Project: World Values Survey (WVS)

World Values Survey (WVS)

The WVS is a global network of social scientists who are analyzing the basic values and beliefs of people throughout the world. In order to monitor changes in values and understand their implications, the WVS has carried out successive waves of surveys since 1981 in over 100 countries, containing almost 90 percent of the world’s population. This project provides an unparalleled data base for the analysis of the role of human beliefs and values in social, economic and political change. Results from more than 4,000 publications demonstrate that the values of ordinary people have an important impact on a wide range of important social phenomena, ranging from human fertility rates to gender equality, and the extent to which democratic institutions emerge and flourish.