Awesome Public Datasets
Verified working Jul 31, 2026
A community-curated directory of open datasets organized by topic.
Awesome Public Datasets is a GitHub-maintained collection of links to public datasets across many subject areas. It functions as a lightweight discovery list for researchers, data scientists, students, and developers looking for dataset sources rather than hosting the datasets itself.
Why it stands out
- Large, long-running community list with substantial GitHub adoption and contribution history.
- Covers many dataset domains from a single browsable repository instead of one institution or region.
- Transparent change history makes it easier to see when entries were added or updated.
- GitHub-based contribution model lets users suggest additions and fixes publicly.
Good to know
- It is primarily a link directory, so dataset availability, licensing, format, and quality vary by external source.
- Entries are maintained as repository content rather than a full searchable data catalog with rich metadata filters.
- Some linked datasets may move, change access terms, or become outdated between community updates.
Under the radar: Check the repository’s Issues and Pull requests as well as the main list; proposed dataset additions and fixes often appear there before they are merged.
Photos

Data scientists and researchers can use it to quickly find public dataset sources for exploratory analysis, modeling, or benchmarking. Discover datasets by broad topic before choosing a specific repository or portal. Find example data sources for tutorials, classroom projects, or portfolio work. Contribute new dataset links or corrections through GitHub issues and pull requests.
Topic-based dataset listings, public GitHub repository, issue and pull-request workflow for community updates, MIT-licensed repository materials, visible commit history, stars, forks, and contributor activity.
Technical Notes
- Repository contents can be accessed through Git clone/download or the GitHub REST API.
- The catalog is maintained as README/RST-style files, not as a dedicated structured dataset API with normalized metadata.
Alternative listings
Global development indicators, surveys, and datasets in one official hub.
Open Data & Research PortalsWorld Bank Open Data is the World Bank Group’s public portal for development statistics, country profiles, indicators, survey data, and related analytical tools. It connects users to World Development Indicators, DataBank time series, the Microdata Library, the Data Catalog, and interactive Atlas visualizations covering topics such as poverty, health, education, infrastructure, climate, and economic growth.
1 votesVisit siteNOAA’s portal for historical weather observations and climate normals.
Open Data & Research PortalsClimate Data Online is NOAA NCEI’s access point for historical weather and climate records, including temperature, precipitation, wind, degree days, radar data, station history, and 30-year climate normals. Users can search by station or place, explore records on a map, use specialized data tools, and order certified copies of some records for legal purposes.
0 votesVisit site
Similar sites elsewhere
- Data.gov — data.gov
- European Data Portal — data.europa.eu
- Kaggle Datasets — kaggle.com/datasets
- Google Dataset Search — datasetsearch.research.google.com
1 of 4