EVS/WVS 1981-2022 trend file (v4.0; Jun 30, 2024)
The European Value Study (EVS) and the World Value Survey (WVS) are two large-scale, cross-national, and repeated cross-sectional longitudinal survey research programs. Since their emergence in the early 1980s, the EVS has conducted 5 survey waves (every 9 years) and the WVS has conducted 7 survey waves (every 5 years). Both research programs include a large number of questions, which have been replicated over time and across the EVS and the WVS surveys. Such repeated questions constitute the Integrated Values Surveys (IVS), the joint EVS-WVS time-series data which at the moment covers a 40-years period (1981-2022).
The IVS is constructed from the EVS and WVS trend files
EVS and WVS time-series data-sets are released independently by EVS/GESIS and the WVSA/JDS. The Integrated Values Surveys (IVS) dataset 1981-2022 can be constructed by merging the EVS Trend File 1981-2017 (doi:10.4232/1.14021) and the WVS trend 1981-2022 data-set doi:10.14281/18241.27. It is based on the Common EVS/WVS Dictionary (2021) and includes 452 surveys from 115 countries/territories.
Both organizations have published the current EVS and WVS trend files in close cooperation. The EVS archive (GESIS) has been responsible for generating the EVS Trend File 1981-2017. The WVS archive (JDSystems Madrid) has been responsible for generating the WVS Time-Series 1981-2022. From the two data files, it is easy for data users to construct the Integrated Values Surveys 1981-2022 data file, which contains the five waves of the EVS and the seven waves of the WVS.
Source data files
- EVS (2021): EVS Trend File 1981-2017. GESIS Data Archive, Cologne. ZA7503 Data file Version 3.0.0, doi:10.4232/1.14021.
- Haerpfer, C., Inglehart, R., Moreno, A., Welzel, C., Kizilova, K., Diez-Medrano J., M. Lagos, P. Norris, E. Ponarin & B. Puranen et al. (eds.). 2022. World Values Survey Trend File (1981-2022) Cross-National Data-Set. Madrid, Spain & Vienna, Austria: JD Systems Institute & WVSA Secretariat. Data File Version 2.0.0, doi:10.14281/18241.27.
EVS and WVS distribute the trend files through their website and retrieval systems. Thus, regular information on the source data files, errata and version history, and documentation are provided here on the EVS website and the WVS website.
Access to the data, similiar to the previous rounds, is free, with no registration or payments required. With their main mission to facilitate advancement of Social Sciences worldwide, the WVS and the EVS want to make sure our survey data can equally serve the needs of the academic community in all parts of the world.
The new concept of the EVS and WVS trend files
A new approach has been agreed to transform the former large EVS and WVS longitudinal trend files, which contained almost all variables of the EVS and WVS waves respectively, into leaner and easier-to-use files. Both EVS and WVS trend files are based on the updated Common EVS/WVS Dictionary (2021). It contains only those variables/questions that have been replicated by EVS and/or WVS since the early 1980s. In order to identify the trend variables within EVS or WVS and across both projects, two inclusion requirements were agreed upon:
- According to requirement 1, all variables that have been used at least twice in the EVS or twice in the WVS are included in the respective EVS or WVS trend file.
- According to requirement 2, all variables that have been used at least once in the EVS and once in the WVS are included in the respective EVS or WVS trend file.
The Common EVS/WVS Dictionary (2021) gives an overview of the EVS and WVS variables included in the Integrated Values Surveys 1981-2022 constructed after merging the EVS and WVS trend files. It informs about the correspondence of the variables to the five EVS waves and seven WVS waves as well as their compliance with the agreed inclusion requirements mentioned above.
The content of data files and the relation between them is depicted in the following table.
Composition of the IVS 1981-2022
| |
IVS |
EVS Trend File |
WVS Trend File |
| Survey period |
1981-2022 |
1981-2017 |
1981-2022 |
| Number of waves |
7 |
5 |
7 |
| Number of cases |
663.965 |
224.434 |
442.473 |
| Number of variables |
838 |
635 |
732 |
| Countries/ territories |
120 |
49 |
108 |
| Number of surveys |
464 |
160 |
306 |
Building the IVS 1981-2022
(1) Download the EVS and WVS data files and documentation from the EVS and WVS websites.
(2) Download the syntax in the format you need (SPSS or STATA)
- IVS_Merge_Syntax (SPSS) (download link below on this page) or
- IVS Merge Syntax (STATA) (download link below on this page)
(3) Merge the two trend files to generate the IVS 1981-2022.
WVS data download
IVS merge syntax
IVS documentation
Citation when using IVS:
- EVS (2022): EVS Trend File 1981-2017. GESIS Data Archive, Cologne. ZA7503 Data file Version 3.0.0, doi:10.4232/1.14021
- Haerpfer, C., Inglehart, R., Moreno, A., Welzel, C., Kizilova, K., Diez-Medrano J., M. Lagos, P. Norris, E. Ponarin & B. Puranen et al. (eds.). 2022. World Values Survey Trend File (1981-2022) Cross-National Data-Set. Madrid, Spain & Vienna, Austria: JD Systems Institute & WVSA Secretariat. Data File Version 4.0.0, doi:10.14281/18241.27.
Please send your bibliographic citation based on IVS to:
If you have any questions about the data and documentation, please send us an E-Mail: