Package 'inkaR'

inkaR: Access the INKAR Database of the BBSR

Description

The inkaR package provides a user-friendly interface to access, search, and download statistical indicators from the INKAR (Indikatoren und Karten zur Raum- und Stadtentwicklung) database provided by the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR).

Main Functions

• view_indicators(): Opens the list of available indicators in a viewer. Supports German ("de") and English ("en") modes. Sorted by active status.

• get_inkar_data(): API wrapper to fetch data for a specific indicator. Supports auto-saving to CSV (csv = TRUE).

• get_geographies(): Helper to list available spatial levels (e.g., Kreise, Gemeinden) or regions within a level.

• search_indicators(): Search for indicators by text pattern.

Usage Workflow

1. Explore: Use view_indicators() to find the Shortname (e.g., "001") or M_ID of the desired indicator.

2. Download: Use get_inkar_data("001", level="KRE", year=2021) or ranges (year=2010:2020) to fetch the data.

3. Export: Add csv = TRUE to get_inkar_data to save the result immediately.

Author(s)

Maintainer: Omer Furkan Coban [email protected] (ORCID)

See Also

Useful links:

• https://github.com/ofurkancoban/inkaR

• Report bugs at https://github.com/ofurkancoban/inkaR/issues

Examples

if (interactive()) {
  # 1. View available indicators (German)
  view_indicators()

  # 2. View in English
  view_indicators("en")
}


  # 3. Search for "GDP" (Bruttoinlandsprodukt)
  try(search_indicators("GDP", lang = "en"))

  # 4. Download data for GDP (011) for Districts (KRE)
  #    Note: You can use Shortnames ("011"), numeric M_IDs (11), or simple codes ("bip")
  try(data <- get_inkar_data("011", level = "KRE", year = 2021, lang = "de", csv = FALSE))

  # 5. Download and save directly as CSV
  try(get_inkar_data("011", csv = TRUE, export_dir = tempdir()))

  # 6. Download data for a year range
  try(get_inkar_data("011", level = "KRE", year = 2010:2020))

---

Clear INKAR Cache

Description

Clears the persistent disk cache used for API responses (like time reference metadata).

Usage

clear_inkar_cache()

Value

No return value, called for side effects.

---

Filter Downloaded Data to Specific Districts

Description

A specialized wrapper around compare_regions() to filter a data frame returned by get_inkar_data() to rows matching specific district names or IDs (Kennziffer).

Usage

compare_districts(data, districts, exact = FALSE)

compare_district(data, districts, exact = FALSE)

Arguments

data	A data frame returned by get_inkar_data().
districts	Character/Numeric vector. District names, IDs, or partial patterns to keep.
exact	Logical. If TRUE, require exact string match. Default FALSE.

Value

A filtered tibble.

Examples

df <- try(get_inkar_data("011", level = "KRE", year = 2021, lang = "en"))
  if (is.data.frame(df)) compare_districts(df, c("Berlin", "Hamburg"))

---

Filter Downloaded Data to Specific Regions

Description

Filters a data frame returned by get_inkar_data() to rows matching the supplied region names (partial, case-insensitive match by default).

Usage

compare_regions(data, regions, exact = FALSE)

compare_region(data, regions, exact = FALSE)

Arguments

data	A data frame returned by get_inkar_data().
regions	Character vector. Region names or partial patterns to keep.
exact	Logical. If TRUE, require exact string match. Default FALSE.

Value

A filtered tibble.

Examples

df <- try(get_inkar_data("011", level = "KRE", year = 2021, lang = "en"))
  if (is.data.frame(df)) compare_regions(df, c("Berlin", "Hamburg"))

---

Get Available Geographies or Region List

Description

Retrieves a list of available spatial levels (if geography is NULL) or a list of regions for a specific level (e.g., "KRE").

Usage

get_geographies(geography = NULL)

Arguments

geography

Character. Spatial level code (e.g. "KRE"). If NULL, returns all levels.

Value

A data frame with ID and Name.

---

List Available Indicators

Description

Returns a data frame of available indicators with bilingual support.

Usage

get_indicators(lang = c("de", "en"))

Arguments

lang	Language code: "de" (German) or "en" (English).

Value

A tibble containing indicator IDs, names, and descriptions.

---

Download Data from INKAR

Description

Retrieves statistical data for a given variable and spatial level. Automatically handles time reference lookup.

Usage

get_inkar_data(
  variable,
  level = "KRE",
  year = NULL,
  lang = c("de", "en"),
  format = c("long", "wide"),
  csv = FALSE,
  export_dir = NULL
)

Arguments

variable	Character. The indicator ID (Shortname), e.g., "011".
level	Character. Spatial level code (e.g., "KRE" for Kreise).
year	Integer/Character vector. Specific year (e.g., 2021) or range (e.g., 2010:2020). If NULL, fetches all available years.
lang	Character. "de" (default) for German column names, "en" for English.
format	Character. "long" (default) for tidy format, "wide" for years as columns.
csv	Logical. If TRUE, saves the data to a CSV file in the directory specified by export_dir.
export_dir	Character. Directory to save the CSV file if csv = TRUE. If NULL (default), it saves to the current working directory (".").

Value

A tibble containing the data.

---

List Available Indicator Themes

Description

Returns the unique theme/domain values present in the local indicators dataset. Pass one of these values to the theme argument of search_indicators() or view_indicators() to narrow results.

Usage

get_themes()

Value

A sorted character vector of theme names.

Examples

get_themes()

---

INKAR Indicators Metadata

Description

A comprehensive list of available indicators from the INKAR database. This dataset is used to lookup indicator IDs, names, and descriptions.

Usage

indicators

Format

A data frame with the following columns:

ID

Short identifier (e.g., "001")

M_ID

Numeric internal ID used by API

Name_DE

German name of the indicator

Name_EN

English name (translated or placeholder)

Description_DE

Detailed German description

Description_EN

Detailed English description (available for 413 indicators)

Theme

Group/Domain of the indicator

Active

Logical. TRUE if verified as active in the API

Algorithmus

Algorithm used (if any)

Anmerkungen

Notes in German

Anmerkungen_EN

Notes in English

Gemeinden

Availability for Municipalities

Kreise

Availability for Districts

Statistische Grundlagen

Statistical basis (DE)

Stat_Grund_EN

Statistical basis (EN)

Unit_DE

Unit of measurement (DE)

Unit_EN

Unit of measurement (EN)

Source

https://www.inkar.de/

---

Download Data from INKAR (Interactive Alias)

Description

A full-featured alias for get_inkar_data() with bilingual support and an interactive wizard when called without arguments (in interactive sessions). Call inkaR("011") to download directly, or inkaR() to open the wizard.

Usage

inkaR(variable = NULL, level = NULL, year = NULL, lang = c("de", "en"), ...)

Arguments

variable	Character. Indicator ID, shortname, or partial name. If NULL (default), opens an interactive selection menu (interactive sessions only).
level	Character. Spatial level code (e.g., "KRE" for Kreise). If NULL and variable is also NULL, an interactive level menu is shown.
year	Integer/Character vector or "latest". Specific year (e.g. 2021) or range.
lang	Character. "de" (default) for German column names, "en" for English.
...	Additional arguments passed to get_inkar_data(), such as format or csv.

Details

For a simpler English-first shortcut, see inkar().

Value

A tibble containing the downloaded data, or NULL if selection was cancelled.

Examples

if (interactive()) {
  df <- inkaR()  # opens interactive menu
}


  try(df <- inkaR("bip", level = "KRE", year = 2021))
  try(df <- inkaR("Bruttoinlandsprodukt", level = "KRE"))

---

Download INKAR Data (English Shortcut)

Description

A convenience wrapper around get_inkar_data() with English output and year = "latest" as defaults. Equivalent to calling get_inkar_data(variable, level, year = "latest", lang = "en").

Usage

inkar(variable, level = "KRE", year = "latest", lang = "en", ...)

Arguments

variable	Character. Indicator ID, short name, or partial name.
level	Character. Spatial level code (default "KRE").
year	Integer/Character vector or "latest" (default). Year(s) to download.
lang	Character. Output language (default "en").
...	Additional arguments passed to get_inkar_data().

Value

A tibble with English column names.

Examples

try(df <- inkar("011", level = "KRE"))
  try(df <- inkar("011", level = "KRE", year = 2019:2021))

---

Plot Time Series Trends for INKAR Indicators

Description

Creates a ggplot2 line chart showing how indicator values change over time for selected regions. Input must be a long-format data frame from get_inkar_data().

Usage

inkar_trends(data, regions = NULL, title = NULL, mode = c("light", "dark"))

Arguments

data	A long-format data frame from get_inkar_data().
regions	Optional character vector. Region names (partial match) to include. If NULL, all regions are plotted.
title	Optional character. Custom plot title. Defaults to indicator name.
mode	Character. "light" (default) or "dark" theme.

Value

A ggplot2 object.

Examples

df <- try(get_inkar_data("011", level = "KRE", lang = "en"))
  if (is.data.frame(df)) {
    inkar_trends(df, regions = c("Berlin", "Hamburg", "München"))
  }

---

Plot INKAR Data on German Maps

Description

Automatically projects regional INKAR data onto administrative boundaries of Germany using the geodata and sf packages. Supports Bund (BND), Bundeslaender (BLD), Kreise (KRE), and Gemeinden (GEM) levels. Alternatively, a custom sf geometry can be provided.

Usage

plot_inkar(
  data,
  variable = NULL,
  year = NULL,
  mode = c("light", "dark"),
  highlight = NULL,
  breaks = c("equal", "quantile"),
  title = NULL,
  geom = NULL
)

Arguments

data	A data frame returned by get_inkar_data().
variable	Character. For wide-format data with multiple indicators, specify which indicator column to plot.
year	Integer/Character. If the data contains multiple years, specify which year to plot. If NULL and multiple years exist, the most recent year is plotted.
mode	Character. "light" (default) or "dark" theme.
highlight	Character vector. Region names (partial match) to highlight; all other regions are shown at reduced opacity.
breaks	Character. Color scale break method: "equal" (default) or "quantile" for quantile-based color breaks.
title	Character. Custom plot title. Defaults to the indicator name.
geom	Optional sf object (spatial data frame) to use for plotting. If supplied, GADM geometries are not downloaded, and the data is merged directly with this object.

Value

A ggplot2 object displaying the mapped data.

---

Search Indicators and Print Results

Description

Search for indicators by keyword. Prints a formatted table and invisibly returns the matches so you can copy the ID for use in inkaR().

Usage

search_indicators(pattern, lang = c("de", "en"), theme = NULL)

Arguments

pattern	Text to search in names and descriptions.
lang	Language to search in ("de" or "en").
theme	Optional character. Filter to a specific theme/domain before searching. Use get_themes() to list available themes.

Value

A filtered tibble of indicators (invisibly).

---

Interactively Select an Indicator

Description

Opens a GUI selection list (e.g., in RStudio) to browse and pick an indicator. For code-based workflows, use inkaR("name") or search_indicators() instead.

Usage

select_indicator(pattern = NULL, lang = c("de", "en"))

Arguments

pattern	Optional character. Pre-filter the list by a keyword or regex. If NULL (default), the full indicator list is shown.
lang	Language for names: "de" (default) or "en".

Value

Character. The selected indicator ID, or NULL if cancelled.

---

Interactively Select a Spatial Level

Description

Provides an interactive console menu to choose an INKAR spatial level. If a variable ID is provided, it probes the live API to find which levels actually have data for that indicator.

Usage

select_level(variable = NULL)

Arguments

variable

Optional character. The indicator ID to probe available levels.

Value

Character. The selected level ID, e.g., "KRE".

---

Interactively Select Years

Description

Probes the API for available years for a specific indicator and level, then allows the user to select one or more years.

Usage

select_years(variable, level)

Arguments

variable	Indicator ID.
level	Spatial level ID.

Value

Character vector of years.

---

Premium ggplot2 theme for inkaR

Description

Premium ggplot2 theme for inkaR

Usage

theme_inkaR(mode = c("light", "dark"), base_size = 11)

Arguments

mode	Character. "light" or "dark".
base_size	Numeric. Base font size.

---

Refresh Local Indicators Metadata

Description

Checks the INKAR API for new indicators not present in the local indicators dataset. The check is informational only; reinstall the package to permanently add new indicators to local metadata.

Usage

update_indicators(lang = c("de", "en"))

Arguments

lang	Character. Language for messages: "de" or "en".

Value

Invisibly returns the local indicators tibble.

---

View Indicators in RStudio Viewer

Description

Opens the available indicators in the RStudio data viewer for easy filtering and searching.

Usage

view_indicators(lang = c("de", "en"), theme = NULL)

Arguments

lang	Language code: "de" (German) or "en" (English).
theme	Optional character. Filter to a specific theme/domain before opening the viewer. Use get_themes() to list available themes.

Value

Invokes View() on the data frame.

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