# Linked Open Government Data: Still a Viable Option for Sharing and Integrating Public Data?
## 5 What Is the Current State of Linked Open Government Data?
### What Is the Prevalence of RDF and SPARQL Endpoint Distributions in National OGD Portals?
The systematic analysis of the 78 countries that ranked highest in the GODI, conducted between June and September 2023, serves both as an update and a complement to the results of previously cited studies. This analysis confirms the continued very low adoption of RDF in the distribution of OGD datasets. Out of these 78 portals, only 26 feature at least one RDF distribution and only 21 of them have more than one. As illustrated in Figure 2, only 10 of these 26 portals have more than a marginal one percent of RDF distributions. However, the overall percentage of RDF usage remains low, with only four portals exceeding a 4 percent usage rate. Among the portals analyzed, the Italian portal notably stands out with a modest yet comparatively higher adoption rate of RDF, at 6.5%. Additionally, a closer examination in absolute terms further highlights the limited extent of RDF adoption in OGD. Among the 21 portals that feature multiple RDF distributions, they collectively account for just 19,255 out of an extensive total of 801,765 datasets,  
Figure 2: Percentage of datasets with an RDF distribution per country. which equates to a mere 2.4 percent. This figure, however, is significantly skewed by the contributions of a few countries. Notably, the United States, Italy, and Spain have a disproportionate impact on this percentage, with their respective counts of 10,297 RDF datasets out of 250,717, 3854 out of 59,516, and 2530 out of 69,879. In contrast, countries like Australia, Germany, the UK, and France display a markedly lower number of RDF representations, despite their substantial volumes of published datasets. For instance, Australia and Germany, with 105,647 and 82,845 datasets, respectively, maintain only 331 and 265 RDF distributions each. The situation is even more pronounced in the UK and France, where, despite having 51,502 and 44,486 datasets, respectively, each country has a surprisingly low number of 13 RDF distributions. This discrepancy highlights the uneven adoption of RDF across different national portals, and underscores the need for a broader and more balanced advancement in the use of RDF in OGD initiatives. Interestingly, the distribution between the \"Very High\" and \"High\" categories by the GODI is evenly split, with each category comprising 39 countries. However, a closer examination of the 21 countries that maintain more than one RDF dataset, as shown in Figure 2 and in Table 11, reveals that 16 of them, accounting for over three-quarters, are rated as \"Very High\" by GODI. This trend suggests that a strong commitment to good OGD practices may be somewhat conducive to the adoption of LOD practices. However, considering the overall limited adoption of LOD, as evidenced by our analysis, this potential facilitation appears modest. The examination of the second key indicator, the presence of national SPARQL endpoints, reveals an even more challenging scenario in the realm of LOD practices. Among the 78 countries evaluated, a mere five--Italy, the Czech Republic, Spain, Germany, and Croatia--have established a SPARQL endpoint. Notably, Italy, Spain, and the Czech Republic are also among those countries that demonstrated a higher presence of RDF distributions. This limited deployment of SPARQL endpoints, essential for querying RDF data, further underscores the global disparity in the adoption of advanced LOD technologies within government data initiatives. The scarcity of such endpoints reflects a significant hurdle in realizing the full potential of LOD, especially in facilitating efficient data interoperability and access across diverse government platforms. This result resonates with the literature, which on several occasions reports that most of the SPARQL endpoints were unavailable or almost permanently down [47; 71]. Meanwhile, [PERSON] et al. [70] notes, \"Unfortunately, in recent years, a significant number of data providers have ceased supporting and maintaining public SPARQL endpoints, thereby damaging the trust between consumers and open Linked Data providers\".