Data / Harmonized Histories

The Data

The Harmonized Histories is an international comparative dataset, created through harmonizing data from existing surveys into one common format. The aim of the Harmonized Histories is to facilitate cross-national research on topics related to transition to adulthood, family formation, and non-marital childbearing.  The dataset focuses on fertility and partnership histories, organized in a way that makes it well suited for event history analysis. In addition, it captures socio-economic status, place of residence, information on the childhood family (e.g. parental divorce, number of siblings), etc.

Topics Covered

How to Access and Cite the Data

Step 1. Register / sign in as a GGP User on the website
Step 2. Submit a new form for the required datasets: ‘All countries (Light Access) – Harmonized Histories’
Step 3. Await the e-mail with further information
Step 4. Sign and send the data-agreement(s)

If you use the dataset “Harmonized Histories”, please cite:

Perelli-Harris, Brienna, Michaela Kreyenfeld, and Karolin Kubisch (2010). Technical Manual for the Harmonized Histories Database. Rostock, MPIDR Working paper 2010-011.

If you use the dataset “Harmonized Histories I”, please cite:

Koops, Judith. C., Kubisch, Karolin, Beaupré, Pascale, Cabella, Wanda, Fernández Soto, Mariana, Fostik, Ana, Mogi, Ryohei, Nathan, Mathias, Pardo, Ignacio, Pedetti, Gaby, Simon, Sebastian (2022) Harmonized Histories I. Generations and Gender Programme.

If you use the dataset “Harmonized Histories II”, please cite:

Schumann, Almut, Allegra, Salvatore Filadelfo, Meli, Eleonora (2024) Harmonized Histories II. Generations and Gender Programme.

Countries and Datasets

Country

Survey

Sample Size

Male

Female

Codebook (PDF)

Austria

GGS-I1  (2008)

5000

1,999

3,001

Austria

Belarus

GGS-II1  (2017)

9,994

4,480

5,514

Belarus

Belgium

GGS-I1  (2008)

7163

3,435

3,728

Belgium

Bulgaria

GGS-I1  (2004)

12,858

5,851

7,007

Bulgaria

Canada

GSS2 (2006)

22,557

10,017

12,540

Canada

Canada

GSS2 (2011)

21,052

9,450

11,602

Canada

Czech Republic

GGS-I1  (2004)

10,006

4,797

5,209

Czech Republic

Czech Republic

GGS-II1  (2022)

5,583

2,287

3,296

Czech Republic

Denmark

GGS-II1  (2021)

8,269

3,659

4,610

Denmark

Estonia

GGS-I1  (2004)

7,855

2,821

5,034

Estonia

Estonia

GGS-II1  (2022)

8,992

3,897

5,095

Estonia

France

GGS-I1  (2005)

10,079

4,371

5,708

France

Georgia

GGS-I1  (2006)

10,000

4,405

5,595

Georgia

Germany

GGS-I1  (2005)

10,017

4,610

5,407

Germany

Germany

Pairfam3 (2008-14) 

13,891

6,760

7,129

Germany Pairfam

Hungary

GGS-I1  (2004)

13,540

6,023

7,517

Hungary

Italy

GGS-I1  (2003)

9,570

4,455

5,115

Italy

Italy

Fss10 (2016)

24,753

12,039

12,714

Italy

Kazakhstan

GGS-II1  (2018)

14,840

5,804

9,036

Kazakhstan

Lithuania

GGS-I1  (2006)

10,036

4,999

5,037

Lithuania

Moldova

GGS-II1  (2020)

10,036

3,825

6,211

Moldova

Netherlands

FFS4 (2003) 

8,145

3,916

4,229

Netherlands FFS

Netherlands

OG5 (2013)

10,255

5,075

5,180

Netherlands OG

Norway

GGS-I1  (2007)

14,880

7,339

7,541

Norway

Norway

GGS-II1  (2020)

5,031

2,162

2,869

Norway

Poland

GGS-I1  (2010)

19,987

8,409

11,578

Poland

Romania

GGS-I1  (2005)

11,986

5,977

6,009

Romania

Russia

GGS-I1  (2004)

11,261

4,223

7,038

Russia

Spain

SFS6 (2006) 

9,737

0

9,737

Spain SFS 2006

Spain

SFS6 (2018)

17,175

2,619

14,556

Spain SFS 2018

Sweden

GGS-I1  (2012-13)

9,688

4,697

4,991

Sweden

UK

BHPS7 (2005-06) 

14,539

6,683

7,856

UK

Uruguay

ENCoR8 2015

3,487

1,583

1,904

Uruguay

Uruguay

GGS-II1  (2022)

7,192

2,608

4,575

Uruguay

USA

NSFG9 1995

10,847 0 10,847 USA 1995
USA NSFG9 2007 13,495 6,139 7,356

USA 2007

1 Generations and Gender Survey
2 General Social Survey
3 Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics
4 Family and Fertility Survey
5 Onderzoek Gezinsvorming
6 Spanish Fertility Survey (Encuesta de Fecundidad)
7 British Household Panel Study
8 Reproductive Behavior Survey (Encuesta de Comportamientos Reproductivo)
9 National Survey for Family Growth 6 Spanish Fertility Survey (Encuesta de Fecundidad)
10 Families, social subjects and life cycle Survey

List of Individual Contributors

Country

Survey

Contributors

Austria

GGS-I  (2008)

Caroline Berghammer (Vienna Institute of Demography)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Belarus

GGS-I  (2017)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Belgium

GGS-I  (2008)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Bulgaria

GGS-I  (2004)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Canada

GSS (2006)

Ana Fostik (Statistics Canada)

Pascale Beaupré (Statistics Canada)

Judith Koops (Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Canada

GSS (2011)

Ana Fostik (Statistics Canada)

Judith Koops (Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Czech Republic

GGS-I  (2004)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Czech Republic

GGS-II (2022)

Almut Schumann (German Federal Institute for Population Research)

Denmark

GGS-II (2021)

Almut Schumann (German Federal Institute for Population Research)

Estonia

GGS-I  (2004)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Estonia

GGS-II (2022)

Almut Schumann (German Federal Institute for Population Research)

France

GGS-I  (2005)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Georgia

GGS-I  (2006)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Germany

GGS-I  (2005)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Germany

Pairfam (2008-14) 

Michaela Kreyenfeld (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Hungary

GGS-I  (2004)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Italy

GGS-I  (2003)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Italy

Fss (2016)

Eleonora Meli (Italian National Institute of Statistics)

Salvatore Filadelfo Allegra (Italian National Institute of Statistics)

Almut Schumann (German Federal Institute for Population Research)

Kazakhstan

GGS-II  (2018)

Judith Koops (Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Lithuania

GGS-I  (2006)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Moldova

GGS-II  (2020)

Judith Koops (Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Netherlands

FFS (2003) 

Renske Keizer (Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Netherlands

OG (2013)

Sebastian Simon (Universiteit Leiden)

Judith Koops (Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Norway

GGS-I  (2007)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Norway

GGS-II (2020)

Almut Schumann (German Federal Institute for Population Research)

Judith Koops (Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute)

Poland

GGS-I  (2010)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Romania

GGS-I  (2005)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Russia

GGS-I  (2004)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Spain

SFS (2006) 

Alicia Adsera (Princeton University)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Spain

SFS (2018)

Ryohei Mogi (Center for Demographic Studies, Barcelona)

Judith Koops (Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Sweden

GGS-I  (2012-13)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

UK

BHPS (2005-06) 

Wendy Sigle-Rushton (London School of Economics)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Uruguay ENCoR 2015

Mariana Fernández Soto (Universidad de la República)

Ignacio Pardo (Universidad de la República)

Wanda Cabella (Universidad de la República)

Mathias Nathan (Universidad de la República)

Gaby Pedetti (Universidad de la República)

Judith Koops (Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Uruguay GGS-II (2022)

Almut Schumann (German Federal Institute for Population Research)

USA

NSFG 1995

Katherine Michelmore (Cornell University)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

USA NSFG 2007

Katherine Michelmore (Cornell University)

Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

Related Projects

Changing Life Course Regimes (CLiCR)

The Changing Life Course Regimes (CLiCR) data cover 19 post-socialist contexts: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. It is constructed with the publicly available data sources: Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), Family and Fertility Surveys (FFS), Generations and Gender Surveys (GGS) and the Life in Transition Survey (LiTS). The standardization process is based on and largely adopts the strategy behind the Harmonized Histories. The data was harmonized by Aija Duntava and Sunnee Billingsley. The project received financial contribution from the Stockholm Centre on Health of Societies in Transition (SCOHOST) at Södertörns University and the Linnaeus Center on Social Policy and Family Dynamics at Stockholm University’s Demography Unit. Contact Sunnee Billingsley to receive the list of permissions from DHS, FFS and GGS that must be submitted before accessing the data. More information can be found here.

Understanding Society: Partnership and Fertility Histories

Based on data from Understanding Society, the UK Household Longitudinal Study, partnership and fertility histories are harmonized as part of the GGP Harmonized Histories. Understanding Society is a British household panel which started in 2009. It is conducted by the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex, and the survey research organisations Kantar Public and NatCen. The partnership and fertility histories of adult respondents are harmonized up to wave 9. The standardisation process follows the guidelines of the Harmonized Histories and makes it comparable with Harmonized Histories data files from other countries. The availability of several panel waves makes it possible to provide two datasets: The first one includes a cross-sectional Harmonized Histories dataset with retrospective information based on wave 1, the second dataset contains updated information from the following years until wave 9. We acknowledge the work by Brienna Perelli-Harris, Niels Blom and Karolin Kubisch for making these datasets available. More information about data access and the project can be found here.

Acknowledgements

Harmonized Histories team

Since 2015 the Harmonized Histories dataset is developed and expanded by researchers from different institutes. We acknowledge the important contributions of the project coordinator Almut Schumann (German Federal Institute for Population Research) who is in charge of harmonizing and documenting the datasets. We thank Judith C. Koops (Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute) for her important efforts in coordinating the project and supporting the harmonisation process until the beginning of 2022 as well as all researchers and institutes who have contributed to the harmonization and preparatory work of the data (see List of Individual Contributors).

The development of the project would not have been possible without the encouragement and support of Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute in The Hague and the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Rostock.

Initiators

We are very grateful to Brienna Perelli-Harris, Michaela Kreyenfeld, Karolin Kubisch, Wendy Sigle-Rushton, Renske Keizer, Paola DiGiulio, and all members of the Nonmarital Childbearing Network www.nonmarital.org from various research institutions who in 2009 initiated the idea of a comparative database of union and fertility histories.

We acknowledge the important contribution of the project head Brienna Perelli-Harris (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research and later University of Southampton), project leader Michaela Kreyenfeld (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research), Karolin Kubisch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research) who managed the standardization and cleaning process of the surveys, drew up detailed documentation, updated the surveys, and responded to users, and Sigrid Gellers-Barkmann (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research) who managed data distribution from Rostock and was responsible for data protection and contacts with users.

The development of the project in the period 2009-2015 would not have been possible without the encouragement and financial support of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Rostock and the support from the Datalab of the MPI and especially its head Vladimir Shkolnikov, who supported the enormous amount of work of Karolin Kubisch on this project. We are also grateful to the former director of MPIDR Joshua Goldstein for his support.

List of publications

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

Start your research with GGP Data today

Subscribe to our Mailing List!

Fill the form below with your contact information to receive our monthly GGP at a glance newsletter.