Bamwor vs RestCountries
Looking for a country data API? RestCountries and Bamwor are two of the most popular options for developers who need structured country information. RestCountries is a well-known open-source API that has served millions of requests daily since 2015. Bamwor builds on that foundation and goes further — adding 13.4 million cities, country rankings, side-by-side comparisons, multilingual support, and an MCP Server for AI agents. Here's how they compare.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | RestCountries | Bamwor |
|---|---|---|
| Countries | 250+ | 261 |
| Cities | ✗ No | 13.4 million |
| Country statistics | Name, capital, population, area, currencies, languages, flags, region, borders, timezones | All of the above + GDP, GDP per capita, HDI, life expectancy, literacy rate, and 20+ more |
| Rankings | ✗ No | Yes — 16 metrics including population, GDP, HDI, and 9 proprietary indices |
| Country comparisons | ✗ No | Yes — 67,860 combinations |
| Analytical indices | ✗ No | 9 proprietary indices |
| Search | By name, code, currency, language, capital, region | Full-text search across countries and cities |
| Nearby places | ✗ No | Yes — radius search |
| MCP Server (AI) | ✗ No | Yes — Claude, Cursor, Windsurf |
| Languages | Translations in 20+ languages (names only) | Full data in 4 languages (EN, ES, IT, PT) |
| Authentication | None required | API key (free tier available) |
| Pricing | Free (donation-supported) | Free tier + Pro $19.99/mo + Premium $39.99/mo |
| Open source | Yes | MCP Server is open source (MIT) |
| Narrative content | ✗ No | Yes — 13 sections per country (government, economy, demographics, etc.). Premium plan. |
| Datasets (download) | ✗ No | Yes — CSV/JSON on Kaggle |
When to Use RestCountries
RestCountries is a great choice if you need basic country information (name, capital, flag, currency) and want a completely free API with no authentication required. It's lightweight, open-source, and has been a reliable resource for the developer community for years.
When to Use Bamwor
Choose Bamwor when you need more than basic country data. If your project requires city-level data (13.4 million cities), economic statistics (GDP, GDP per capita), country rankings, side-by-side country comparisons, geospatial search, or integration with AI agents via MCP — Bamwor provides all of this through a single API. The free tier includes 1,000 requests per day with access to all endpoints.
Get Started with Bamwor
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