Open Government, Belgium API

Free to Use Varies (check documentation)

Overview

The Open Government Belgium API provides free access to Belgian federal government datasets, covering areas including economy, environment, mobility, and social statistics. No API key is required, and the portal uses the standard CKAN API interface. Data is available in multiple languages reflecting Belgium's multilingual nature (French, Dutch, German).

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Beginner Tip

Belgium's data portal supports CKAN's package_search endpoint; try filtering by organization using the fq=organization:NAME parameter to find datasets from a specific Belgian federal agency.

Available Data

Use case: Integrate belgium government open data data into web and mobile applications
Open Government, Belgium data via REST API
JSON-formatted response data
Freely accessible without authentication

Example Response

JSON Response
{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "result": "Data from Open Government, Belgium",
    "description": "Belgium Government Open Data",
    "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:00:00Z"
  }
}

Field Reference

success True when the API call completed without errors.
result The main response payload containing search results or dataset details.
count Number of datasets matching the search query.
title Dataset title; may be a multilingual object with fr/nl/de keys.
resources Links to the actual data files or APIs for the dataset.
organization The Belgian government body responsible for publishing the dataset.

Implementation Example

const url = "https://data.gov.be/";
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

Multilingual field confusion Dataset metadata fields like title and description may appear as objects with language keys rather than plain strings.
Parse the response carefully and select the language key you need (e.g., result.title.fr for French).
404 on resource download The data file URL stored in the resource may be outdated.
Visit the dataset page on data.gov.be to confirm the current download URL.
No results for English keywords Dataset titles are often in French or Dutch only.
Try equivalent French (mobilite, environnement) or Dutch (mobiliteit, milieu) keywords in your search query.

Matrix Score Breakdown

🌐 Reachability 15/30
⚡ Speed 15/20
🔒 Security 15/15
🛠 Developer XP 15/20
✓ Reliability 7/15
Response Time 285ms

Fully tested on Apr 5, 2026

Technical Specifications

Auth No Auth
HTTPS REQUIRED
CORS UNKNOWN
Category Government
Difficulty Beginner
Verified: 2026-04-04

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