Data access

SHARE data are openly accessible for scientific research purposes.

The SHARE data are distributed by the international scientific consortium SHARE-ERIC (Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe – European Research Infrastructure Consortium) to registered users via the SHARE Research Data Center.

Data access is free of charge and adheres to the legislation of the European Union and national data protection laws. Use is governed by publicly available rules.

The data are hosted in cooperation with the following archives:

CentERdata Archive (Tilburg University, Netherlands)
GESIS Data Archive (Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Cologne, Germany)

Data Files

A complete overview of available data files for all SHARE survey waves, including supplementary data, can be found here:
🔗 SHARE Data Releases

Registration Process

Because the official SHARE-ERIC website is frequently updated, always follow the instructions provided at:
🔗 www.share-eric.eu

Access to SHARE data is free. Registration is required only once – your login credentials remain valid for future data releases.

Summary of Steps:

All SHARE data are freely accessible at: https://releases.sharedataportal.eu

Data are hosted at CentERdata and GESIS archives.

You can download data after completing registration (see below).

Data are available in STATA and SPSS formats (also usable in R).

Data documentation is available at the SHARE data portal.

FAQs are available here

Data from all waves and all special questionnaires (HCAP, COVID-19, accelerometry, life history, national questionnaires and projects) are available for download.

Note: The Czech Republic joined SHARE in Wave 2.

Steps to Register

Step 1: Read the terms of use:
🔗 SHARE Conditions of Use

Step 2: Download and complete this form:
📄 SHARE User Statement (PDF)

Step 3: Submit a pdf scan of the completed and signed form by email to:

📧 E-mail: share-rdc@centerdata.nl

Step 4: If you need any help, please email us at 📧 E-mail: share@cerge-ei.cz

Downloading Data After Registration

Once your registration is processed (usually within a few days), you will receive:

a personal user ID (login) and an initial password (valid for 72 hours)

If you forget your credentials or want to reset them, visit:
🔗 SHARE RDC Login Page

Please read the official data usage policy:
📄 SHARE Conditions of Use

Citation Requirements and Acknowledgment

According to the SHARE Citation requirements, every publication using SHARE data must include:

a proper acknowledgment of the SHARE project
a reference to the data used

The citation requirements change with each data release, please always use the current citation wording from the official webiste 🔗 https://share-eric.eu/