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What is the European Social Survey?
The European Social Survey (ESS) is a cross-national academic survey that measures public attitudes, beliefs and behaviour across European countries, and publishes the results as open-access data for research and teaching. It runs in repeated rounds: the homepage currently highlights Round 11 (2023/24) data and post-stratification weights from 31 participating countries, notes that a first Round 12 release is scheduled for early 2027, and points to a three-wave online panel run in Munich and Paris under the ICOS Cities project. All data and documentation are now distributed through the ESS Data Portal rather than by direct download from the main site. It has held European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) status since 2013, which signals that it is set up as a formal, long-term research infrastructure rather than a one-off project.
What you can actually do with it
- Compare countries on the same questions. Because the same core questionnaire is fielded across countries in each round, you can put, say, attitudes to immigration or trust in institutions side by side for dozens of countries in a single year.
- Track change over time. Repeated rounds let you follow a trend within a country, which is the main reason to prefer ESS over a single cross-sectional survey.
- Pool several countries into one analysis. Use the supplied post-stratification weights so national samples reflect known population totals; without them, cross-country averages are biased toward whichever countries have larger samples.
- Teach with real data. The Topline Findings publications and themed reports (for example on the human values scale and wellbeing) work well as set readings before a methods seminar.
Who it suits, and the trade-offs
| Reader | Good fit | Main trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Academic researcher in sociology, political science or economics | Harmonised cross-national items, weights, full documentation | You must learn the data portal's file structure and weight variables before analysis |
| Policy analyst or journalist | Topline findings and themed reports give quick, citable figures | Published summaries are less flexible than running your own tabulation |
| Student or lecturer | Free, documented data plus ready-made reports | Not a source of country-specific detail; each national sample is modest |
| Market researcher | Rigorous methodology and transparent sampling | Not designed for commercial segmentation; question wording is fixed |
A practical next step
Before downloading anything, write down the exact concept you need (for example "confidence in parliament") and check whether it appears in the same wording across the rounds you plan to use. If it does not, decide whether to restrict your analysis to the rounds where it is present or to treat the change in wording as a limitation. Then pull the weights file for each country alongside the main data, since the two are distributed separately and analyses run without them are easy to get wrong.
For complementary cross-national data with a different question set and country coverage, the World Values Survey at World Values Survey is a common comparison point.
How can I access and download the ESS Round 11 dataset?
Access the ESS Round 11 (2023/24) data through the ESS Data Portal, which is now the only route to all European Social Survey data and documentation. The homepage confirms the Round 11 dataset and post-stratification weights are available for all 31 participating countries, but it does not spell out the portal's download steps, so treat the workflow below as general guidance rather than a description of the interface.
Typical access workflow
- Go to the ESS Data Portal from the homepage link "Discover the Data Portal."
- Create or sign in to a data-portal account if the download requires one.
- Find Round 11 (2023/24) in the study or round list.
- Choose the format you need: integrated multi-country file for cross-national comparison, or single-country files for a national analysis.
- Download the data file together with the documentation, including the questionnaire and codebook.
- Download the post-stratification weights and apply them as the documentation directs, so estimates reflect the target population.
Which files to request
| Analysis goal | Files to prioritise | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Comparing countries | Integrated Round 11 file, full documentation, weights | Large files and more complex variable handling |
| Studying one country | That country's file, its documentation, weights | Easier to manage, but not suited to cross-national comparison |
| Checking question wording | Questionnaire and codebook first | No data analysis until you also download the dataset |
For a concrete case: a policy researcher comparing attitudes across several countries should start with the integrated file and weights, then consult the codebook before recoding. A student analysing one country can begin with the single-country file and its documentation.
If you need help interpreting variables or weights, the ESS Methodology section and its Survey Specification are the natural next stop. For related cross-national survey data, see International Social Survey Programme and World Values Survey.
How do I use post-stratification weights when analyzing ESS data?
Post-stratification weights adjust for differences between your sample and known population totals (age, sex, education, region), so weighted estimates better represent the target population. For ESS data, the practical rule is: apply the weight variable supplied with the dataset, and apply it at the level the weight was designed for.
Practical workflow
- Download through the ESS Data Portal. The site states all ESS data and documentation are now accessible only through the ESS Data Portal, and that data and post-stratification weights are available for all 31 countries in Round 11 (2023/24). Get the weight variable and its documentation from the same release as your data file.
- Read the weight documentation before analyzing. ESS publishes methodology material and a Survey Specification describing its methods. The documentation tells you which weight applies to which sample (for example, country-level versus cross-national pooled analysis) and how it was constructed.
- Declare the design in your software. In R, Stata, SPSS or Python survey packages, specify the weight variable plus clustering and stratification variables where the documentation provides them, rather than treating the data as a simple random sample.
- Report weighted results and design-based standard errors. Post-stratification weights change point estimates and, combined with clustering, usually widen standard errors compared with unweighted naive calculations.
Decisions that commonly trip people up
- Pooled cross-national analysis: a weight calibrated for one country does not automatically make a pooled multi-country estimate representative. Check whether the release includes a combined weight or whether you need to rescale country weights by population size, and follow the documentation's guidance.
- Subgroup analysis: weighting does not fix small subgroup sample sizes; report unweighted counts alongside weighted percentages.
- Comparisons over time: use the weight from each round's release rather than carrying one round's weight across rounds.
- Panel data: the site notes web-first panel data (CRONOS-3) and the ICOS Cities three-wave panel are separate products with their own documentation; do not assume the main survey's post-stratification weight applies to them.
Example scenario
A researcher pooling Round 11 data across several countries to estimate trust in institutions should first read the weight documentation, then run the analysis with the survey design declared, compare weighted and unweighted estimates as a sensitivity check, and describe in the methods section which weight was used and why.
Next step: open the ESS Data Portal, download the Round 11 data file together with its weight documentation, and confirm which weight variable matches your analysis level before running any models. For methodology background, the ESS methodology pages on European Social Survey describe the survey's quality standards; general guidance on weighting and variance estimation is also available from OECD and Pew Research Center methods resources.
What does the ESS do to ensure high-quality cross-national survey methodology?
The ESS treats methodology as a core product, not a footnote: it publishes a Survey Specification that sets out the standards its cross-national work must meet, and it states that a key aim is both to apply high-quality standards and to raise standards across cross-national surveys generally. Methodology documentation is organized so you can navigate it either through a flow diagram or the main menu, which suits readers who want a quick overview versus those tracing a specific step.
What this means in practice
- Standardized specification first. Because the standards are written down as a specification, national teams in different countries work to the same documented requirements rather than each setting their own.
- Documentation travels with the data. Survey data and documentation are accessed together through the ESS Data Portal, and post-stratification weights are released alongside each round's dataset — relevant if you plan to compare countries or correct for sample composition.
- Methodological breadth. Beyond the main face-to-face survey, the ESS documents other designs it has fielded, including a web-first, probability-based cross-national panel (CRONOS-3, under Infra4NextGen) and a three-wave online panel in Munich and Paris for the ICOS Cities project. Each design carries its own methodological documentation.
- Transparency about timing and change. Release notes flag when access routes change (all data and documentation now go through the Data Portal) and when new rounds appear — Round 11 (2023/24) covers 31 countries, with initial Round 12 data expected in early 2027.
How to use this as a researcher
If you are deciding whether ESS data can support a cross-national comparison, start with the Survey Specification and the methodology pages before downloading, and check the weights documentation for the round you need. For a concrete case: a team comparing attitudes across a dozen countries should confirm that the countries of interest appear in the same round, read the specification for translation, sampling and fieldwork requirements, and apply the supplied post-stratification weights.
For complementary methodological guidance on comparative survey design, the official sites of OECD and GESIS publish relevant survey methodology resources.
Where can I find ESS findings and publications on public attitudes and wellbeing?
Start with the ESS Findings and Publications section linked from the homepage, which gathers the Topline Findings series, the "Exploring public attitudes, informing public policy" series, and special reports on the human values scale and wellbeing. For original analysis rather than summaries, go to the ESS Data Portal, where all data and documentation are now accessed; Round 11 (2023/24) covers 31 countries.
Which resource fits your need
| Need | Where to go on the ESS site |
|---|---|
| Quick headline results on attitudes or wellbeing | Topline Findings series |
| Policy-oriented discussion of public attitudes | "Exploring public attitudes, informing public policy" series |
| Focused analysis of values or wellbeing measures | Special reports on the human values scale and wellbeing |
| Your own cross-national analysis | ESS Data Portal (data and post-stratification weights) |
| Web-first panel comparisons | CRONOS-3 panel data (Infra4NextGen project) |
A practical next step
If you are preparing a briefing on, say, wellbeing differences across countries, read the relevant Topline Findings report first to frame the question, then download the Round 11 dataset from the Data Portal and apply the post-stratification weights before computing country estimates. For urban or panel-based questions, the CRONOS-3 data and the ICOS Cities three-wave panel (Munich and Paris, 2023–2024) offer narrower but more recent options.
For related cross-national context, the OECD and Eurofound publish comparable social and wellbeing indicators.
What is the CRONOS-3 online panel data and how can I access it?
CRONOS-3 is the European Social Survey's web-first, cross-national online panel data, collected as part of the Infra4NextGen project. It is probability-based, meaning respondents are recruited through a random-selection approach rather than open self-enrolment, which makes it more suitable for population-level inference than a typical convenience panel. The ESS describes it as self-completion panel data gathered across multiple countries in successive waves.
What it is useful for
- Cross-national comparison: comparing attitudes or behaviours across countries using harmonised questions.
- Panel analysis: tracking change within the same respondents over waves, for example around topics tied to next-generation policy.
- Methods research: studying online self-completion data quality, attrition and cross-country measurement.
How to access it
All ESS data, including CRONOS-3, is now distributed only through the ESS Data Portal at European Social Survey. Start at the Data Portal, locate the CRONOS-3 or online panel collection, and follow its download and registration steps. Check the accompanying documentation for fieldwork dates, country coverage and any weighting variables before analysis.
A practical decision point
Choose CRONOS-3 when you need multi-country panel data collected online with probability-based recruitment. If your question needs the long-running face-to-face core survey series with its full question battery, use the main ESS rounds instead; if you need very rapid turnaround on a narrow topic, a smaller ad hoc online study may fit better. Whichever you pick, confirm the wave's country list and sample design in the documentation, since panel composition can change between waves.
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