Tutorial: Economic Indicators

Economics

Data source: World Bank, OECD, Eurostat, BLS

Overview

Economic Indicators searches across 4 data sources (World Bank, OECD, Eurostat, BLS) in a single query. It deduplicates and normalizes results, saving you from building 4 separate integrations. This tutorial walks through all 4 tools with working code examples.

Prerequisites

Sign up at https://context.gnist.ai/signup for a free API key (100 calls/day).
Choose your integration method: MCP protocol or REST API.

Connect via MCP

Add to your MCP client config (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.):

MCP Config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gnist-economic-indicators": {
      "url": "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/economic-indicators/",
      "headers": {
        "Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tools (4)

`search_economic_indicators`

Search for economic indicators across World Bank, OECD, Eurostat, and BLS. Returns matching indicators from all sources with their source-specific IDs. Use the returned source_id with get_economic_data to fetch time series data. Examples: search_economic_indicators(query="GDP growth") search_economic_indicators(query="unemployment rate", limit=5) search_economic_indicators(query="consumer price index")

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`query`	string	required	Search query — topic, indicator name, or keyword (e.g. 'GDP growth', 'unemployment rate', 'inflation').
`limit`	integer	optional	Maximum results per source. (default: `10`)

curl -X POST "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/economic-indicators/" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Gnist-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "id": 1, "params": {"name": "search_economic_indicators", "arguments": {"query": "'GDP"}}}'

import httpx

resp = httpx.post(
    "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/economic-indicators/",
    headers={"Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={'id': 1,
 'jsonrpc': '2.0',
 'method': 'tools/call',
 'params': {'arguments': {'query': "'GDP"},
            'name': 'search_economic_indicators'}},
)
print(resp.json())

`get_economic_data`

Fetch time series data for an economic indicator from one or all sources. First use search_economic_indicators to find indicator IDs, then use this tool to fetch the actual data. Specify a source for targeted queries or omit it to query all sources in parallel. Examples: get_economic_data(indicator="NY.GDP.MKTP.CD", country="NOR", source="worldbank") get_economic_data(indicator="nama_10_gdp", country="DE", source="eurostat", year_from=2015) get_economic_data(indicator="LNS14000000", country="US", source="bls")

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`indicator`	string	required	Indicator ID from a source (e.g. 'NY.GDP.MKTP.CD' for World Bank GDP).
`country`	string	required	ISO country code (e.g. 'USA', 'NOR', 'DEU', 'GBR').
`source`	any	optional	Source name: worldbank, oecd, eurostat, or bls. Omit to try all.
`year_from`	any	optional	Start year (e.g. 2010).
`year_to`	any	optional	End year (e.g. 2024).

curl -X POST "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/economic-indicators/" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Gnist-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "id": 1, "params": {"name": "get_economic_data", "arguments": {"indicator": "'NY.GDP.MKTP.CD'", "country": "'USA'"}}}'

import httpx

resp = httpx.post(
    "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/economic-indicators/",
    headers={"Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={'id': 1,
 'jsonrpc': '2.0',
 'method': 'tools/call',
 'params': {'arguments': {'country': "'USA'", 'indicator': "'NY.GDP.MKTP.CD'"},
            'name': 'get_economic_data'}},
)
print(resp.json())

`list_economic_sources`

List all registered economic data sources and their coverage. Shows available sources (World Bank, OECD, Eurostat, BLS) with geographic coverage and status information. Examples: list_economic_sources()

curl -X POST "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/economic-indicators/" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Gnist-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "id": 1, "params": {"name": "list_economic_sources", "arguments": {}}}'

import httpx

resp = httpx.post(
    "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/economic-indicators/",
    headers={"Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={'id': 1,
 'jsonrpc': '2.0',
 'method': 'tools/call',
 'params': {'arguments': {}, 'name': 'list_economic_sources'}},
)
print(resp.json())

`report_feedback`

Report a bug, feature request, or general feedback for this data source. Use this when something doesn't work as expected, when you'd like a new feature, or when you have suggestions for improvement. Args: feedback: Describe the issue or suggestion. feedback_type: One of 'bug', 'feature_request', or 'general'.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`feedback`	string	required
`feedback_type`	string	optional	(default: `general`)

curl -X POST "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/economic-indicators/" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Gnist-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "tools/call", "id": 1, "params": {"name": "report_feedback", "arguments": {"feedback": "example"}}}'

import httpx

resp = httpx.post(
    "https://context.gnist.ai/mcp/economic-indicators/",
    headers={"Gnist-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
    json={'id': 1,
 'jsonrpc': '2.0',
 'method': 'tools/call',
 'params': {'arguments': {'feedback': 'example'}, 'name': 'report_feedback'}},
)
print(resp.json())

Common Patterns

Search then retrieve
Use search_economic_indicators to find items, then get_economic_data to get full details. This two-step pattern is common for exploring data before drilling down.

Pagination
Several tools support limit, offset, or page parameters. Start with small limits during development, then increase for production queries.

FAQ

What data does Economic Indicators provide?

Economic indicators — unified access to World Bank development data, OECD statistics, Eurostat European data, and BLS labor statistics. It exposes 4 tools: search_economic_indicators, get_economic_data, list_economic_sources, report_feedback.

What do I need to get started?

A Gnist API key (free tier: 100 calls/day). Sign up at https://context.gnist.ai/signup.

What format does the Economic Indicators API return?

JSON, via either MCP protocol (JSON-RPC 2.0) or REST API.

Which data sources does Economic Indicators aggregate?

World Bank, OECD, Eurostat, BLS. Results are deduplicated and normalized into a consistent format.