# Get data

On [/data](/data) you describe the data you want in plain language, check the results, then download them or share a link. No account is needed. This example gets Kenya's population from 2000 to 2025 as a downloadable file and a shareable link, in just minutes.

## Step 1: ask a question

Go to [/data](/data). Type a question into the search box and press Enter, or pick one of the suggestions below the box. For this example, type **Population of Kenya** and press Enter.

After a few seconds, /data restates your question as a sentence:

> Kenya's total population, 1960 to 2025.

The sentence is your search. Each part of it (the measure, place, years, and sources) can be clicked to modify that portion of your search.

## Step 2: change the years

1. Click **1960 to 2025** in the sentence. The **Edit Time Range** panel opens.
1. Change the first year from 1960 to 2000.
1. Click **Apply**.

The sentence now reads:

> Kenya's total population, 2000 to 2025.

Only the years change. The place and measure stay the same.

> [!TIP]
> **About this answer**, under the sentence, shows the measure, years, and place /data read from your question. Its **How this was chosen** section names the source it picked and why. **Start New** clears the page.

## Step 3: check the results

Scroll to **Results Preview**. The table shows the year and value, newest year first, 10 rows at a time. Click **Load more** to see the rest. Check that it runs from 2025 back to 2000 and that the values are in tens of millions.

The panel beside the sentence shows the number of **Rows in your data**. Click **Details** to see the years covered, the number of series, and the licence.

> [!NOTE]
> The data comes from one source, World Development Indicators, so the panel shows 26 rows for 2000 to 2025, one per year.

## Step 4: download the data

Click **Download CSV**. After a moment, a ZIP file downloads. It contains:

| File               | Contents                                     |
| ------------------ | -------------------------------------------- |
| `README.md`        | Start here: an overview of the download      |
| `data/<slug>.csv`  | The data                                     |
| `data/codes.csv`   | Plain names for each code in the data        |
| `SOURCES.md`       | The sources used                             |
| `CITATION.cff`     | Citation details                             |
| `datapackage.json` | Metadata in Frictionless Data Package format |

The data file looks like this:

```text
stat_var,stat_var_label,observationAbout,observationAbout_label,time_period,value,unit,unit_label,currency,price_basis,base_year,measurementMethod,measurementMethod_label,provenance,provenance_label
dcid:Count_Person,Total population,country/KEN,Kenya,2000,30642890.0,,,,,,,,dc/base/WorldDevelopmentIndicators,World Development Indicators
dcid:Count_Person,Total population,country/KEN,Kenya,2001,31619170.0,,,,,,,,dc/base/WorldDevelopmentIndicators,World Development Indicators
…
dcid:Count_Person,Total population,country/KEN,Kenya,2025,57532493.0,,,,,,,,dc/base/WorldDevelopmentIndicators,World Development Indicators
```

Places, measures, and sources appear as codes, such as `country/KEN` for Kenya, and the `_label` column beside each code gives its name. `data/codes.csv` lists every code in the file with its name. The `provenance` column shows the source of every row. To cite the data, see [Cite and licence](../about/cite-and-licence.md).

To change what's included, click the arrow next to the download button. The **Download options** panel offers:

- **Format:** CSV, Excel, or Parquet.
- **README** and **Sources & Citations:** included by default. Untick them to leave those files out.
- **Additional columns:** ISO3 country codes, ISO2 country codes, and entity types.

Click **Download CSV** at the bottom of the panel to download with those choices.

## Step 5: share a link

Click **Share** under the download button. Keep the default, **Live Data**, which reruns the search each time the link is opened. When the link appears, click the copy button beside it. The panel also shows a **Download link**, which downloads the latest data as a ZIP file with its citation.

The link ends in `/s/` followed by an 8-character ID. Open it in a new tab to check that it loads the same sentence and results.

## Next

- [**Share live data or a snapshot**](../build/share.md)**:** When to share a live link and when to share a snapshot that keeps the numbers fixed.
- [**The data bundle**](../data/bundle.md)**:** Every file in the download and how they're named.