The Turning Points of the Life Course (TPLC) panel survey is the Hungarian participant in the GGP. Conducted by the Hungarian Demographic Research Institute between 2001 and 2017, the study includes five waves (2001–2002, 2004–2005, 2008–2009, 2012–2013, and 2016–2017). The baseline sample consisted of 16,363 respondents aged 18–75, of whom 6,315 completed all five waves. The project was launched to document and analyse post-1990 demographic shifts in Hungary, such as declining fertility, delayed childbearing, the rise of unmarried cohabitation, as well as the social and economic context of these changes.
From wave 2 onwards, the TPLC was incorporated into the international GGS Round I, adopting its core questionnaire while retaining country-specific modules. The use of a stratified sampling method, systematic respondent tracking, and a gradual shift from paper-based to computer-assisted interviewing ensured the high quality of the data. Despite attrition, panel stability remained comparatively strong, with nearly 40% of the initial sample retained after 15 years.
The English-language longitudinal database contains around 7,000 variables relating to fertility, partnerships, households, work, education, income, health, ageing, values, and attitudes.
Documentation
Questionnaires and answer sheet booklets can be downloaded here:
- Questionnaire, wave 1
- Questionnaire, wave 2
- Questionnaire, wave 3
- Questionnaire, wave 4
- Questionnaire, wave 5
- Calendar, wave 2
- Answer sheet booklet, wave 1
- Answer sheet booklet, wave 2
- Answer sheet booklet, wave 3
- Answer sheet booklet, wave 4
- Answer sheet booklet, wave 5
- Content summary table with variable names, waves 1–5
Data access
The datasets can be downloaded from the GGP Data Portal under “Additional Datasets”.
For background information on the study, download the user guide:
Acknowledgements
In any work emanating from this research, data users are asked to acknowledge the data source as follows:
Data source: Hungarian Demographic Research Institute (2025). Turning Points of the Life Course panel survey. GGP Data Archive, data file version 1.0.0 (2025), doi: 10.5281/zenodo.17237544
