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Welcome to the SHARE BERLIN Institute (SBI)

Since 2004, SHARE has been collecting and analyzing socio-economic and biomedical data from about 160,000 Europeans aged 50 and older in 28 European countries and Israel.

SHARE, which stands for the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, investigates how social, economic, and health policy measures shape the lives of European citizens. It takes a comprehensive look at the entire life course of the respondents and is the largest pan-European social science panel study.

The SHARE BERLIN Institute provides these internationally comparable longitudinal microdata to the scientific community. Over 18,000 researchers worldwide use the SHARE infrastructure to examine the impacts of an aging society from social-medical, socio-economic, epidemiological, gerontological, and various other perspectives.

Evidence-based policy advice also relies on SHARE to address the challenges posed by demographic changes to society and future generations. The comprehensive and reliable SHARE data enable decision-makers in politics and administration at the national and European levels to base their decisions on scientific insights.

Learn more

SHARE in numbers

4,119

publications

24+

years of experience

616,000

conducted interviews

19,967

SHARE users

160,000

respondents

28

countries

Would you like to learn more about the SHARE data collection or are you associated with a research institution and would like to use SHARE data for your research?
Please use the following link:

SHARE-ERIC

SHARE data for evidence-based policy making

In 2011, the European Commission identified population ageing as one of the most pressing challenges of Europe in the 21st century. In order to respond to its economic, social and health consequences with evidence-based policymaking, an up-to-date data infrastructure was needed. SHARE filled this role, becoming the first ever European Research Infrastructure Consortium (SHARE-ERIC).

Since its initial setup, SHARE has supplied policymakers with reliable and comparable data to base their decisions on.

Today, the survey continues to serve as a valuable source for a wide range of policy analyses. Among others, it provides insights into the unintended health, socio-economic and environmental consequences of epidemiological containment decisions and the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic through its life-course and multidisciplinary approach, combining health and socio-economic data.

With the move of the SBI from Munich to Berlin in early 2023, the impact of the many valuable lessons that can be learned from SHARE data on national and international policy-making can be further expanded.