Free data sets for maths IAs and EPQs
36 free sources of real data, ranked by how useful they are for a maths project. Each says what it holds, its format, its licence in plain words and whether you need to sign up, with the EPQ ideas that use it. We link to the data and never copy it; every link was checked in October 2026.
How to use a source well
- Download from the primary source (the organisation that collected the data) where you can, and record where and when in your production log.
- Use an Our World in Data chart to see the pattern first. Cite it as: Our World in Data, ‘<chart title>’, CC BY 4.0. Original source: <the provider the chart names>.
- Read the licence. Most sources here are free to reuse with credit; WHO data is for non-commercial use only, and where no reuse licence exists we say so: copy only the values you analyse and cite the page.
The ranked list
- Our World in Data Population and health
Thousands of charts on population, health, energy, climate and the economy. Every chart page has a table view, names its original sources and has a CSV download. - World Bank Open Data Population and health
Development indicators for every country, mostly from 1960: population, GDP, life expectancy, infant mortality, immunisation. - Office for National Statistics (UK) Money and prices
UK population estimates, births, earnings and the CPI and CPIH inflation series. - US births per day (NCHS and SSA, via FiveThirtyEight) Population and health
Births on every day of the year in the US, 1994–2014, from the National Center for Health Statistics and the Social Security Administration. - UN World Population Prospects Population and health
UN population estimates from 1950 and projections to 2100, by country, age and sex. - NASA GISTEMP v4 Climate and environment
Global and hemispheric temperature anomalies from 1880, monthly and yearly. - NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory: Mauna Loa CO₂ Climate and environment
Monthly and yearly mean atmospheric CO₂ since 1958 (the Keeling curve). - Met Office historic station data Climate and environment
Monthly maximum and minimum temperature, rainfall, frost days and sunshine for 37 UK stations, some from 1853. - Gapminder Population and health
Long-run country indicators (income, life expectancy, child mortality). - Global Forest Watch Climate and environment
Yearly tree-cover loss by country since 2001, from satellite imagery. - NSIDC Sea Ice Index Climate and environment
Daily and monthly Arctic and Antarctic sea-ice extent since 1978. - USGS Earthquake Catalog Climate and environment
Every recorded earthquake with time, place, depth and magnitude; filter and export. - NOAA National Hurricane Center (HURDAT2) Climate and environment
Track, wind and pressure every six hours for every Atlantic tropical cyclone since 1851. - data.police.uk Population and health
Street-level crimes by month for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. - HM Land Registry Price Paid Data Money and prices
Every residential sale in England and Wales since 1995. - GOV.UK rates and thresholds Money and prices
Current UK income tax, National Insurance and student loan repayment rates, and the Highway Code's stopping distances. - ECB Data Portal Money and prices
Daily euro reference exchange rates and ECB interest rates. - Transport for London open data Maps and travel
Station entry and exit counts, cycle-hire journeys, and live and timetabled bus arrivals for London. - OpenStreetMap Maps and travel
A free world map with exact coordinates of schools, hospitals, shops, stations, lakes and coastlines. - OpenFlights data Maps and travel
Airports with latitude and longitude, and airline routes. - Football-Data.co.uk Sport and games
Results, shots, cards and bookmaker odds for 25+ seasons of European leagues. - Lichess open database Sport and games
Every rated game played on Lichess, in monthly files (very large; start with an early month). - World Athletics records and toplists Sport and games
All-time lists, records and record progressions for every athletics event. - Olympedia Sport and games
Olympic results for every event since 1896, with many athletes' heights and masses. - Project Gutenberg Text and codes
70,000+ public-domain books as plain text, for letter and word counts. - Census at School New Zealand Your own survey data
Anonymous answers from school students to a standard questionnaire, with a random sampler, to compare with your own survey. - Census at School USA (American Statistical Association) Your own survey data
The US version of the same questionnaire, with a random sampler of past responses. - UCI Machine Learning Repository Places to find more
600+ documented datasets (student performance, bike sharing, wine quality and more). - Epoch AI data on AI models Places to find more
Training compute, parameters and publication dates for notable AI models. - NASA planetary fact sheet Places to find more
Orbital period, distance from the Sun, mass and radius of each planet. - WHO Global Health Observatory Population and health
Over 1,000 health indicators by country: immunisation, mortality, risk factors; plus FluNet and the COVID-19 dashboard. - Johns Hopkins CSSE COVID-19 data (archived) Population and health
Daily COVID-19 cases and deaths by country, January 2020 to March 2023; no longer updated. - NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC) Population and health
Country estimates of mean BMI, height, blood pressure and diabetes, by sex and year. - data.gov.uk Places to find more
Search across UK government datasets: transport, environment, education, health. - Kaggle datasets Places to find more
Community uploads on almost any topic: use only datasets marked CC0 or CC BY that name their original source. - UK Data Service Places to find more
The UK's largest collection of social and economic survey data; a few collections are open, most need a university login.
Optional browsing tools
Useful for exploring before you download, but never the source you cite.
- Gapminder Tools Population and health
Animated bubble charts for exploring country data before you download it. - RareBirthday Population and health
Browse how common each birthday date is. - Open-Meteo historical weather Climate and environment
Daily and hourly past weather for any location.
Collaboration and research platforms
Not data sources as such, but places to find real projects, data stories and ways to question data.
- OSF (Open Science Framework) Collaboration and research platforms
Where researchers share data and materials, including the large replication projects. - Zooniverse Collaboration and research platforms
Real research projects where volunteers classify images and sounds; a few publish their results as data. - NRICH data-handling tasks Collaboration and research platforms
Tasks that teach you to question and present data well (University of Cambridge). - Royal Statistical Society Collaboration and research platforms
The UK's statistics society: careers, statistical literacy resources and competitions for students. - Data Is Plural Collaboration and research platforms
A free weekly newsletter of interesting public datasets, with a searchable archive.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I find free data for a maths EPQ?
Start with the ranked list on this page: 36 free sources, from Our World in Data, the ONS and the World Bank to NASA, the Met Office and OpenStreetMap, each with its licence and the EPQ ideas that use it.
How do I cite Our World in Data?
Cite the chart and the original source it names, for example: Our World in Data, ‘Population’, CC BY 4.0. Original source: UN World Population Prospects (2024). Record the date you downloaded it in your production log.
Is published data good enough for an EPQ?
Yes, if you ask a precise question of it and evaluate it: who collected it, how, what is missing and what that means for your conclusion. That evaluation is part of using resources well.
Next step
19 of our 93 ideas have a “Real data for this idea” box. Pick one, then check your title.
Find a maths EPQ ideaYour EPQ must be your own work. These pages coach: ideas, structure, checklists and planning. Submitting text, proofs, code or analysis written by someone else or by an AI tool as your own is malpractice. How to use help and AI honestly.
The Extended Project Qualification is offered by several awarding bodies, including AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR and WJEC/Eduqas. A Level Math Revision is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any awarding body or university. Summaries of the rules are in our own words: your school and your board's specification have the final say. Every idea here is our own.