aid: rest-countries
name: REST Countries
kind: opensource
description: >-
  REST Countries is a free, open-source RESTful API that returns rich country
  reference data — ISO 3166-1 codes (cca2, cca3, ccn3, cioc), common/official
  and native names, translations, capitals, regions and subregions, continents,
  currencies, languages, calling codes, top-level domains, timezones, geographic
  coordinates, borders, area, population, demonyms, flags and coats of arms,
  postal code formats, Gini index, FIFA code, independence and UN membership
  status, driving side, and start of week. The canonical hosted instance runs at
  restcountries.com (v3.1) and the source is community-maintained at
  github.com/apilayer/restcountries (mirror of gitlab.com/restcountries/restcountries),
  licensed under MPL-2.0. The hosted API is unauthenticated and free; for
  production use the project encourages self-hosting from source.
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/rest-countries/main/apis.yml
image: https://kinlane-productions2.s3.amazonaws.com/apis-json-icons/rest-countries.png
type: Index
access: Public
position: Provider
tags:
  - Countries
  - Geocoding
  - Geography
  - ISO 3166
  - Open Source
  - Public APIs
  - Reference Data
  - Currencies
  - Languages
  - Capitals
  - Regions
  - Subregions
  - Translations
created: '2026-05-28'
modified: '2026-05-29'
specificationVersion: '0.20'
apis:
  - aid: rest-countries:rest-countries
    name: REST Countries
    description: >-
      Free, unauthenticated, read-only REST API for country reference data.
      Provides endpoints for bulk listing and for lookups by name, ISO alpha
      code (cca2/cca3/ccn3/cioc), currency, language, capital, region,
      subregion, translation, demonym, and independence status. Response
      payloads can be trimmed with the `fields` query parameter (required on
      `/all`).
    humanURL: https://restcountries.com
    baseURL: https://restcountries.com/v3.1
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://restcountries.com
      - type: GitHubRepository
        url: https://github.com/apilayer/restcountries
      - type: SourceRepository
        url: https://gitlab.com/restcountries/restcountries
      - type: OpenAPI
        url: openapi/rest-countries-openapi.yml
      - type: JSONSchema
        url: json-schema/rest-countries-country-schema.json
      - type: JSONStructure
        url: json-structure/rest-countries-country-structure.json
      - type: JSON-LD
        url: json-ld/rest-countries-context.jsonld
      - type: Example
        url: examples/rest-countries-country-example.json
      - type: Example
        url: examples/rest-countries-by-region-example.json
      - type: NaftikoCapability
        url: capabilities/rest-countries-lookup.yaml
      - type: Plans
        url: plans/rest-countries-plans-pricing.yml
      - type: RateLimits
        url: rate-limits/rest-countries-rate-limits.yml
    tags:
      - Countries
      - Geography
      - ISO 3166
      - Reference Data
      - REST
common:
  - type: Website
    url: https://restcountries.com
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://restcountries.com
  - type: GitHubRepository
    url: https://github.com/apilayer/restcountries
  - type: SourceRepository
    url: https://gitlab.com/restcountries/restcountries
  - type: Mirror
    url: https://github.com/restcountries/restcountries
  - type: License
    url: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/MPL/2.0/
  - type: SpectralRules
    url: rules/rest-countries-rules.yml
  - type: Vocabulary
    url: vocabulary/rest-countries-vocabulary.yml
features:
  - name: Bulk Country Listing
    description: Retrieve the complete country dataset via `/all` with a required `fields` selector.
  - name: Multi-Key Lookups
    description: Search by name, ISO 3166-1 alpha-2/alpha-3/numeric/CIOC code, currency, language, capital, region, subregion, translation, demonym, or independence status.
  - name: Sparse Fieldsets
    description: Use the `fields` query parameter to request only the fields you need (up to 10), shrinking payload size.
  - name: Rich Country Metadata
    description: Each country exposes 30+ fields including flags, coat of arms, IDD calling codes, postal code regex, Gini index, FIFA code, timezones, driving side, and start of week.
  - name: Image Assets
    description: PNG and SVG flag and coat of arms images plus Unicode flag emoji are served directly in the payload.
  - name: Map Service Links
    description: Each country includes deep links to Google Maps and OpenStreetMap.
  - name: Open Source
    description: Mozilla Public License 2.0; the full Java/Maven source is available on GitHub and GitLab for self-hosting.
useCases:
  - name: Country Dropdowns and Selectors
    description: Populate UI country pickers with localized names, flags, and ISO codes.
  - name: Address and Postal Validation
    description: Validate postal codes against per-country format and regex patterns.
  - name: Phone Number Country Detection
    description: Match international dialing prefixes to country names and flags.
  - name: Currency and Language Reference
    description: Resolve ISO 4217 currency codes and ISO 639 language codes against country metadata.
  - name: Geographic Filtering
    description: Group countries by UN region, subregion, or continent for reporting and segmentation.
  - name: Educational and Trivia Apps
    description: Drive quizzes, learning content, and atlases with structured country data.
  - name: Data Enrichment
    description: Enrich CRM, analytics, and logistics records with consistent country reference data.
integrations:
  - name: Java SDK
    description: Reference Java client embedded in the upstream Maven project.
  - name: Community SDKs
    description: Community-published clients exist for JavaScript, Python, PHP, Ruby, Go, and Swift; none are official.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com