M
API Matrix

Country API

⭐ Beginner's Pick Geocoding / No Auth Required Beginner HTTPS CORS
Free to Use Varies (check documentation)
92 Score
Grade A+
Visit Official Site Compare Alternatives

Overview

Country.is is a simple, free API that detects a visitor's country based on their IP address. It returns a two-letter country code in milliseconds with no authentication required. It is ideal for beginners who need basic IP geolocation without setting up complex libraries.

💡

Beginner Tip

When testing locally, the API will return a loopback or private network result; deploy to a real server to see accurate country detection. You can also pass any IP as a query parameter: http://country.is/8.8.8.8.

Available Data

country name and code
population
capital city
region and subregion
flag image URL
IP address information

Example Response

JSON Response 
{
  "name": "Japan",
  "capital": "Tokyo",
  "population": 125800000,
  "region": "Asia",
  "languages": [
    "Japanese"
  ],
  "flag": "https://flagcdn.com/jp.svg",
  "currencies": [
    {
      "code": "JPY",
      "name": "Japanese yen"
    }
  ]
}

Field Reference

ip The IP address that was queried, either from the caller or the one specified in the URL path.
country Two-letter ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code (e.g., "US", "DE", "JP") corresponding to the IP address.

Implementation Example 

const url = "http://country.is/";
const response = await fetch(url);
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${response.status}`);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

What Can You Build?

Note: These code examples are AI-generated and unverified. Always refer to the official API documentation for accurate usage.

Common Errors & Troubleshooting

Returns "ZZ" or empty country code The IP address is private, reserved, or not in the geolocation database.
✓ Use a real public IP address. Local development will always return a private IP; test with a specific IP like /8.8.8.8.
CORS error in browser Some browser security policies block requests to HTTP (non-HTTPS) endpoints.
✓ Make the request from your server-side code rather than directly from the browser, or use a proxy.
Incorrect country detected IP geolocation databases are not 100% accurate, especially for VPNs and proxies.
✓ This is expected behavior. For critical use cases, use a more accurate paid geolocation service.

Matrix Score Breakdown

🌐 Reachability 30/30
⚡ Speed 20/20
🔒 Security 15/15
🛠 Developer XP 20/20
✓ Reliability 7/15
Response Time 47ms

Fully tested on Apr 5, 2026

Technical Specifications

Auth No Auth
HTTPS REQUIRED
CORS YES
Category Geocoding
Difficulty Beginner
Verified: 2026-04-04

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