African Policy Data API

Query African laws, policy documents, and lifecycle events from Wikidata, with country overviews and timelines where records are available.

African Policy Data API

Query laws, policy documents, and lifecycle events from wikidata_policies. Use the country overview for a summary, the policy list for filtering, and the timeline routes for adoption, implementation, and repeal events. Available records vary by country.

Use:

GET /v1/policies
GET /v1/policies/events
GET /v1/policies/country/{country_code}
GET /v1/policies/country/{country_code}/timeline
GET /v1/policies/{policy_wikidata_id}
GET /v1/policies/{policy_wikidata_id}/events

What This Covers

Record types and fields include:

constitutions
laws and acts
regulations and decrees
national strategies and policy documents
policy adoption, implementation, and repeal timelines
issuing-body metadata when available

Country Policy Overview Example

curl "https://api.africa-api.com/v1/policies/country/ke?top_limit=5" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AFRICA_API_KEY"

Illustrative response shape. Values are examples, not a current policy inventory:

{
  "data": {
    "country": {
      "code": "ke",
      "name": "Kenya",
      "region": "East Africa"
    },
    "latest_policy": {
      "wikidata_id": "POLICY_WIKIDATA_ID",
      "country_code": "ke",
      "country_name": "Kenya",
      "title": "POLICY_TITLE",
      "document_type": "law",
      "policy_status": "active",
      "published_at": null,
      "source": "wikidata_policies"
    },
    "active_policy_count": 14,
    "recent_policies": []
  }
}

Policy List Example

curl "https://api.africa-api.com/v1/policies?country_code=ng&document_type=law&status=active&limit=20" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AFRICA_API_KEY"

Policy Detail Example

curl "https://api.africa-api.com/v1/policies/Q104901625" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AFRICA_API_KEY"

Country Policy Timeline Example

curl "https://api.africa-api.com/v1/policies/country/ke/timeline?top_limit=10" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AFRICA_API_KEY"

Illustrative response shape. The event shows the field structure, not a current country timeline:

{
  "data": {
    "country": {
      "code": "ke",
      "name": "Kenya",
      "region": "East Africa"
    },
    "latest_event": {
      "event_key": "POLICY_WIKIDATA_ID:EVENT_TYPE:EVENT_DATE",
      "policy_wikidata_id": "POLICY_WIKIDATA_ID",
      "title": "POLICY_TITLE",
      "document_type": "law",
      "event_type": "implemented",
      "event_date": "2016-06-01",
      "summary": "Kenya Climate Change Act entered into force",
      "source": "wikidata_policies"
    },
    "recent_events": []
  }
}

Policy Events Example

curl "https://api.africa-api.com/v1/policies/events?country_code=ng&event_type=adopted&limit=20" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AFRICA_API_KEY"

How It Fits The Government Domain

Government covers leaders, terms, and cabinets
Elections covers election events and result rows
country profiles include the latest available policy and policy event inside the government block

Government

Use government history for leaders, offices, cabinet composition, and state structure.

Elections

Use elections for event timelines and candidate-level results.

Countries

Read policy and policy-event summaries in country profiles when available.

Policies