Curated real-world datasets for IB Maths IA projects. All sources are free to access.
Most data-driven IAs fit one of these templates. Pick the question first, then find data that can answer it. Examiners reward recent data, a question tied to a specific place or time, and a clear note on how you sampled or cleaned the data — cite the source.
Three small datasets that look ordinary until you draw the right picture — summary statistics can mislead.
Used-car age against price. Fit a linear model, interpret it, and find where it stops working.
"The Truth About Tall People" — a complete worked exploration, annotated section by section in the guide.
Friendliest entry point — preview any indicator, download CSV/XLSX instantly. Best for cross-country correlation IAs.
Pearson / Spearman, regressionThousands of country-year development indicators with direct Excel download. Deepest source for economic, demographic, and climate variables.
Correlation, regressionClean, ready-to-use CSVs on health, climate, poverty, and energy, with built-in charts. Great for modelling over time.
Linear / logistic regressionAggregates the UN statistical system across dozens of themes — population, trade, environment, and more.
Correlation, chi-squaredCommunity sets on almost anything (free account). Check the source and licence carefully — quality varies widely.
Varies by datasetEducation, health, economy, and environment for member nations. Strong for international comparison IAs.
Correlation, regressionEU statistics built for cross-country comparison — clean, consistently structured downloads.
Correlation, chi-squaredFR/EN datasets for Switzerland. Great if you want to give your IA a local Geneva or Swiss angle.
Correlation, regressionNational economic, social, and population statistics. Both offer direct CSV downloads across hundreds of topics.
Regression, t-testThe cleanest economic time series available — inflation, interest rates, unemployment. Ideal for modelling over time.
Regression over timeStreet-level crime, outcomes, and stop-and-search for England, Wales & Northern Ireland — free CSV downloads by police force, area, and month. Great for crime-type counts by area or modelling over time.
Chi-squared, time seriesDisease burden, mortality, and risk-factor data by country and year. Wide country coverage.
Correlation, chi-squaredClean pandemic time series — case counts, vaccination rates, excess mortality. Perfect for logistic or exponential modelling.
Logistic / exponential regressionBaseball, basketball, NFL, and football (FBRef) — deep historical records, exportable. Same structure across all sports.
Correlation, regressionResearch-grade CSVs with stable column names season to season — easier to work with than scraping.
Regression, t-testCircuits, drivers, race results, and pit-stop times going back decades. Great for keen modellers.
Regression, correlationMacroeconomic time series — GDP, CPI, unemployment, interest rates — going back decades.
Regression over timeOne-click historical price download for any stock or index. Quick to use for a single-company modelling IA.
Regression over timeStock, forex, and macro data via free API keys. More powerful than Yahoo Finance for multi-asset comparisons.
Regression, correlationHistorical weather and climate records — temperature, rainfall, sea level — going back over a century.
Regression over time, correlationEarth science to space exploration — filterable to CSV. Great for unusual, high-quality IA topics.
Regression, correlationFree content API: 2.7 M+ articles since 1999 with full text and metadata (free developer key). Good for word/topic frequency or article counts as a time series.
Time series, regressionDatasets and scripts behind published FT stories (MIT-licensed code; FT content remains copyright). Good for economics and markets angles.
Regression, correlationExceptionally clean politics, sports, and culture sets, each tied to a published article you can cite.
Correlation, regressionSmall, classic, well-behaved datasets. Perfect for a first regression — no messy cleaning required.
Regression, PearsonSurvey and polling data on social attitudes, technology, and global views. Good for opinion-based comparisons.
Chi-squared, t-testSearch engine that indexes datasets across all of the above sources. Use when you have a topic but don't know where to find the data.
Varies by dataset