THE WORLD VALUES
SURVEY

01 Introduction

The World Values Survey (WVS) is an international research program studying social, political, economic, religious, and cultural values across the globe. Founded in 1981 by Professor Ronald Inglehart from the University of Michigan, the WVS operates in more than 120 countries and conducts comprehensive surveys every five years. The WVS is also the largest non-commercial cross-national investigation of human beliefs and values ever executed.

 

02 Why It Matters?

The WVS helps us understand how global values differ across cultures and evolve over time, providing crucial insights for policymakers, researchers, and society. By revealing what people care about and what motivates their behavior, the survey informs effective policy design, strengthens democratic institutions, tracks social transformation, and helps address pressing global challenges like inequality, climate change, and political polarization.

Quality Assurance

The WVS maintains consistency through standardized questionnaires, translator and interviewer training, supervision, and data validation procedures. All countries follow the same core questionnaire, translated to maintain conceptual equivalence.

Survey Frequency

Surveys are conducted globally every five years, allowing researchers to track value changes over time. This longitudinal design is one of the WVS’s greatest strengths, enabling distinction between short-term fluctuations and long-term shifts in human values.

Data Access

A defining characteristic of the WVS is its commitment to free, open-access data. Survey datasets are available to researchers, policymakers, students, and the public without cost or restrictive licensing, democratizing access to high-quality social science data.

 

03 Methodology

The WVS employs rigorous methodological standards to ensure data validity, reliability, and comparability across countries and time periods.

Data Collection
The primary method for data is face-to-face interviews conducted at respondents’ homes. Answers are recorded using either paper questionnaires (PAPI) or Computer Assisted Personal Interviews (CAPI). The WVS Association emphasizes high-quality standards for sampling, questionnaire administration, and data processing to ensure scientific validity and cross-country comparability.

Sampling Standards

National Representation: Surveys require a representative sample of the adult population covering at least 95% of the country’s population.

Geographic Coverage: Regions with less than 1-3% of the population may be excluded for practical reasons, unless they are remote areas where safety cannot be guaranteed.

Age Range: Samples cover adults aged 18 and above. In exceptional cases, individuals aged 16 and above may be interviewed. There is no upper age limit.

Migrant Population: If migrants exceed 50% of the population, the sample covers residents, not just citizens. Migrant workers are included if they have spent at least 24 months in the country.

Population Structure: Each national team develops its sample structure to reflect the country’s population distributions by gender, age, urban/rural status, education, and income, using the latest census or official statistical data.

04 Sample Distribution by Age, Gender, and Province of WVS 8 Indonesia

No. Provinsi Total N N(Wanita) N(Pria) N(18-25 tahun) N(26-40 tahun) N(41-60 tahun) N(>60 tahun)
1Bali54272713211010
2Banten1881256325668116
3Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta512427821193
4DKI Jakarta133815120384827
5Jawa Barat306213912710913832
6Jawa Tengah336158176777515727
7Jawa Timur2141229236787327
8Kalimantan Barat4931181519123
9Kalimantan Selatan512328142314
10Kalimantan Tengah4927221318153
11Lampung109862312295513
12Nusa Tenggara Barat9965341425546
13Nusa Tenggara Timur9944551534464
14Riau8530542629291
15Sulawesi Selatan2151328355746422
16Sumatera Barat675116424327
17Sumatera Selatan10161392231453
18Sumatera Utara10070299314119
Grand Total 2306 1370 928 405 745 933 223

Interested in Learning More?

worldvaluessurvey.org