Understanding Society data consists of multiple files, downloadable as a single zipped folder and released through the UK Data Service, in SPSS, Stata and tab delimited ASCII formats.
The access principles and guidance outlined in this section are derived from the Understanding Society Data Access Strategy.
Every November data from Wave 1 until the latest Wave are released. Data from Wave 1 – Wave 14 were released in November 2024 and in November 2025 data from Wave 1 – Wave 15 will be released. Data from previous waves are released each time, so that any corrections can be incorporated. These changes are included in a revisions file. Along with the data files, the zipped folder will contain this Main User Guide at the time of release, other User Guides, the revisions file, the questionnaires etc. However we recommend using the Understanding Society webpages as the documentation will develop over time, with the latest versions updated to these pages.
Researchers who would like to use Understanding Society need to register with the UK Data Service before being allowed to download the dataset. Researchers should also read the UK Data Service Research Data Handling and Security: Guide for Users before downloading the data. Under the terms and conditions of access this is required reading for users who obtain Special Licence data or Secure Access data, where disclosure risk is increased.
The majority of users will need the End user Licence (EUL) data which requires users to agree to the licence agreement online after which they will be given instant access to the data. Datasets which fall under this access level category include most of the data and only exclude information that could be disclosive, such as day and month of birth, detailed country of birth, etc. This document describes the differences between the Special Licence (SN 6931) and the End User Licence (SN 6614) versions. Files containing levels of geography lower than regions (previously Government Office Regions) are also excluded. Geographical indicators and other linked data available with the survey data are explained on our Data linkage page.
Download the EUL version of Understanding Society data direct from the UK Data Service. This video outlines how to download the Understanding Society EUL Data. Visit our Data Releases page to see the latest data available and when further updates are expected.
