Features specific to data.unicef.org:
How to access the indicator profiles
How to switch workflows and access dataset-specific filters
Data Explorer functions:
How do I search for an indicator?
There are 3 ways to search for an indicator:
a. Use the search bar found at the top of each page on data.unicef.org
b. Use the search function found on the Data Warehouse landing page
c. Use the search function in the left-hand column once inside the Data Warehouse
Can I see a list of all available indicators?
Yes, there is a list of all indicators on the Data Warehouse landing page, organized by thematic sector.
What is the column on the left-hand side of the Data Warehouse?
This is where you select the time period in which you are interested, as well as filters such as geographic area and indicators. At the bottom, you are also able to configure your table by dragging and dropping the selected filters into rows or columns in order to easily stack and pivot your table.
How do I build a data table?
Take for example two common indicators such as Under-five mortality rate and neonatal mortality rate, for a given geographic area, in this example Afghanistan, from time period 2000 to 2018, you would do the following:
- Select the two indicators from the left-hand column
- Drag the time period bar to include the years 2000 to 2018
- Click on “Geographic area” and select “Afghanistan”
- Click on “Indicator”, search for “Neonatal mortality rate” and select it
- Click on “Sex” to select “Total” so the data does not include a sex disaggregation
- Now you are ready to design your table
- Drag “Time period” under “Columns” and leave “Indicator” under “Rows”. Click “Apply” at the bottom to change the table design.
- The table to the right should now show both indicators in the rows and the years, 2000 to 2018, in the columns left to right.
- Hovering over the values also shows additional data such as upper and lower confidence bounds.
Note that your indicator list and geographic areas may vary depending on the underlying data that are associated with your instance of the Data Explorer.
How can I clear the filters I have previously selected?
If you would like to clear some of your selected filters, you can click on the “X” next to the name of the filter in the left-hand column. If you have selected multiple filters from the same category (for example, two countries), you may click the “X” next to “Geographic area” all selected filters in that category will be removed.
Can I download my data into CSV format?
Yes, one of the most useful features of the Data Warehouse is exporting the selected data to both Excel and CSV formats. Once you are finished building your table, you can click the “download” button in the upper right-hand corner and choose from four different possibilities. Please note that selecting the option to download in Excel with the current table layout will mean that your attributes will be generated as cell comments. The other 3 selection types will give you a long-format table, in which there is exactly ONE indicator value per row. This is ideal for using the data with many other software tools, both visual and analytic.
Where can I find more information about each indicator (such as definition and calculation method)?
Depending on the instance of the Data Explorer you are viewing, each indicator may have an indicator profile containing descriptive metadata about the indicator. If this feature is enabled, you will see an information icon for any selected indicator, accessible at the top of the Data Warehouse next to each indicator. Clicking these links takes you to a page with more information about the indicator:
I selected 5 indicators but only see 2; Why can I not see all my results?
If your set of filters generate a dataset of over 800 rows, the additional rows will not be visualized, and a warning message will appear. Please either further filter your query, or alternatively download the full dataset as a spreadsheet and manipulate it with tools such as Excel.
How do I view all indicators for one particular country?
In the filters area, simply select the country of interest and be sure that all other filter are completely UNSELECTED. The table to the right should now display ALL indicators for the selected country.
What are the data shown when I hover over a value?
You can think of those as “indicator attributes” that give you additional information about any value, such as upper and lower confidence bounds. They can vary depending on the additional metadata we have to report about each value.
What do the footnotes mean?
These are like observation attributes that are true for ALL the values in the current table.
Why do some indicators not display if I filter on a subset of SEX values?
We don’t necessarily have data for every disaggregation/breakdown of an indicator. Filtering on certain disaggregations may mean that if some currently selected indicators only have values at a Total Sex level, they may no longer be returned in your query.
What is the difference between downloading the “selection” or the “entire dataset”?
The entire dataset means just that, all the data as if every filter were set to return every value. Selection means it returns your currently selected set of values, even if they exceed the browser display thresholds.
Why doesn’t the Data Warehouse work in older browsers such as Internet Explorer 11?
It requires a browser that supports the most recent version of JavaScript, version 6. You need to have a recent version of Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Firefox, or Safari.
Why are there blank cells in the table?
Different indicators have different reporting years and breakdowns. We generally do not estimate for years in which we do not have data. Thus combining indicators with different reporting years will result in time-series tables with some empty cells.
Can I access this data through an API?
Yes – you can use the SDMX REST API to programmatically access data that is available in UNICEF’s Data Warehouse Explorer. For more information, please see our API documentation here.