Economics

Department of Economics
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5330 USA
(269) 387-5535

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND DATA EXPLORER (IMF DATA EXPLORER)

OVERVIEW

The IMF Data Explorer is an interactive platform provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that allows users to access a wide range of global economic data. It offers insights into various economic indicators, including GDP, inflation, unemployment, and external sector statistics, covering both advanced and emerging economies. The Data Explorer enables users to visualize and analyze historical trends and forecasts, providing essential data for researchers, policymakers, and the public. Its user-friendly interface allows for easy filtering and customization of datasets, making it a valuable tool for understanding global economic conditions.

*The description above is a paraphrased version of the description on IMF DATA website.

Available Data File Formats

EXCEL, CSV

Accessibility

This is an open data source for public use

How to retrieve data by example;

Scenario                           

Assume you want to examine the trend of unemployment among twelve different countries from 2011 to 2023.

Step-by-step

1. Visit IMF DATA Explorer via: https://data.imf.org/en/Data-Explorer

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND DATA EXPLORER homepage

2. Click on “Data” in red. Move the mouse pointer to the left and click on “Labor Statistics (LS)” in green.

Click on “Data” in red. Move the mouse pointer to the left and click on “Labor Statistics (LS)” in green

3. While on the left side of the window, click on “Country” in blue to select twelve countries from the list.

While on the left side of the window, click on “Country” in blue to select twelve countries from the list

4.  Click on “Indicator” in red and select “unemployment rate”.

Click on “Indicator” in red and select “unemployment rate”.

5.  Click on “Type of transformations” and select “Percent” from the list.

Click on “Type of transformations” and select “Percent” from the list.

6.  Click on “Frequency” in yellow and select “Annual”.   

Click on “Frequency” in yellow and select “Annual”.

7.  Click on “Time Period” in red and select “Past 15 years” (thus 2011 to 2023).

Click on “Time Period” in red and select “Past 15 years” (thus 2011 to 2023).

8.  After clicking on “Apply” in red, this is how the data would appear on the screen.

After clicking on “Apply” in red, this is how the data would appear on the screen.

9. Move the mouse pointer to the top right corner and click on “Download”, and select “Data on this page”.

Move the mouse pointer to the top right corner and click on “Download”, and select “Data on this page”.

10. Afterwards, this is how the data would appear in Excel.

Afterwards, this is how the data would appear in Excel.

Be sure to consult with the source website on how to correctly cite your data. For this scenario, the citation in APA would look something like this;  

International Monetary Fund (2025) Labor Statistics – Unemployment rate https://data.imf.org/en/Data-Explorer