datagovuk

data.gov.uk is the United Kingdom government’s official open data portal, serving as a central catalog for datasets produced by public sector bodies. It is designed to make public information more discoverable and reusable by journalists, researchers, developers, businesses, and citizens. The portal aggregates data from central government departments, agencies, and local authorities across a wide range of topics, including economy, health, environment, transport, and geography.

Datasets on data.gov.uk are typically available in multiple formats and can be downloaded directly or accessed through programmatic interfaces. Each entry is described with metadata such as title, description, publisher, license, publication date, and keywords, to aid searching and interoperability. The platform encourages the reuse of data under open licenses, with the Open Government Licence (OGL) being a common option, alongside other compatible licenses.

Technically, data.gov.uk is built on the CKAN open-source data portal platform, which provides the data catalog, search capabilities, and API access. The site supports standard metadata practices and aims to align with open data standards to facilitate interoperability with other data portals and applications.

Governance and purpose: data.gov.uk is part of the wider UK government open data program, aimed at increasing transparency, accountability, and public value. It is maintained by the government in collaboration with data publishers, with policies and guidance designed to promote data quality, reuse, and innovation.