Gis: TRADING ECONOMICS | GIS API

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Trading Economics exposes its entire dataset as geospatial layers through the OGC API – Features standard. Every data point is delivered as a GeoJSON feature anchored to a country polygon or centroid, so you can load it directly into QGIS, ArcGIS Pro, or any OGC-compliant client — no conversion, no middleware. A single URL gives you live, queryable, styleable layers ready for choropleth mapping (see GDP Growth Map), labeling, or temporal animation alongside your existing spatial data.

Endpoints: Indicators | Markets | FRED | COMTRADE

Clients: QGIS | ArcGIS | Proxy

Gis: TRADING ECONOMICS | QGIS

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

QGIS is a free, open-source desktop GIS application that lets you load, visualize, edit, and analyze spatial data from virtually any source — files, databases, web services, or live APIs. Download the Long term Release QGIS Desktop 3.40 LTR

Before you start: Make sure to authenticate via Authentication Proxy .

Accessing Data In QGIS

Trading Economics exposes its data through the OGC API – Features standard, which QGIS supports natively. There are two ways to connect: browsing all available collections through an OGC connection, or loading a specific filtered dataset directly via URL. Use Method 1 to explore what’s available; use Method 2 when you already know the exact endpoint and filters you need.

Method 1 — OGC API Connection

This creates a persistent connection in QGIS that lists every Trading Economics collection. You can browse, preview, and add layers without memorising endpoint URLs.

Layer → Add Layer → Add WFS/OGC API – Features Layer…
Click New and set:
- Name: Trading Economics GIS
- URL: http://localhost:8080/gis
Click OK → Connect.
Select a collection from the list → Add.

Method 2 — Vector Layer (direct URL with filters)

Use this when you want to load a specific filtered dataset. You can append any query parameters from the Indicators, Markets, Federal Reserves, or Comtrade endpoint pages directly in the URL.

Layer → Add Layer → Add Vector Layer…
Source type: Protocol: HTTP(S), cloud, etc. → Protocol: HTTP/HTTPS/FTP
Paste the full URL → Add:

http://localhost:8080/gis/collections/indicators/gdp/items?countries=China,Germany

Styling Examples

Once a Trading Economics layer is loaded, QGIS renders it with a default single-colour fill. The sections below show how to turn the raw data into meaningful visualisations

1. Choropleth Map

A choropleth map shades each country or region according to its indicator value, making it easy to spot patterns at a glance — for example, which countries have the highest GDP or the steepest inflation.

Right-click layer → Properties → Symbology → Graduated
Set Value to the indicator field (e.g. gdp_value, inflation_rate_value, bond_yield)
Choose a color ramp (e.g. yellow→red for intensity, green→red for good/bad)
Set Mode to Natural Breaks (Jenks), choose number of classes → Classify → OK

Example Project

The map below was created by loading US state GDP data directly into ArcGIS Pro from the FRED States endpoint and applying a graduated color scheme.

http://localhost:8080/gis/collections/fred/states/indicators/gdp/items

2. Trade Flow Line Width (data-driven)

Comtrade trade-flow layers are rendered as lines connecting exporter and importer countries. Scaling line width by trade value makes major trade corridors stand out immediately.

Symbology → click the Line symbol → Data defined override next to Stroke width → Assistant…
Configure:
- Source: trade_value
- Values from: click Fetch value range from layer
- Size from: 0.1 to 1.5 mm
- Scale method: Exponential, Exponent: 0.52
Click OK

3. Temporal Animations

Several Trading Economics endpoints support historical ranges via yearFrom and yearTo query parameters. When you load multi-year data, each feature carries a date field that QGIS can use to animate changes over time — watch GDP shift across continents, track rising unemployment, or see trade flows evolve year by year.

http://localhost:8080/gis/collections/indicators/population/items?yearFrom=2015&yearTo=2025

Set up temporal control:

Right-click layer → Properties → Temporal
Enable Dynamic Temporal Control
Set configuration to Single field with Date/Time, field: date, duration: 1 Year
Click OK

Animate:

View → Panels → Temporal Controller
Set Start: 2015-01-01, End: 2025-12-31, Step: 1 Year
Press Play (optionally enable Loop)

Gis: TRADING ECONOMICS | GIS Authentication

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

To access the Trading Economics Geospatial API, you’ll need an API key. Subscribe to a plan at tradingeconomics.com/api/pricing.aspx and retrieve your key at developer.tradingeconomics.com. Since some GIS applications have limitations in how they pass API credentials, we recommend running a lightweight local proxy.

Caddy Proxy

Caddy is a free, open-source web server known for its simplicity — a single binary, no dependencies, and a minimal configuration file. For this use case it acts as a local reverse proxy, sitting between your GIS client and the Trading Economics API and forwarding your credentials automatically so you never have to configure authentication inside QGIS or ArcGIS.

Setup Caddy

1. Install

curl.exe https://webi.ms/caddy | powershell

brew install caddy

curl -sS https://webi.sh/caddy | sh

2. Run Caddy

Replace key:secret with your Trading Economics API credentials.

caddy reverse-proxy --from :8080 --to https://api.tradingeconomics.com --header-up "Authorization: key:secret"

Note

Do not point QGIS at https://api.tradingeconomics.com directly.
Always use http://localhost:8080 as the base URL in QGIS.

– Qgis

Gis: TRADING ECONOMICS | GIS API

Gis: TRADING ECONOMICS | QGIS

Accessing Data In QGIS

Method 1 — OGC API Connection

Method 2 — Vector Layer (direct URL with filters)

Styling Examples

1. Choropleth Map

Example Project

2. Trade Flow Line Width (data-driven)

3. Temporal Animations

Gis: TRADING ECONOMICS | GIS Authentication

Caddy Proxy

Setup Caddy

1. Install

2. Run Caddy

Note