# UNESCO World Heritage Sites List Scraper (`jungle_synthesizer/unesco-world-heritage-list-scraper`) Actor

Scrapes the complete UNESCO World Heritage List — all inscribed and tentative sites with geo-coordinates, cultural/natural category, inscription criteria, danger status, area, and states parties. Data sourced from the official UNESCO World Heritage Centre.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/jungle\_synthesizer/unesco-world-heritage-list-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [BowTiedRaccoon](https://apify.com/jungle_synthesizer) (community)
- **Categories:** Travel, Education
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

Pay per event

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md):

```bash
npm install apify-client
```

In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md):

```bash
pip install apify-client
```

In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md):

````bash
# MacOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash
# Windows
irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex
```bash

In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md).

If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).


# README

## UNESCO World Heritage Sites List Scraper

Scrape the complete [UNESCO World Heritage List](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/) — all ~1,250 inscribed sites with geo-coordinates, cultural/natural/mixed category, inscription criteria, danger status, and states parties. Data sourced directly from the official UNESCO World Heritage Centre XML feed.

---

### UNESCO World Heritage Sites List Scraper Features

- Returns all 1,200+ inscribed sites from the official UNESCO XML feed in a single run
- Optional: scrape the tentative list (~1,700 candidate sites) or both lists combined
- Extracts 19 fields per site: name, category, region, lat/lon, inscription year, criteria codes, danger status, area, and more
- Criteria codes returned in standard UNESCO format: `(i),(iii),(vi)` — ready for filtering or display
- Danger status and year included — distinguishes currently-at-risk heritage from safe inscriptions
- Direct URLs to each site's UNESCO detail page and primary image
- States parties returned as a comma-separated list — easy to filter by country
- Pay-per-record pricing: $0.10 per run + $0.002 per record

---

### Who Uses UNESCO World Heritage Data?

- **Travel content creators** — Build destination guides, itineraries, and "top heritage sites by region" lists with verified UNESCO data
- **Tourism boards and DMOs** — Access authoritative site metadata, categories, and danger status for official travel marketing
- **Education platforms** — Populate lesson plans, quizzes, and encyclopedias with up-to-date heritage site information
- **LLM and RAG knowledge bases** — Ingest the full World Heritage List as a structured dataset for AI assistants and retrieval systems
- **Researchers and NGOs** — Analyze distribution of heritage sites by country, region, category, or danger status
- **App developers** — Build interactive heritage maps, country-by-country explorers, or cultural travel apps

---

### How UNESCO World Heritage Sites List Scraper Works

1. Select a list type: `inscribed` (default), `tentative`, or `all`.
2. The actor obtains a valid session for the UNESCO World Heritage Centre website, which is protected by Cloudflare.
3. The official XML feed is fetched — a single 2.4 MB document containing all site records.
4. Each `<row>` element is parsed into a structured record with all 19 fields.
5. Records stream into the Apify dataset. A full inscribed-list run (~1,250 sites) finishes in under two minutes.

---

### Input

```json
{
    "maxItems": 100,
    "listType": "inscribed"
}
````

| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|-------|------|---------|-------------|
| `maxItems` | integer | 0 (all) | Maximum number of records to return. Set to 0 or omit for all sites. |
| `listType` | string | `inscribed` | Which list to scrape: `inscribed` (~1,250 sites), `tentative` (~1,700 candidate sites), or `all` (both combined). |
| `proxyConfiguration` | object | Apify residential | Proxy settings. The actor requires residential proxies to pass the site's Cloudflare protection. Leave as default unless you have a specific proxy requirement. |

***

### Output

Each record in the dataset represents one UNESCO World Heritage Site.

```json
{
    "site_id": 90,
    "name": "Abu Mena",
    "name_local": null,
    "category": "Cultural",
    "short_description": "<p>The church, baptistry, basilicas, public buildings, streets...</p>",
    "states_parties": "Egypt",
    "region": "Arab States",
    "latitude": 30.8358333333,
    "longitude": 29.66666667,
    "date_inscribed": 1979,
    "criteria": "(iv)",
    "in_danger": true,
    "danger_listed_year": 2001,
    "area_hectares": null,
    "extension": false,
    "transboundary": false,
    "detail_url": "https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/90",
    "image_url": "https://whc.unesco.org/uploads/sites/site_90.jpg",
    "source_id": "90"
}
```

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `site_id` | integer | Unique numeric site identifier assigned by UNESCO |
| `name` | string | Site name in English |
| `name_local` | string | Site name in the local/official language (null if not published in XML) |
| `category` | string | Site category: `Cultural`, `Natural`, or `Mixed` |
| `short_description` | string | Official UNESCO short description (may contain HTML) |
| `states_parties` | string | Comma-separated list of countries (full names, e.g. `France,Spain`) |
| `region` | string | UNESCO world region (e.g. `Europe and North America`, `Asia and the Pacific`) |
| `latitude` | number | Site latitude in decimal degrees (primary component for transnational sites) |
| `longitude` | number | Site longitude in decimal degrees |
| `date_inscribed` | integer | Year the site was inscribed on the World Heritage List |
| `criteria` | string | Inscription criteria as a comma-separated string, e.g. `(i),(iii),(vi)` |
| `in_danger` | boolean | `true` if the site is on the List of World Heritage in Danger |
| `danger_listed_year` | integer | Year the site was added to the danger list (null if not in danger) |
| `area_hectares` | number | Total inscribed area in hectares (null — not published in the XML feed) |
| `extension` | boolean | `true` if this inscription was an extension of an earlier site |
| `transboundary` | boolean | `true` if the site spans multiple countries |
| `detail_url` | string | Full URL to the site's page on the UNESCO World Heritage Centre website |
| `image_url` | string | URL of the primary site image on the UNESCO website |
| `source_id` | string | Raw source identifier from the XML feed |

***

### Notes

- `area_hectares` is `null` for all records — the official XML feed does not include area data. Area figures are available on per-site detail pages.
- `name_local` is `null` for all inscribed-list records — the inscribed XML does not include local-language names.
- For tentative-list sites, `date_inscribed` holds the submission year, not an inscription year (these sites are not yet inscribed).
- Latitude/longitude values for transnational sites with multiple geographic components reflect the first component's coordinates.

# Actor input Schema

## `sp_intended_usage` (type: `string`):

Please describe how you plan to use the data extracted by this crawler.

## `sp_improvement_suggestions` (type: `string`):

Provide any feedback or suggestions for improvements.

## `sp_contact` (type: `string`):

Provide your email address so we can get in touch with you.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of sites to return. Set 0 or leave blank for all sites (~1,250 inscribed + ~1,700 tentative).

## `listType` (type: `string`):

Which list to scrape: 'inscribed' (default, ~1,250 sites), 'tentative' (~1,700 sites), or 'all' (both lists combined).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...",
  "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...",
  "sp_contact": "Share your email here...",
  "maxItems": 10,
  "listType": "inscribed"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...",
    "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...",
    "sp_contact": "Share your email here...",
    "maxItems": 10,
    "listType": "inscribed"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("jungle_synthesizer/unesco-world-heritage-list-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...",
    "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...",
    "sp_contact": "Share your email here...",
    "maxItems": 10,
    "listType": "inscribed",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("jungle_synthesizer/unesco-world-heritage-list-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...",
  "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...",
  "sp_contact": "Share your email here...",
  "maxItems": 10,
  "listType": "inscribed"
}' |
apify call jungle_synthesizer/unesco-world-heritage-list-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=jungle_synthesizer/unesco-world-heritage-list-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

```json
{
    "openapi": "3.0.1",
    "info": {
        "title": "UNESCO World Heritage Sites List Scraper",
        "description": "Scrapes the complete UNESCO World Heritage List — all inscribed and tentative sites with geo-coordinates, cultural/natural category, inscription criteria, danger status, area, and states parties. Data sourced from the official UNESCO World Heritage Centre.",
        "version": "0.1",
        "x-build-id": "fQkAXbS2Qx5Q3re1x"
    },
    "servers": [
        {
            "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
        }
    ],
    "paths": {
        "/acts/jungle_synthesizer~unesco-world-heritage-list-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-jungle_synthesizer-unesco-world-heritage-list-scraper",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/jungle_synthesizer~unesco-world-heritage-list-scraper/runs": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "runs-sync-jungle_synthesizer-unesco-world-heritage-list-scraper",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK",
                        "content": {
                            "application/json": {
                                "schema": {
                                    "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/jungle_synthesizer~unesco-world-heritage-list-scraper/run-sync": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-jungle_synthesizer-unesco-world-heritage-list-scraper",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    },
    "components": {
        "schemas": {
            "inputSchema": {
                "type": "object",
                "properties": {
                    "sp_intended_usage": {
                        "title": "What is the intended usage of this data?",
                        "minLength": 1,
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Please describe how you plan to use the data extracted by this crawler."
                    },
                    "sp_improvement_suggestions": {
                        "title": "How can we improve this crawler for you?",
                        "minLength": 1,
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Provide any feedback or suggestions for improvements."
                    },
                    "sp_contact": {
                        "title": "Contact Email",
                        "minLength": 1,
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Provide your email address so we can get in touch with you."
                    },
                    "maxItems": {
                        "title": "Max Items",
                        "type": "integer",
                        "description": "Maximum number of sites to return. Set 0 or leave blank for all sites (~1,250 inscribed + ~1,700 tentative)."
                    },
                    "listType": {
                        "title": "List Type",
                        "enum": [
                            "inscribed",
                            "tentative",
                            "all"
                        ],
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Which list to scrape: 'inscribed' (default, ~1,250 sites), 'tentative' (~1,700 sites), or 'all' (both lists combined)."
                    }
                }
            },
            "runsResponseSchema": {
                "type": "object",
                "properties": {
                    "data": {
                        "type": "object",
                        "properties": {
                            "id": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "actId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "userId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "startedAt": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "format": "date-time",
                                "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
                            },
                            "finishedAt": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "format": "date-time",
                                "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
                            },
                            "status": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "example": "READY"
                            },
                            "meta": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "origin": {
                                        "type": "string",
                                        "example": "API"
                                    },
                                    "userAgent": {
                                        "type": "string"
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "stats": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "inputBodyLen": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 2000
                                    },
                                    "rebootCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "restartCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "resurrectCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "computeUnits": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "options": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "build": {
                                        "type": "string",
                                        "example": "latest"
                                    },
                                    "timeoutSecs": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 300
                                    },
                                    "memoryMbytes": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 1024
                                    },
                                    "diskMbytes": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 2048
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "buildId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultKeyValueStoreId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultDatasetId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultRequestQueueId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "buildNumber": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "example": "1.0.0"
                            },
                            "containerUrl": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "usage": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 1
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_SERPS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "usageTotalUsd": {
                                "type": "number",
                                "example": 0.00005
                            },
                            "usageUsd": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "number",
                                        "example": 0.00005
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_SERPS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
```