World Values Survey
World Values Survey: What people around the world believe
The World Values Survey (WVS) is a global research project started in 1981 to study people’s values and beliefs, how they change over time, and how they affect society and politics. A worldwide network of social scientists now conducts representative surveys in nearly 100 countries, with new waves every 5 to 10 years.
What the WVS looks at: democracy support, tolerance of foreigners and minorities, views on gender equality, the role of religion, attitudes toward globalization, the environment, work, family, politics, national identity and culture, and how safe and happy people feel.
Two big ideas guide the analysis. First, cross‑cultural differences often follow two dimensions: traditional vs secular‑rational values, and survival vs self‑expression values. As countries become wealthier and more developed, many shift from traditional toward secular‑rational and from survival toward self‑expression values. Emancipative values are an updated form of self‑expression values, while secular values update traditional ones. These shifts are linked to changes in democracy, gender equality, and public participation.
Key findings in simple terms: economic development and democratization go hand in hand with more tolerance, personal freedom, and happiness. Gender equality tends to rise with development and democracy. Religiosity varies between countries and shapes daily life and politics in different ways. In industrialized societies, self‑expression values are stronger, while many developing regions still show stronger traditional or survival values.
How the data are used: WVS data are publicly available online and have been used in thousands of studies, reports, and news stories. The United Nations Development Programme has used WVS data to create a Worldwide Gender Social Norms Index since 2019. The project has produced hundreds of publications and continues to shape how we understand values, culture, and change around the world.
Organization and access: the WVS is a non‑profit network coordinated by a central body, with a research archive in Madrid and leadership from a rotating executive committee. The data can be downloaded and analyzed online, and researchers from many countries contribute to and learn from the growing global picture of values.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 18:00 (CET).