ADB Data Scraper

ADB Data Scraper

Scrape Asian Development Bank indicators from the ADB Data Library, any dataflow, any country, up to a million records per run. Every observation comes with its period, value, and SDMX dimensions. No API key or registration. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

The ADB Data Library publishes hundreds of socioeconomic indicators for Asia and the Pacific, but the SDMX API returns raw XML that is hard to parse and paginate. This Actor reads the public SDMX endpoint directly, accepts a dataflow ID and an SDMX key, and returns each observation as one flat row. You can pull national accounts, population, life expectancy, and dozens of other datasets without writing a single line of code.

Who uses it	What they scrape Asian Development Bank for
Economists	Pull long-run national accounts series for cross-country analysis
Data journalists	Get population and life expectancy figures for Asia-Pacific stories
Policy researchers	Track development indicators across ADB member countries
Data engineers	Feed ADB indicators into internal dashboards and models

What it does

This Actor collects ADB SDMX indicator observations by dataflow ID and SDMX key, and returns each observation as a flat row.

• 📊 SDMX dimensions: frequency, measure, and country are preserved on every row.
• 🔎 Flexible keys: use a full key like A.NGDP_XDC.PHI or a wildcard like A... to pull all combinations.
• 📅 Period filters: set start and end periods to limit the time range.
• ⚙️ Record cap: set maxItems to control how many observations are returned per run.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

What you can do with Asian Development Bank data

📈 Build a cross-country GDP panel.

An economist sets dataflowId to EO_NA and key to A.NGDP_XDC.* to pull annual nominal GDP for all countries, then exports the CSV into Stata for panel regressions.

🗞️ Fact-check a population story.

A journalist sets dataflowId to PPL_POP and key to A.POP_TOTL.PHI to get the latest population estimate for the Philippines, then cites the exact period and value in an article.

📊 Monitor life expectancy trends.

A policy researcher sets dataflowId to PPL_LE and key to A.LE00_IN.* to compare life expectancy across Southeast Asia over the last decade.

🔁 Automate a weekly data refresh.

A data engineer schedules the Actor to run every Monday with startPeriod set to the current year, then pushes the JSON output into a company dashboard.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
No API key	The ADB SDMX endpoint is public, so you can start scraping immediately.
Flat rows	Each observation is returned as a simple row with period, value, and dimensions.
Any indicator	Works with any dataflow in the ADB Data Library, from national accounts to social statistics.
Export ready	Download results as CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML for further analysis.

How it compares

No other Store actor targets Asian Development Bank the same way, so the honest comparison is with the alternatives teams actually weigh.

	ADB Data Scraper	Build it in-house	By hand
Setup	Run it now, zero config	Days of engineering	None, but hours per pull
When Asian Development Bank changes	Maintained for you	You fix it	You re-learn the page
Proxies, retries, anti-bot	Built in	Your problem	Browser only
Output	Fixed JSON schema, CSV/Excel export	Whatever you build	Copy-paste
Cost	Pay per result	Engineering time	Analyst hours

Configure the run

Drive the Actor with a dataflow ID and an SDMX key, and optionally set start and end periods to limit the time range. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
  "maxItems": 10
}

A larger pull:

{
  "maxItems": 200
}

Pricing

Pay-per-result: $0.021 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$2.10
1,000 results	$21.00
10,000 results	$210.00

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. Upgrade your Apify plan to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

Run it

1. Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit.
2. Open the ADB Data Scraper.
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click Start.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the Dataset tab.

Run it programmatically through the Apify API (run-sync-get-dataset-items) or the ApifyClient for JavaScript and Python.

Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to Asian Development Bank through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=parseforge/asian-dev-bank-data-scraper"

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

Troubleshooting

Why am I getting no results?

First, verify that the dataflow ID exists in the ADB Data Library. Then check that your SDMX key uses the correct order: frequency.measure.country. Finally, make sure your startPeriod and endPeriod overlap with the available data range.

Why is my key returning an error?

SDMX keys are case-sensitive and must follow the exact pattern. For example, A.NGDP_XDC.PHI is valid, but a.ngdp_xdc.phi is not. Use the ADB Data Explorer to confirm the correct codes.

Why did I get fewer records than maxItems?

maxItems is an upper limit, not a target. The Actor returns all matching observations up to that number. If you got fewer, it means there were not more matches for your key and period filters.

Why is the run slow?

Large wildcard keys like A... can return many observations. Narrow your key to specific measures or countries, or set a smaller maxItems to speed up the run.

Why are some periods missing?

The ADB Data Library may not have observations for every period in your range. Check the dataflow's coverage in the ADB Data Explorer to see which periods are available.

FAQ

Question	Answer
What is a dataflow ID?	A dataflow ID is the ADB code for a dataset, such as EO_NA for national accounts or PPL_POP for population. You can find the full list in the ADB Data Library documentation.
What is an SDMX key?	An SDMX key is a dot-separated string that specifies the dimensions of the data you want, in the order frequency.measure.country. For example, A.NGDP_XDC.PHI requests annual nominal GDP for the Philippines. Use A... to request all combinations.
Do I need an API key?	No. The ADB SDMX endpoint is public and does not require registration or authentication.
How many records can I get in one run?	You can set maxItems up to 1,000,000. The actual number returned depends on how many observations match your key and period filters.
Can I scrape multiple countries at once?	Yes. Use a wildcard in the country part of the key, such as A.NGDP_XDC.*, to get data for all countries in one run.
What time periods can I request?	You can set startPeriod and endPeriod to any years available in the dataflow. Leave them empty to get the full range.
What format is the output?	The Actor returns a flat dataset that you can export as CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML from the Apify platform.
Can I schedule this Actor to run regularly?	Yes. Use Apify's scheduler to run it daily, weekly, or at any interval, and set up automatic exports to your storage.
Does this work for all ADB indicators?	It works for any dataflow exposed through the ADB SDMX API, which covers most of the Data Library. If a dataflow is not available via SDMX, it will not be returned.
What if I get no results?	Check that your dataflow ID and SDMX key are valid and that the period range overlaps with the data. See the troubleshooting section for more help.

Related actors

• imf-data-scraper: Use this instead if you need IMF macroeconomic data, such as balance of payments or government finance.

Browse the full ParseForge collection for more scrapers.

🆘 Need help? Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ Disclaimer. This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Asian Development Bank. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.