Background
The GGS is a cross-national, longitudinal survey that studies families, life course trajectories, and gender relations. Round I, launched in the early 2000s under the coordination of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), was the first large-scale effort to provide comparable data on family dynamics and demographic change across Europe and beyond.
GGS-I laid the foundation for the programme, creating a harmonized cross-national dataset on fertility, partnerships, intergenerational exchanges, work–family balance, and ageing. With more than 200,000 respondents in over 20 countries, it became one of the most important resources for the study of demographic behaviour and social change.
Countries & Fieldwork
Between 2004 and 2012, more than 20 countries took part in Round I. In some countries the GGS was conducted as a stand-alone survey, while in others it was integrated into existing national studies, such as the Netherlands Kinship Panel Survey. National research teams were responsible for funding, translation, sampling, and fieldwork. This decentralized model made it possible to capture a wide range of national contexts, but it also led to differences in implementation, response rates, and data quality. Despite these challenges, Round I remains a unique resource, covering both Western and Eastern Europe as well as countries outside Europe.
Learn more about fieldwork procedures in GGS-I
https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol34/18/34-18.pdf
Data Availability
All GGS Round I data have been released and are available for scientific use through the GGP Data Portal. In addition to the country-specific datasets, the GGP provides consolidated files that bring together data across participating countries. These files ensure harmonization and comparability, making it easier for users to work with the data in a cross-national perspective.
Survey Methodology
GGS Round I was designed as a longitudinal panel survey, with a baseline interview and follow-ups at three-year intervals. It targeted the resident, non-institutionalized population aged 18–79 and applied probability-based sampling to ensure nationally representative samples.
Most surveys were conducted face-to-face using paper-and-pencil interviewing (PAPI) or computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI). In a few countries, telephone interviews (CATI) or mixed approaches were used. Fieldwork typically included interviewer training, translation of the standardized questionnaire, and pilot testing to adapt to local contexts while maintaining cross-national standards.
Response rates varied across countries, reflecting differences in survey infrastructures and national contexts. Despite these variations, the survey achieved large, representative samples of individuals aged 18–79, forming the foundation of the longitudinal design with follow-up interviews planned approximately three years later.
For more detailed information on key aspects such as sampling, fieldwork, response rates, weighting, and representativeness, see Fokkema et al. (2016).
Documentation
Comprehensive documentation is available for each participating country. This includes details on sampling, fieldwork procedures, questionnaires, and data processing. All documentation is stored in the GGP Colectica Portal, where users can browse metadata at variable level and explore differences across countries.
Survey Content
The GGS is grounded in the life course perspective and its multidisciplinary extension, which aim to capture diverse life paths and the interconnected roles individuals play in various domains, such as work and family. The survey examines the complexities of family life, demographic behaviour, and socio-economic influences on individuals, families, and households.
Households: Socio-demographic information about all household members, Information about the dwelling, satisfaction with the dwelling, future moving intentions, destination where to move to;
Children: Children, (non) co-resident and step-children, relationship and interaction frequency with non-resident children, satisfaction with relationship with non-co-resident children, childcare arrangement (household childcare tasks, external childcare support), detailed information on child and partner alimony, grandchildren;
Partnerships: Basic partnership information and partnership history, reasons for living apart, plans to start living together, household dynamics for co-residential partners (task division, decision making), relationship dynamics (satisfaction, disagreements), other people’s opinions on moving in with the partner;
Household organisation and partnership quality: household organisation, decision-making, partnership quality;
Parents and parental home: Parent’s socio-demographic information, contact with parents, relationship satisfaction with parents, parental home during childhood, detailed classification of living arrangement, intention to start living separately from parents;
Fertility: Fertility intentions, contraceptive methods, infertility issues, opinions of partner/spouse and others about having another child;
Health and well-being: health in general, personal care, emotional support, locus of control, overall satisfaction with life, general happiness level, loneliness;
Activity and income: Activity status, occupation, contract type, commuting time, parental leave, work organization, work-life balance, additional job or business, type of income, partner’s work and income, details on previous employment;
Household possessions, income and transfers: household possession and economic deprivation, income from other sources than employment, total household income, monetary transfers and inheritance;
Value orientation and attitudes: Attitudes towards marriage, intergenerational relations, gender roles, religious denomination and attendance, attitudes towards older people, societal responsibilities, children’s qualities, work.
How to Access and Cite the Data
Data Access
Data from GGS Round I are freely available to registered researchers through the GGP Data Portal, together with detailed documentation and variable-level metadata. For most countries, access is granted through a simple online application. For Norway and Australia, however, a longer procedure applies, as data requests must follow additional national approval steps before access can be granted.
Citation
When using GGS-I data, please cite each dataset and acknowledge the funders of each participating country. This ensures transparency and supports continued data collection. Full details are provided in our Citation Guidelines.
If you are using the consolidated file, please use the following citation
- Generations and Gender Programme, 2019, "Generations and Gender Survey (GGS) - Wave 1", https://doi.org/10.17026/DANS-Z5Z-XN8G, DANS Data Station Social Sciences and Humanities, V1
- Generations and Gender Programme, 2019, "Generations and Gender Survey (GGS) - Wave 2", https://doi.org/10.17026/DANS-XM6-A262, DANS Data Station Social Sciences and Humanities, V1,
