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unesco-mcp

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) data. Bring the UIS Data Browser into any MCP-compatible client (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.).

What it does

This server connects AI assistants to the UIS API, enabling them to search indicators, retrieve data values, compare countries, and explore available breakdowns — all through natural conversation. Data is cached locally in SQLite for fast indicator discovery, while live API calls fetch the actual data values.

Available tools

Discovery

Tool	Description
list_themes	List all UNESCO data themes (education, science, culture, etc.)
list_disaggregation_types	List available data breakdowns (by sex, age, education level, etc.)
get_disaggregation_values	Get specific values for a breakdown type (e.g. "Male", "Female" for SEX)
search_indicators	Search indicators by text query and structured filters
count_indicators	Count indicators matching filters, with year range support
get_indicator_metadata	Get full definition, methodology, and data sources for an indicator
get_indicator_summary	Quick overview of multiple indicators from local cache

Geography

Tool	Description
search_geo_units	Search countries and regions by name or ISO3 code, with grouping disambiguation

Data retrieval

Tool	Description
get_latest_value	Get a single data point for an indicator and geography
get_time_series	Get the full time series for an indicator and geography
get_country_ranking	Rank countries by indicator value (top N / bottom N)
compare_geographies	Compare an indicator across up to 20 specific geographies

Utility

Tool	Description
server_status	Health check with server name and UTC timestamp

Installation

PyPI (recommended)

Run the server locally from the published Python package. This requires Python 3.10+ and uv.

Claude Code:

claude mcp add unesco-mcp -- uvx unesco-mcp

Claude Desktop — add to your config file (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS, %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json on Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "unesco-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["unesco-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Local (from source)

Use this path when developing locally or testing unreleased changes:

git clone https://github.com/lpicci96/unesco-mcp.git
cd unesco-mcp
uv sync
uv run unesco-mcp

For Claude Desktop, point the client at the checkout:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "unesco-mcp": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "--directory", "/path/to/unesco-mcp", "unesco-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Claude Code:

claude mcp add unesco-mcp -- uv run --directory /path/to/unesco-mcp unesco-mcp

Example usage

Once installed, you can ask your AI assistant things like:

• "What is the primary completion rate in Kenya?"
• "Compare literacy rates across East African countries"
• "Which countries have the highest out-of-school rates?"
• "What education indicators are available broken down by sex and wealth quintile?"
• "Show me the trend in secondary enrollment for Brazil over the last 10 years"