Opensanctions

OpenSanctions provides an open database and code for working with international sanctions data, politically exposed persons, and related entities.

github.com/opensanctions/opensanctions
Opensanctions homepage screenshot

About Opensanctions

OpenSanctions is a GitHub repository for an open database of international sanctions data, politically exposed persons and related entities. Its codebase parses raw source data, cleans and standardises the resulting structures, deduplicates records to maintain data integrity, and exports data into a range of output formats, with CSV among the simplified formats offered. Crawlers are built on the Follow the Money JSON data model, and extracted data can be sent for human review through a bundled review UI.

The project is run most easily with Docker, while a local Python virtual environment is used for development. It is linked to companion repositories: nomenklatura, which stores data statements with lineage and integrates entity data with external databases such as OpenCorporates, and yente, an API for entity matching and searching. The code is MIT licensed, but data files produced by OpenSanctions are licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 and some files under datasets/ are unmodified third-party material the project cannot license, so commercial use is handled separately through its licensing page.

Key features

  • Aggregates sanctions data, politically exposed persons and related entities
  • Parses, cleans and standardises raw source data
  • Deduplicates records to maintain data integrity
  • Exports data into a variety of output formats, including CSV
  • Crawlers built on the Follow the Money JSON data model
  • Review UI for human review of extracted data
Best for: Journalists, investigators, researchers and developers who need an open sanctions and PEP dataset they can run, query and adapt themselves.
Good for
  • Code is open source under the MIT licence
  • Companion repositories cover entity matching, search and data lineage
  • Supports exports to multiple output formats, including CSV
Watch out for
  • Data files are licensed CC BY-NC 4.0, so commercial use requires separate licensing
  • Some datasets are unmodified third-party copies the project cannot license
  • Running it requires Docker or a local Python environment

Opensanctions at a glance

Type
Open-source project
Pricing
Not confirmed. Check the site
Open source
Yes · Source code
Language
English
Last checked
Oct 6, 2026 · Online when checked
Listed
Oct 5, 2026

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Opensanctions FAQ

What licence applies to the code and the data?
The code in the repository is MIT licensed. Data files produced by OpenSanctions are licensed CC BY-NC 4.0, and some files under datasets/ are unmodified copies of third-party material that cannot be licensed; commercial use is covered on the project's licensing page.
How is the software run?
The easiest way to run zavod is with Docker, as described in the documentation. Setting up a development environment to change or debug the code uses a local Python virtual environment.
Is there an API for searching or matching entities?
A separate associated repository, opensanctions/yente, provides an API for entity matching and searching. Records are based on the Follow the Money data model.
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