Distance Queries - SPARQLqueries

The wikibase:around Service

Wikidata provides the wikibase:around service for finding entities within a certain distance of a point. This is optimized for geospatial searches and much faster than manual distance calculations.

Parameter	Description
`wikibase:center`	The center point (WKT literal)
`wikibase:radius`	Search radius in kilometers
`wikibase:distance`	Variable to store calculated distance

Finding Nearby Places

Universities Within 50km of Paris

Run ↗

#defaultView:Map
SELECT ?uni ?uniLabel ?coord ?dist
WHERE {
  # Paris center point
  BIND("Point(2.3522 48.8566)"^^geo:wktLiteral AS ?center)

  SERVICE wikibase:around {
    ?uni wdt:P625 ?coord .
    bd:serviceParam wikibase:center ?center .
    bd:serviceParam wikibase:radius "50" .
    bd:serviceParam wikibase:distance ?dist .
  }

  # Filter to universities only
  ?uni wdt:P31/wdt:P279* wd:Q3918 .  # university

  SERVICE wikibase:label {
    bd:serviceParam wikibase:language "en,fr" .
  }
}
ORDER BY ?dist

Geospatial Service: wikibase:around | Radius: 50km

Programming: Tech Companies Near Silicon Valley

Software Companies Near San Jose

Run ↗

#defaultView:Map
SELECT ?company ?companyLabel ?coord ?dist
WHERE {
  # San Jose, California
  BIND("Point(-121.8863 37.3382)"^^geo:wktLiteral AS ?center)

  SERVICE wikibase:around {
    ?company wdt:P625 ?coord .
    bd:serviceParam wikibase:center ?center .
    bd:serviceParam wikibase:radius "30" .
    bd:serviceParam wikibase:distance ?dist .
  }

  ?company wdt:P31/wdt:P279* wd:Q4830453 ;  # business
           wdt:P452 wd:Q638 .            # software industry

  SERVICE wikibase:label {
    bd:serviceParam wikibase:language "en" .
  }
}
ORDER BY ?dist

Geospatial Domain: Programming | Tech companies

Cultural Heritage: Museums Near Me

Art Museums Within 25km of Any City

Run ↗

#defaultView:Map
SELECT ?museum ?museumLabel ?coord ?dist
WHERE {
  # London coordinates
  BIND("Point(-0.1276 51.5074)"^^geo:wktLiteral AS ?center)

  SERVICE wikibase:around {
    ?museum wdt:P625 ?coord .
    bd:serviceParam wikibase:center ?center .
    bd:serviceParam wikibase:radius "25" .
    bd:serviceParam wikibase:distance ?dist .
  }

  ?museum wdt:P31/wdt:P279* wd:Q207694 .  # art museum

  SERVICE wikibase:label {
    bd:serviceParam wikibase:language "en" .
  }
}
ORDER BY ?dist

Geospatial Domain: Cultural Heritage | Museums in London

Archaeological Sites Near Rome

Run ↗

#defaultView:Map
SELECT ?site ?siteLabel ?coord ?dist
WHERE {
  # Rome coordinates
  BIND("Point(12.4964 41.9028)"^^geo:wktLiteral AS ?center)

  SERVICE wikibase:around {
    ?site wdt:P625 ?coord .
    bd:serviceParam wikibase:center ?center .
    bd:serviceParam wikibase:radius "50" .
    bd:serviceParam wikibase:distance ?dist .
  }

  ?site wdt:P31 wd:Q839954 .  # archaeological site

  SERVICE wikibase:label {
    bd:serviceParam wikibase:language "en,it" .
  }
}
ORDER BY ?dist

Geospatial Historical sites near Rome

Urban: Transit Within Walking Distance

Metro Stations Within 1km

Run ↗

#defaultView:Map
SELECT ?station ?stationLabel ?coord
       (ROUND(?dist * 1000) AS ?meters)
WHERE {
  # Eiffel Tower
  BIND("Point(2.2945 48.8584)"^^geo:wktLiteral AS ?center)

  SERVICE wikibase:around {
    ?station wdt:P625 ?coord .
    bd:serviceParam wikibase:center ?center .
    bd:serviceParam wikibase:radius "1" .  # 1 km
    bd:serviceParam wikibase:distance ?dist .
  }

  ?station wdt:P31 wd:Q928830 .  # metro station

  SERVICE wikibase:label {
    bd:serviceParam wikibase:language "en,fr" .
  }
}
ORDER BY ?dist

Geospatial Domain: Urban | Walking distance queries

Manual Distance Calculation

For calculating distance without the around service, use geof:distance. This is useful when comparing distances between known points.

Distance Between Two Cities

Run ↗

SELECT ?city1Label ?city2Label
       (ROUND(geof:distance(?coord1, ?coord2, uom:kilometre)) AS ?distKm)
WHERE {
  VALUES (?city1 ?city2) {
    (wd:Q90 wd:Q84)    # Paris - London
    (wd:Q60 wd:Q65)    # New York - Los Angeles
    (wd:Q1490 wd:Q956) # Tokyo - Beijing
  }
  ?city1 wdt:P625 ?coord1 .
  ?city2 wdt:P625 ?coord2 .
  SERVICE wikibase:label {
    bd:serviceParam wikibase:language "en" .
  }
}

Geospatial Function: geof:distance with units