About EVS

The European Values Study (EVS) is a large-scale, cross-national, repeated cross-sectional survey research programme on basic human values. It provides insights into the ideas, beliefs, preferences, attitudes, values and opinions of citizens all over Europe. The European Values Study covers a wide range of human values, with main topics concerning…

• Family
• Work
• Environment
• Perceptions of life
• Politics
• Society
• Religion
• National identity

The European Values Study started in 1981 when a thousand citizens in the European Member States of that time were interviewed using standardized questionnaires. Every nine years, the survey is repeated in a variable number of countries. The fourth wave in 2008 covered no less than 47 European countries/regions, from Iceland to Georgia and from Portugal to Norway. In total, about 70,000 people in Europe are interviewed.

In-depth analyses of 1981, 1990, 1999, and 2008 findings of Western and Central Europe reinforced the impression that a profound transformation of modern culture is taking place, although not at the same speed in all countries. Cultural and social changes appear dependent upon the stage of socio-economic development and historical factors specific to a given nation. The 2017 wave provides further insights into this matter, also allowing analyses of the impact of the economic crises on the Europeans’ values.

The data of the European Values Study are available free of charge. Rich academic literature has been created around the original and consecutive surveys, and numerous other works have made use of the findings: more than 2800 publications are listed in the EVS Bibliography.

All EVS data products are made available thanks to the data archive at GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences. The Data Archive is charged with the task of data preservation and dissemination, making the EVS data available to the worldwide scientific community using various distribution technologies, licensing models, and documentation standards, as well as applying great measures for the digital long-term preservation of all relevant materials submitted by EVS.A representative of the data archive is ex-ufficio member of the Executive Committee.

Short history of the European Values Survey

The European Values Study was initiated by the European Value Systems Study Group (EVSSG) in the late 1970s, at that time an informal grouping of academics. Now, it is carried on in the setting of a foundation, using the (abbreviated) name of the group: European Values Study (EVS). The EVSSG researchers aimed at exploring the moral and social values underlying European social and political institutions and governing conduct. At the time of the first survey, the first elections for the European Parliament were approaching, a bishops conference was organized, and questions were raised such as:

• Do Europeans share common values?
• Are values changing in Europe and, if so, in what directions?
• Do Christian values continue to permeate European life and culture?
• Is a coherent alternative meaning system replacing that of Christianity?
• What are the implications for European unity?

To answer these questions, a survey was planned and in 1981 interviews were conducted in ten European countries (also including Northern Ireland which was investigated separately from Great Britain). The research project aroused interest in North and South America, the Middle and Far East, Australia, and South Africa where affiliated groups were set up to administer the same questionnaire. Agreements were negotiated regarding the exchange of data for intercontinental and inter-cultural comparisons. As a result, a unique dataset became available, covering 26 nations. To explore the dynamics of values changes, a second wave of surveys was launched in 1990 in more European countries, including Switzerland, Austria, and countries in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the US and Canada. About ten years later (1999), the third EVS wave was conducted in almost all European countries, with the exception of Norway, Switzerland and some of the former Yugoslavian countries. This allowed for the investigation of causes and consequences of the dynamics of value change. In 2008, the fourth wave of the European Values Study took place. The fieldwork covers no less than 47 European countries/regions, from Iceland to Azerbaijan and from Portugal to Norway. For the 2017 wave, EVS cooperated with WVS for data collection in Europe. The preparation is enriched through participation in the SERISS project.

Not all European countries were represented from the beginning, but the number of participating countries has kept growing each wave. See the maps below for the country participation between 1981-2017, with the last wave including 37 participating countries:

The sixth wave, EVS 2026, is currently in development, more information and updates can be found here.