UNS Trusted as Principal for World Value Survey Research Project, the Only One in Indonesia
Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta has become the first academic institution in Indonesia to be trusted as the official principal investigator for the World Value Survey (WVS) Association, based in Vienna, Austria. Established in 1981 by Professor Ronald Inglehart, the WVS has been the world’s largest and most influential social science research project for the past 40 years, frequently utilised in academic research across sociology, politics, economics, and psychology.
UNS’s role as the principal investigator for the 8th wave serves as international recognition of the research capacity of the UNS Faculty of Psychology, operating under significant methodological standards for Indonesia. The data collection for the 8th wave in Indonesia was conducted over a five-month period, from August to December 2025, as announced by WVS 8 Investigator Ayu Okvitawani and researcher M. Abdul Hakim.
The 8th wave of the WVS covers more than 90 countries with a total of over 400,000 respondents per wave. The survey measures shifts in fundamental societal values, ranging from interpersonal trust and views on democracy and governance to religious and family values, as well as attitudes towards the environment and technology.
Indonesia has participated in the WVS since the 4th wave in 2001, making it one of the Southeast Asian nations with the longest record of social value data within this international survey framework. For the 8th wave, data collection in Indonesia employed face-to-face interviews using structured questionnaires consisting of over 300 questions across 14 key value themes. The survey reached more than 2,306 respondents across 247 sub-districts in 18 Indonesian provinces, using a multi-stage random sampling strategy to ensure national population representation.
Following the completion of the research, the UNS Faculty of Psychology has provided the data via open access, including various infographics, on their official website. The 8th wave WVS data holds high strategic value for Indonesia, serving as a global comparative tool that allows for direct comparisons of social values with 90 participating countries, including ASEAN members, G20 nations, and other developing countries.
Historically, the availability of data from 2001 to 2025 enables an analysis of changes in Indonesian societal values over 24 years, spanning the post-1998 reformation era, the digital era, the 2008 crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic, and various significant socio-political shifts. This data can serve as an empirical reference for the government, legislative bodies, and civil society organisations in designing policies related to education, religion, democracy, and social welfare.