Nova Scotians are continuing to use and find value in government's open data portal with downloads more than doubling over the past year.

Several new and updated data collections have been made available online to mark the second anniversary of open data in Nova Scotia, including:

medical examiner investigation data

adult admissions to custody by gender

fuel and tobacco permits and licences

disability support program participants in community-based living arrangements

adult services centres

compost management tonnage and cost

transfer station tonnage and cost

private schools granting the Nova Scotia High School Leaving Certificate

public opinion research

Today's additions bring the total number of datasets and views to over 670.

"Governments across the world are committed to making data freely available to citizens and Nova Scotia is proud to be part of this movement," said Internal Services Minister Patricia Arab. "We will continue improving transparency and access to information for all Nova Scotians."

The open data portal has received more than 570,000 page views in the past two years. The most accessed data collections include Crown lands, public service information, historical vital statistics and environmental monitoring reports.

Nova Scotia launched the open data portal to give free, easy access to a wealth of government information. The portal contains data collections, high-resolution 3D maps and some information previously only available for a fee.

The website is data.novascotia.ca .