countries-states-cities-database
Provides a global dataset of countries, states/regions, and cities (including ISO codes, names, coordinates, and timezones for countries) distributed as downloadable files and via an associated REST API ecosystem. Exports are available in many formats (e.g., JSON, CSV, SQL/MySQL/PostgreSQL, SQLite, MongoDB, XML, YAML, GeoJSON, and TOON).
Score Breakdown
⚙ Agent Friendliness
🔒 Security
Direct dataset downloads and offline packages reduce credential risk. However, the supplied content does not describe REST API authentication details, scopes/authorization model, or rate-limit headers; thus auth and operational security cannot be fully validated. TLS requirement is not explicitly stated in the provided README.
⚡ Reliability
Best When
You need a large, regularly updated reference dataset across multiple formats, or you need quick integration through ready-to-use client packages/export downloads.
Avoid When
You require transactional correctness of “current” administrative boundaries or live data; treat this as reference data that may lag behind real-world changes.
Use Cases
- • Populate applications with normalized geographic hierarchy (country → state/region → city)
- • Offline ingestion into databases via SQL/SQLite/MySQL/PostgreSQL/MongoDB dumps
- • Geocoding-like UI dropdowns (countries/states/cities) and validation of user inputs
- • Analytics/GIS pipelines using GeoJSON and coordinate fields
- • LLM-friendly context formatting using TOON
- • Building administrative tools that need consistent geographic reference data
Not For
- • Authoritative real-time location search/geocoding beyond the static dataset
- • Systems requiring strict provenance/audit trails beyond the published dataset updates
- • Use as a live reference source without ensuring you keep dataset/API versions updated
Interface
Authentication
The README notes the REST API exists and references docs/playground, but it does not describe authentication method details or scopes. It also describes free tier/credits for API/export tools, implying some form of access control or quota may apply, but specifics are not provided in the supplied content.
Pricing
README states REST API has a 'free tier + paid' model and export tool is 'free + credits', but it does not provide concrete pricing/limits in the supplied content.
Agent Metadata
Known Gotchas
- ⚠ The provided content does not specify REST error formats, retry/backoff guidance, pagination behavior, or idempotency guarantees; these may exist in the referenced API docs/OpenAPI but are not present in the supplied text.
- ⚠ Large exports are served from GitHub Releases (not committed to git); agents must handle download/extraction correctly (e.g., .gz).
Alternatives
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Scores are editorial opinions as of 2026-03-29.