Infrastructure

An important part of SOFI's activities is collecting and sharing research data. Some of Sweden's most valuable datasets have been developed at SOFI.

Research data are an important part of SOFI’s research infrastructure. Photo: Mostphotos.

Researchers at SOFI collect their own data and have a policy of making the collected material available to the research community within a reasonable time after collection.

The Swedish Level of Living Survey (LNU) is a recurring, nationally representative survey conducted since 1968. It aims to study people’s living conditions and how they change over time, both in the population as a whole and among different groups. Data from the survey are used in Swedish social science research on living conditions and welfare.

Read more about LNU

The Social Citizenship Indicator Program (SCIP) is a database that describes the development of citizens’ rights and obligations within five major social insurance programmes in 18 OECD countries at 15 points in time between 1930 and 2005.

The database contains information on social insurance regulations, as well as population structure and taxation of benefits. In total, the database contains approximately 250,000 data points.

Read more about the SCIP database on the website of SPIN

The Social Policy Indicators (SPIN) database provides a foundation for comparative and longitudinal research on the causes and consequences of welfare states.

SPIN provides comparable data on citizens’ social rights and obligations. The database focuses on analysing institutions and how they are reflected in social policy legislation.

Data are collected in a consistent and methodologically standardised manner to facilitate quantitative research on social policy over time and across countries. SPIN currently covers 36 countries, several of which have data on major social policy programmes from 1930 to 2019..

Read more about Social Policy Indicators (SPIN)

REWHARD is a national infrastructure that supports advanced life-course research on social relations, working life and health. It brings together high-quality research data that reflect the Swedish population and are based on information from surveys and registers. These data allow researchers to study how people’s living conditions change over time and what shapes their quality of life and well-being.

Read more about REWHARD

Last updated: 2026-11-09

Source: Swedish Institute for Social Research