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dlw

Source: vignettes/dlw.Rmd
dlw.Rmd

dlw is an R client for the World Bank’s internal datalibweb API. It provides access to microdata and documentation, including current and historical versions of harmonized collections and raw, non-harmonized data.

Authentication

Set your datalibweb API token before making requests. Obtain or renew a token from the datalibweb page and set it for the current R session:

library(dlw)
dlw_set_token("your_token_here")

Server catalog

dlw_server_catalog() retrieves the catalog for a server (GMD by default). It includes all file types, such as data, programs, and documents. Use dlw.download_formats to restrict the extensions returned by the catalog.

ctl <- dlw_server_catalog()
ctl[Country_code == "COL" & Module == "ALL" & Survey_year == 2010,
    .(FileName, Vermast, Veralt, Ext)]

# Limit catalog results to Stata data files
options(dlw.download_formats = "dta")
ctl_dta <- dlw_server_catalog(force = TRUE)

Catalog results are data.table objects and can be filtered using data.table syntax.

Read data

dlw_get_data() downloads a named file and pins it for reuse. The year argument is required. Common tabular formats (dta, sav, csv, tsv, rds, parquet, xls, and xlsx) are read as tables; Parquet requires the suggested arrow package, and Excel requires readxl. Other file types are pinned unchanged and the path to the pinned file is returned.

pry <- dlw_get_data(
  country_code = "PRY",
  year = 2011,
  server = "GMD",
  survey = "EPH",
  module = "GPWG",
  filename = "PRY_2011_EPH_V01_M_V03_A_GMD_GPWG.dta"
)

The collection is inferred from harmonized filenames when it is not supplied. When a filename has multiple server versions, the latest is selected by default. Supply vermast and/or veralt to select a specific version.

For GMD data, dlw_get_gmd() is a convenience wrapper that resolves the catalog entry from country, year, and module:

pry <- dlw_get_gmd(country_code = "PRY", year = 2011, module = "GPWG")

Download files unchanged

Use dlw_download_file() when a file should be returned as raw bytes or saved directly, without reading or pinning it. The year argument is also required.

# Return raw bytes
program <- dlw_download_file(
  "WLD", "WLD_2026_ALL_V02_M_V01_A_GMI_INE.do", year = 2026
)

# Save the downloaded file in a directory
dlw_download_file(
  "WLD", "WLD_2026_ALL_V02_M_V01_A_GMI_INE.do",
  year = 2026, path = tempdir()
)