# Convert JSON to Athena data types
<a name="converting-json-to-native-data-types"></a>

To convert JSON data to Athena data types, use `CAST`.

**Note**  
In this example, to denote strings as JSON-encoded, start with the `JSON` keyword and use single quotes, such as `JSON '12345'` 

```
WITH dataset AS (
  SELECT
    CAST(JSON '"HELLO ATHENA"' AS VARCHAR) AS hello_msg,
    CAST(JSON '12345' AS INTEGER) AS some_int,
    CAST(JSON '{"a":1,"b":2}' AS MAP(VARCHAR, INTEGER)) AS some_map
)
SELECT * FROM dataset
```

This query returns:

```
+-------------------------------------+
| hello_msg    | some_int | some_map  |
+-------------------------------------+
| HELLO ATHENA | 12345    | {a:1,b:2} |
+-------------------------------------+
```