Getting started with readimf
In readimf: Access International Monetary Fund Data via the 'SDMX' 3.0 API

knitr::opts_chunk$set(collapse = TRUE, comment = "#>", eval = FALSE)

readimf provides tidy access to International Monetary Fund data through the new IMF SDMX 3.0 API at https://data.imf.org. This vignette shows the main workflows. The live calls are shown but not executed here, so that the vignette builds without a network connection.

library(readimf)

The World Economic Outlook

The WEO is open and needs no key. Indicator and country codes are passed directly.

# Real GDP growth for the UK and US, 2018 to 2024
imf_weo("NGDP_RPCH", country = c("GBR", "USA"), start = 2018, end = 2024)

You can request a specific historical release for forecast evaluation:

imf_weo("NGDP_RPCH", country = "GBR", vintage = "2025-10")

Migrating from imfr: where did IFS go?

When the IMF retired International Financial Statistics it split the series across thematic data flows with no official crosswalk. imf_ifs() accepts the old IFS codes and routes them to their new homes. The supported series and their destinations are shown by imf_ifs_map():

imf_ifs_map()

So a request for the UK consumer price index, formerly PCPI_IX, becomes:

imf_ifs("PCPI_IX", country = "GBR", start = 2015)

Country coverage in the new data flows varies, especially for interest rates. If a country returns nothing, try another.

Discovering data

Browse the full catalogue, search it, and inspect a data flow's key structure:

imf_dataflows()                 # the full catalogue
imf_search("balance of payments")
imf_dimensions("CPI")           # the dimension order for building a key
imf_codelist("CL_WEO_INDICATOR", agency = "IMF.RES")

Anything in the catalogue can be fetched with imf_data() by supplying a key in the dimension order reported by imf_dimensions():

imf_data("CPI", key = "GBR.CPI._T.IX.M", start = 2020)

Named database wrappers

Common databases have named wrappers that set sensible defaults:

imf_cpi("GBR", measure = "inflation")
imf_dots("USA", "GBR", flow = "exports")
imf_cofer(currency = "USD", measure = "share")
imf_commodity("POILWTI", measure = "usd")
imf_gfs("GBR", indicator = "revenue")

API keys

The World Economic Outlook is open. Restricted databases accept an optional key through the IMF_API_KEY environment variable, which unlocks wildcard queries.