India Human Development Survey (IHDS) Series

The India Human Development Survey (IHDS) is a nationally representative, multi-topic survey of 42,152 households in 1,503 villages and 971 urban neighborhoods across India. Data were originally collected from households during 2004-2005. Interviewers returned in 2011-2012 to re-interview these same households. During both waves of data collection, two one-hour interviews were conducted covering a large range of topics. The goal of the IHDS program is to document changes in the daily lives of Indian households in a society undergoing rapid transition.

This particular data collection merges the two waves of IHDS (known as IHDS and IHDS-II) into a harmonized pattern from the perspective view points of individuals, households, and eligible women. The data are presented in three different data formats: cross-sectional, wide, and long to facilitate a broader range of analysis options. Due to the specificity of geography and inclusion of sensitive / identifying topics there is a public-use and restricted-use rendition for each of the nine data files.

A Data Guide for this study is available as a web page and for download. The India Human Development Survey-II (IHDS-II), 2011-12 is a nationally representative, multi-topic survey of 42,152 households in 1,503 villages and 971 urban neighborhoods across India. These data are mostly re-interviews of households interviewed for IHDS-I (ICPSR 22626) in 2004-05. Two one-hour interviews in each household covered topics concerning health, education, employment, economic status, marriage, fertility, gender relations, social capital, village infrastructure, wage levels, and panchayat composition. Children aged 8-11 completed short reading, writing and arithmetic tests.

The IHDS-II data are assembled in fourteen datasets:

1. Individual
2. Household
3. Eligible Women
4. Birth History
5. Medical Staff
6. Medical Facilities
7. Non Resident
8. School Staff
9. School Facilities
10. Wage and Salary
11. Tracking
12. Village
13. Village Panchayat
14. Village Respondent

A Data Guide for this study is available as a web page and for download. The India Human Development Survey 2005 (IHDS) is a nationally representative, multi-topic survey of 41,554 households in 1,503 villages and 971 urban neighborhoods across India. Two one-hour interviews in each household covered topics concerning health, education, employment, economic status, marriage, fertility, gender relations, and social capital. Children aged 8-11 completed short reading, writing and arithmetic tests. Additional village, school, and medical facility interviews are also available.