The original basis for LNU was a random sample of 1/1000 of the Swedish population between 15 and 75 years of age. LNU uses a multidimensional approach, covering individuals’ command over resources in terms of family and social relations, material living conditions (income and wealth), health, education, working conditions, political life, leisure time activities, housing conditions, etc. The questions have, in all the different years, to a large extent been asked to the same persons, which means that a significant “panel” - consisting of about 1000 individuals - have been interviewed in all of the six survey occasions. In addition to the interview data, register information has been added, mainly in order to calculate household income.

Expanding the depth of the survey

Starting in 2000, children age 10-18 living in the same household as the main respondent are interviewed about their living conditions in a broad sense, via an audio-questionnaire. Information from co-residential partners/spouses is also collected. Managers at LNU-participants work places have also been interviewed two times (APU, 1991 and 2000). In LNU 2000 and 2010, partners and children living in the same household as the respondents also answered questions (Partner-LNU and Child-LNU). In 2010, a separate study was also initiated, including a sample of individuals born abroad and their children (LNU-UFB).

Influencing political and scholarly debates

The LNU-project has gained both domestic and international attention and been highly influential for debates within the scientific community and in society as a whole. You can read more about the different studies on their respective pages (links to the left). Documentation in English in the form of translated questionnaires are available for most survey years. For LNU-2000 and 2010, a codebook in English for the main sample and Partner-LNU is also available.   

Do you want to use LNU-data in your research? Apply here.