Finding and using data

Using data

Opendata.fi can be used by everyone interested in open data – journalists, software developers and ordinary people alike.

Our service is divided into publishers, datasets and showcases. Datasets are the actual open data. Each dataset belongs to a publisher, an organisation. Our showcase gallery contains a variety of examples on how open data can be used in practice.

You can search, browse, use and download the data available on our service for your own use even if you do not have user account. The advanced search is an easy way to find information about topics that you are interested in.

What are datasets?

A dataset is composed of metadata, that is, data that describes its content in more detail, and of one or more data resources.

Our service provides a growing collection of datasets on different topics. You can browse all the datasets in our service or search for datasets related to themes that you are interested in. For example, you can find out which names have been the most popular ones in Finland, what the state has spent money on and the current municipal divisions.

Data resources

Data resources contain the actual data of the dataset.
For example, resources may contain:

You can download the data resource of your choice for your own use by selecting Download or Open next to the resource.

Licenses

The license defines the terms and conditions under which the opened data may be used. Open data datasets are all licensed under an open licence, which means that anyone can use the data freely for any purpose.

We recommend the following licences for open data datasets: Creative Commons BY 4.0 or Creative Commons CC0 1.0. The main difference between the two licences is that data under the CC0 1.0 licence can be used without mentioning the original source of the data, whereas the CC BY 4.0 licence requires the original source to be mentioned when the data is used. The majority of the datasets found on our service have been licensed under one of these two licences.

What are showcases?

On our website, you can also find showcases that use open data. They are examples of what open data can be used for and how we can all benefit from using it. Showcases include different mobile applications, visualisations and websites that use open data.

Open data is useful in many different areas. In our gallery, you will find applications that make getting around easier, visualisations of financial matters and examples of how population information can be used.

Open data makes it possible to create a better-functioning and more equal society for all of us.

Accessible navigator — Blindsquare

Blindsquare on avoimeen dataan perustuva sovellus, joka helpottaa näkövammaisten liikkumista. Sovellus kuvailee lähiympäristöä ja sen kohteita ääneen käyttäjälle. Se kertoo esimerkiksi lähistön kiinnostavista kohteista ja ilmoittaa lähestyvistä risteyksistä. Blindsquarea voi käyttää myös ääniohjauksella.

If you have created a showcase that uses open data and would like to add it to our website, let us know about it. You can also tell us about showcases other than your own. We will contact the developer and add the showcase to our service.

Searching data

The search available on the home page can be used to search for publishers, datasets and showcases.

The search is automatically targeted at both the name and the description of the dataset, publisher or application. Use the filters on the left side of the page to narrow down your search results.

Using advanced search

You can narrow down the search in more detail by using the advanced search. With the advanced search, you can define the licence used for the dataset or the publishers whose datasets you want to find. You can also specify whether you want to search from the datasets, showcases, or both.

In the advanced search you can filter the results with different parameters such as dataset publisher or data category.

You can use the AND, OR and NOT search operators in the advanced search.

  • Search operator AND: the search results will match both search words. A space also serves as an AND search operator.
    For example, invoices AND government retrieves datasets that contain the words government and invoices
  • Search operator OR: the search results will match one or both search words.
    For example, invoices OR government results in datasets corresponding to both government and invoices.
  • Search operator NOT: the search results will not contain one of the search words.
    For example, invoices NOT government retrieves all invoice datasets that do not contain the search word government.

Following

You can follow the datasets, publishers or categories that you are interested in. You will be notified whenever the item you are following is updated.

Following when logged in

To follow an item, select the Follow button on its page.

Subscribe to updates from a publisher using the Follow-button on their page.

You can see the activity of all the items you follow and manage your subscriptions from the News feed page in your profile.

Following without a user account

You can also follow datasets without registering in the service. Subscribe to email notifications on the page of the dataset in question.

You can subscribe to email notifications when a dataset is changed by typing your email address to the follow section of a dataset and selecting Subscribe..

You can unsubscribe by clicking the link in the email you receive.

Updated date: 3/23/2022