SOEP-Core v35i (international edition, data 1984-2018)

The Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) is a representative, multi-cohort survey that has been running since 1984. Every year, individuals in households throughout Germany are surveyed by our survey institute on behalf of DIW Berlin. These respondents provide information on topics such as their income, employment history, education, and health. Because the same people are surveyed every year, it is possible to track long-term psychological, economic, societal, and social developments. To keep pace with changes in society, random samples are added regularly and the survey is adapted accordingly.

Summary: This is the international Science Use Version of the SOEP-Core dataset 10.5684/soep-core.v35. It contains 95% of all households from the first wave of each SOEP subsample based on a random sampling of the original households in each subsample. It is released for worldwide use.

Dataset Information

Title: Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), data from 1984-2018, international version

DOI infoFind an explanation on the usage of DOI here. : 10.5684/soep-core.v35i
Collection period: 1984-2018
Publication date: 2019-11-01
Principal investigators: Stefan Liebig, Jan Goebel, Martin Kroh, Carsten Schröder, Markus Grabka, Jürgen Schupp, Charlotte Bartels, Alexandra Fedorets, Andreas Franken, Jannes Jacobsen, Selin Kara, Peter Krause, Hannes Kröger, Maria Metzing, Jana Nebelin, David Richter, Diana Schacht, Paul Schmelzer, Christian Schmitt, Daniel Schnitzlein, Rainer Siegers, Knut Wenzig, Stefan Zimmermann

Contributor: Kantar Public Germany (Data Collector)

Population: Persons living in private households in Germany

Number of households: 16,000

Number of individuals: 25,000

Special samples: Migration (since 1994/95, 2013, 2015), Refugees (since 2016). A complete description of all samples can be found under SOEP Samples in Detail.

Sampling: All samples of SOEP are multi-stage random samples which are regionally clustered. The respondents (households) are selected by random-walk or register sample.

Collection Mode:The interview methodology of the SOEP is based on a set of pre-tested questionnaires for households and individuals. Principally an interviewer tries to obtain face-to-face interviews with all members of a given survey household aged 16 years and over. Additionally one person (head of household) is asked to answer a household related questionnaire covering information on housing, housing costs, and different sources of income. This covers also some questions on children in the household up to 16 years of age, mainly concerning attendance at institutions (kindergarten, elementary school)

Citation of the Data Set: Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), data for years 1984-2018, version 35i, SOEP, 2019, doi:10.5684/soep-core.v35i.

Documentation

Further information and documentation on the dataset can be found on the SOEP-Core v35 page.

Publications using this file should refer to the above DOI infoFind an explanation on the usage of DOI here.and cite following references

  • Goebel, Jan, Markus M. Grabka, Stefan Liebig, Martin Kroh, David Richter, Carsten Schröder, and Jürgen Schupp. 2019. The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik (Journal of Economics and Statistics) 239 (2), 345-360. (https://doi.org/10.1515/jbnst-2018-0022)

If you do not exclude the cases of the migration samples in your analysis, then please also cite the following reference:

  • Herbert Brücker, Martin Kroh, Simone Bartsch, Jan Goebel, Simon Kühne, Elisabeth Liebau, Parvati Trübswetter, Ingrid Tucci & Jürgen Schupp. 2014. The new IAB-SOEP Migration Sample: an introduction into the methodology and the contents. SOEP Survey Paper 216 (PDF, 444.25 KB), Series C. Berlin, Nürnberg: DIW Berlin.

If you do not exclude the cases of the refugee samples in your analysis, please also cite: 

  • Herbert Brücker, Yuliya Kosyakova, Nina Rother, Sabine Zinn, Elisabeth Liebau, Wenke Gider, Silvia Schwanhäuser, & Manuel Siegert. 2025. Exploring Integration and Migration Dynamics: The Research Potentials of a Large-Scale Longitudinal Household Study of Refugees in Germany. European Sociological Review. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcaf032.

If you use data from the SOEP-LEE2 surveys, please also cite:

  • Wenzel Matiaske, Torben Dall Schmidt, Christoph Halbmeier, Martina Maas, Doris Holtmann, Carsten Schröder, Tamara Böhm, Stefan Liebig, and Alexander S. Kritikos. 2023. SOEP-LEE2 : Linking Surveys on Employees to Employers in Germany. Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik Data Observer, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1515/jbnst-2023-0031.

If you would like to refer more specifically, please also cite:

  • Schröder, Carsten, Johannes König, Alexandra Fedorets, Jan Goebel, Markus M. Grabka, Holger Lüthen, Maria Metzing, Felicitas Schikora, and Stefan Liebig. 2020. The economic research potentials of the German Socio-Economic Panel study. German Economic Review 21 (3), 335-371. (https://doi.org/10.1515/ger-2020-0033)
  • Giesselmann, Marco, Sandra Bohmann, Jan Goebel, Peter Krause, Elisabeth Liebau, David Richter, Diana Schacht, Carsten Schröder, Jürgen Schupp, and Stefan Liebig. 2019. The Individual in Context(s): Research Potentials of the Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) in Sociology. European Sociological Review 35 (5), 738-755. (https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcz029)
  • Jacobsen, Jannes, Magdalena Krieger, Felicitas Schikora, and Jürgen Schupp. 2021. Growing Potentials for Migration Research using the German Socio-Economic Panel Study. Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik 241 (4), 527-549. (https://doi.org/10.1515/jbnst-2021-0001)
  • Fedorets, Alexandra, Stefan Kirchner, Jule Adriaans, and Oliver Giering. 2022. Data on Digital Transformation in the German Socio-Economic Panel. Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik 242 (5-6), 691-705. (https://doi.org/10.1515/jbnst-2021-0056)


Individual (PAPI) 2018: 2) Individual (PAPI) 2018 Field-de 4) Individual (PAPI) 2018 Field-en 6) Individual (PAPI) 2018 Var-de 8) Individual (PAPI) 2018 Var-en
Household (PAPI) 2018: 10) Household (PAPI) 2018 Field-de 12) Household (PAPI) 2018 Field-en 14) Household (PAPI) 2018 Var-de 16) Household (PAPI) 2018 Var-en
Biography (PAPI) 2018: 18) Biography (PAPI) 2018 Field-de,en 20) Biography (PAPI) 2018 Var-de 22) Biography (PAPI) 2018 Var-en
Catch-up Individual (PAPI) 2018: 24) Catch-up Individual (PAPI) 2018 Field-de 26) Catch-up Individual (PAPI) 2018 Var-de 28) Catch-up Individual (PAPI) 2018 Var-en
Youth (16-17-year-olds, PAPI) 2018: 30) Youth (16-17-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Field-de 32) Youth (16-17-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-de 34) Youth (16-17-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-en
Early Youth (13-14-year-olds, PAPI) 2018: 36) Early Youth (13-14-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Field-de 38) Early Youth (13-14-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-de 40) Early Youth (13-14-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-en
Pre-teen (11-12-year-olds, PAPI) 2018: 42) Pre-teen (11-12-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Field-de 44) Pre-teen (11-12-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-en 46) Pre-teen (11-12-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-en
Mother and Child (Newborns, PAPI) 2018: 48) Mother and Child (Newborns, PAPI) 2018 Field-de 50) Mother and Child (Newborns, PAPI) 2018 Var-de 52) Mother and Child (Newborns, PAPI) 2018 Var-en
Mother and Child (2-3-year-olds, PAPI) 2018: 54) Mother and Child (2-3-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Field-de 56) Mother and Child (2-3-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-de 58) Mother and Child (2-3-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-en
Mother and Child (5-6-year-olds, PAPI) 2018: 60) Mother and Child (5-6-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Field-de 62) Mother and Child (5-6-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-de 64) Mother and Child (5-6-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-en
Parents and Child (7-8-year-olds, PAPI) 2018: 66) Parents and Child (7-8-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Field-de 68) Parents and Child (7-8-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-de 70) Parents and Child (7-8-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-en
Mother and Child (9-10-year-olds, PAPI) 2018: 72) Mother and Child (9-10-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Field-de 74) Mother and Child (9-10-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-de 76) Mother and Child (9-10-year-olds, PAPI) 2018 Var-en
Deceased Individual (PAPI) 2018: 78) Deceased Individual (PAPI) 2018 Field-de 80) Deceased Individual (PAPI) 2018 Var-de 82) Deceased Individual (PAPI) 2018 Var-en
Grip Strength 2018: 84) Grip Strength 2018 Field-de

Please find all sample specific questionnaires of this year and all questionnaires of previous years on this site

1) SOEP-Core v35 – Documentation of Sample Sizes and Panel Attrition in the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP)(1984 until 2018)

2) SOEP-Core – 2018: Sampling, Nonresponse, and Weighting in the Sample O

3) SOEP-Core v35 – PPATHL: Person-Related Meta-Dataset

4) SOEP-Core v35 – Biographical Information in the Meta File PPATH (Month of Birth, Immigration Variables, Living in East or West Germany in 1989)

5) SOEP-Core v35 – HPATHL: Household-Related Meta-Dataset

6) SOEP-Core v35 – PBRUTTO: Person-Related Gross File

7) SOEP-Core v35 – HBRUTTO: Household-Related Gross File

8) SOEP-Core v35 – PGEN: Person-Related Status and Generated Variables

9) SOEP-Core v35 – HGEN: Household-Related Status and Generated Variables

10) SOEP-Core v35 – Codebook for the $PEQUIV File 1984-2018: CNEF Variables with Extended Income Information for the SOEP

11) SOEP-Core v35 – BIOIMMIG

12) SOEP-Core v35 – HEALTH

13) SOEP-Core v35 – BIOPAREN: Biography Information for the Parents of SOEP-Respondents

14) SOEP-Core v35 – BIOAGEL & BIOPUPIL: Generated Variables from the "Mother & Child", "Parent", "Pre-Teen", and "Early Youth" Questionnaires

15) SOEP-Core v35 – BIOSIB: Information on Siblings in the SOEP

16) SOEP-Core v35 – The Couple History Files BIOCOUPLM and BIOCOUPLY, and Marital History Files BIOMARSM and BIOMARSY

17) SOEP-Core v35 – BIOAGE17: The Youth Questionnaire

18) SOEP-Core v35 – BIOSOC: Retrospective Data on Youth and Socialization

19) SOEP-Core v35 – BIOJOB: Detailed Information on First and Last Job

20) SOEP-Core v35 – BIOEDU: Data on Educational Participation and Transitions

21) SOEP-Core v35 – BIORESID: Variables on Occupancy and Second Residence

22) SOEP-Core v35 – BIOBIRTH: A Data Set on the Birth Biography of Male and Female Respondents

23) SOEP-Core v35 – BIOTWIN: TWINS in the SOEP

24) SOEP-Core v35 – PFLEGE: Documentation of Generated Person-level Long-term Care Variables

25) SOEP-Core – 2018: Documentation of the Interviewer Dataset (1984 until 2018)

26) SOEP-Core v35 – INTERVIEWER

27) SOEP-Core v35 – LIFESPELL: Information on the Pre- and Post-Survey History of SOEP-Respondents

28) SOEP-Core v35 – MIGSPELL and REFUGSPELL: The Migration-Biographies

29) SOEP-Core v35 – Activity Biography in the Files PBIOSPE and ARTKALEN

30) SOEP-Core v35: Codebook for the EU-SILC-Like Panel for Germany Based on the SOEP

1) Handgreifkraftmessung im Sozio-oekonomischen Panel (SOEP) 2006 und 2008

2) Documentation on ISCED Generation Using the CAMCES Tool in the IAB-SOEP Migration Samples M1/M2

3) The new IAB-SOEP Migration Sample: an introduction into the methodology and the contents

4) The Request for Record Linkage in the IAB-SOEP Migration Sample

5) Flowcharts for the Integrated Individual-Biography Questionnaire of the IAB-SOEP Migration Sample 2013

6) The Measurement of Labor Market Entries with SOEP Data: Introduction to the Variable EINSTIEG_ARTK

7) Job submission instructions for the SOEPremote System at DIW Berlin – Update 2014

8) SOEP 2015 – Informationen zu den SOEP-Geocodes in SOEP v32

9) Editing and Multiple Imputation of Item Non-response in the Wealth Module of the German Socio-Economic Panel

10) Die Vercodung der offenen Angaben zu den Ausbildungsberufen im Sozio-Oekonomischen Panel

11) Das Studiendesign der IAB-BAMF-SOEP Befragung von Geflüchteten

12) Scales Manual IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees in Germany – revised version

13) SOEP 2010 – Preparation of data from the new SOEP consumption module: Editing, imputation, and smoothing

14) SOEP Scales Manual (updated for SOEP-Core v32.1)

15) Kognitionspotenziale Jugendlicher - Ergänzung zum Jugendfragebogen der Längsschnittstudie Sozio-oekonomisches Panel (SOEP)

16) Die Vercodung der offenen Angaben zur beruflichen Tätigkeit nach der International Standard Classification of Occupations 2008 (ISCO08) - Direktvercodung - Vorgehensweise und Entscheidungsregeln bei nicht eindeutigen Angaben

17) Die Vercodung der offenen Angaben zur beruflichen Tätigkeit nach der Klassifikation der Berufe 2010 (KldB 2010): Vorgehensweise und Entscheidungsregeln bei nicht eindeutigen Angaben

18) Multi-Itemskalen im SOEP Jugendfragebogen

19) Dokumentation zum Entwicklungsprozess des Moduls „Einstellungen zu sozialer Ungleichheit“ im SOEP (v38)

20) SOEP-CoV: Project and Data Documentation

21) Missing Income Data in the German SOEP: Incidence, Imputation and its Impact on the Income Distribution

22) Zur Erhebung des adaptiven Verhaltens von zwei- und dreijährigen Kindern im Sozio-oekonomischen Panel (SOEP)

23) SOEP 2013 – Documentation of Generated Person-Level Long-Term Care Variables in PFLEGE

24) SOEP-Core v34 – PFLEGE: Documentation of Generated Person-level Long-term Care Variables

25) SOEP 2006 – TIMEPREF: Dataset on the Economic Behavior Experiment on Time Preferences in the 2006 SOEP Survey

26) SOEP-Core v34: Codebook for the EU-SILC-Like Panel for Germany Based on the SOEP

27) Assessing the distributional impact of "imputed rent" and "non-cash employee income" in microdata : Case studies based on EU-SILC (2004) and SOEP (2002)

28) SOEP-Core v36: Codebook for the EU-SILC-like panel for Germany based on the SOEP

All documentation for filtering can be found on this page

1) SOEP-Core – 2018: Report of Survey Methodology and Fieldwork

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