What Is It?

Open data are publicly available data recorded in the activities or documents of public authorities and institutions that can be freely reused and redistributed by anyone for any purpose. They typically consist of information collected by national or local government institutions and other public sector organisations, made available in convenient formats and without unnecessary restrictions.

A key characteristic of open data is that they are published in open formats, such as CSV, JSON, or Parquet, which are designed for automated machine processing. This enables data to be easily processed, analysed, and integrated into various systems, as well as used to develop new solutions without the need for expensive software.

It is important to emphasize that open data are not the same as publicly available information. While public information may simply be accessible for reading (for example, text published on a website), open data are specifically prepared so that they can be reused for developing new products, conducting scientific research, or performing business analytics. They are typically released under flexible licences that allow users to transform, reuse, and share the data.

Another important aspect is that open data must not disclose personal data or confidential information. They must be safe to use while remaining sufficiently accessible to support the development of new services, analyses, research, and solutions that benefit society.

How to Use It?

Users can search for datasets by topic, keyword, or organisation and download them directly to their computers in the required format.

For advanced users and developers, application programming interfaces (APIs) are often available. These enable automated data retrieval and ensure that applications or analytical tools always use the most up-to-date information directly from the original source, without the need to manually update files.