country/ABW"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Example 4. Retrieve a sample list of observations with the unit InternationalDollar.

This endpoint does not support GET requests.

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.datacommons.org/query \
  --header 'content-type: application/json' \
  --data '{
  "sparql": "SELECT ?observation \
             WHERE { \
               ?observation typeOf StatVarObservation . \
               ?observation unit InternationalDollar \
             } \
            LIMIT 10"
  }'

Response

{
  "header": [
    "?observation"
  ],
  "rows": [
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "dc/o/fyxy1y8s0g7n"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "dc/o/xmvxcs7e22ycd"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "dc/o/f2hrq42xh10sf"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "dc/o/b8pb4n9qy3x3f"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "dc/o/2klbr8pjf06m6"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "dc/o/y1cmgcsdp2ywd"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "dc/o/1ypyy54edxbv6"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "dc/o/105gnls2e1ng9"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "dc/o/y1z2jv1y644q5"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "dc/o/wqdjmf2vhgx75"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Example 5. Retrieve a list of ten distinct yearly estimates of life expectancy for forty-seven-year-old Hungarians.

This endpoint does not support GET requests.

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.datacommons.org/query \
  --header 'content-type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "sparql": "SELECT DISTINCT ?LifeExpectancy \
              WHERE { \
                ?o typeOf StatVarObservation .\
                ?o variableMeasured LifeExpectancy_Person_47Years .\
                ?o observationAbout country/HUN .\
                ?o value ?LifeExpectancy
              }
              ORDER BY ASC(?LifeExpectancy)
              LIMIT 10"
  }'

Response

{
  "header": [
    "?LifeExpectancy"
  ],
  "rows": [
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "26.4"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "26.5"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "26.7"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "26.8"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "26.9"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "27.2"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "27.4"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "27.5"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "28.1"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "cells": [
        {
          "value": "28.3"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Error Responses

If there are no values for your query, you won’t receive an error code. Instead, the endpoint will return only the headers you sent, with no accompanying value information.

If your JSON body is formatted improperly, you will receive a 400 error and an error message like the following:

{
  "code": 3,
  "message": "Node should be string, got [StatisticalPopulation ?o typeOf StatVarObservation] of type []string",
  "details": [
    {
      "@type": "type.googleapis.com/google.rpc.DebugInfo",
      "stackEntries": [],
      "detail": "internal"
    }
  ]
}

If your SPARQL query is constructed incorrectly, you will receive a 500 error and an error message like the following:

{
  "code": 2,
  "message": "googleapi: Error 400: Unrecognized name: count; Did you mean unit? at [1:389], invalidQuery",
  "details": [
    {
      "@type": "type.googleapis.com/google.rpc.DebugInfo",
      "stackEntries": [],
      "detail": "internal"
    }
  ]
}

Page last updated: December 23, 2024 • Send feedback about this page