UVA Library offers mediated access to the Gallup US Daily Poll, Gallup Poll Social Series (GPSS), and World Poll microdata (individual questionnaire-level data) as part of our subscription to Gallup Analytics. Gallup microdata is a great choice if you need to do statistical analysis. (If you only need trends and the ability to export graphs, check out Gallup Analytics.) If you are a UVA affiliate interested in using Gallup microdata, please review the guidelines here and contact data@virginia.edu with your request.
Date data most recently received
Sept 2024.
License restrictions
“These documents contains proprietary research, copyrighted materials, and literary property of Gallup, Inc. It is for the guidance of your organization only and is not to be copied, quoted, published, or divulged to others outside your organization. All of Gallup, Inc.’s content is protected by copyright. Neither the client nor the participants shall copy, modify, resell, reuse, or distribute the program materials beyond the scope of what is agreed upon in writing by Gallup, Inc. Any violation of this Agreement shall be considered a breach of contract and misuse of Gallup, Inc.’s intellectual property.”
The license indicates that UVA Library must create custom extracts for you, rather than releasing the full datasets. Read on for how to access the data.
Gallup Poll Microdata Releases
- World Poll: 2006-Aug 2024. Updated annually, usually by February (covering the previous year).
- US Daily Tracker: 2008-2018 (and Well Being for 2019). Updated quarterly. The US Well Being survey track for 2019 only includes data from January-August 2019 – Gallup discontinued the Well Being poll until a new sponsor is identified. The US Political and Economic survey track has been incorporated into the GPSS.
- Gallup Poll Social Series (GPSS): generally 2001-July 2024. Each month is associated with a particular topic.
- Gallup Panel – COVID-19 and Wellbeing Survey: Covid-19: March 2020-Q1 2023. Wellbeing: Q2 2023-Q2 2024.
- Gallup Race Relations Survey: 2018 only.
- Gallup Confidence in Institutions Survey: 1973-2024.
- Honesty and Ethics in Professions Survey: 1976-2023.
- Religion Battery: 1999-2023.
World Poll
The World Poll covers the globe from 2006 to the present. You can view the Worldwide (aggregate) results or select a region or a country. 69 countries have been surveyed in all years, and 127 countries have been surveyed in eight or more years. You can learn more about how the Gallup World Poll works.
Preparing to Request World Poll Microdata
Create an account with Gallup’s World Poll Reference Tool. This tool allows you to find which questions were asked in which countries which years. Search by Region, Country, Category, Subcategory, Dates, and Question Text. Note that for the question text, you only get a search result if you use the exact word that Gallup uses. For instance, searching by “sad” will not pull up the questions associated with “sadness.” If you aren’t seeing what you think should be there, try again with a different keyword. Refer to the World Poll Reference Tool Info Sheet for more details.
The results page will show the QTAG (variable name), short and long-form text of the question, as well as the countries and years asked. You can also view the Category and Subcategory of the question, which would be helpful to finding similar questions. You can export a summary of the question information to Excel.
Note that general indicators like gender and age exist as their own QTAGs.
You can also view the QTAGs, Questions, and Response options in the Gallup Worldwide Research and Methodology Codebook (Jan 2023), although you will not be able to see the countries and years asked. You might also want to review the World Poll list of variables and variable labels. This is a list created by UVA Library, based on the actual files we have on hand. Fortunately, the methods documents from Gallup and what we have in the actual files match well for the World Poll survey.
Requesting World Poll Microdata
Once you have made selections, reach out to data@virginia.edu with the following information:
- QTAG variable names (e.g., WP6878, WP1220)
- Dates (e.g., 2008-2012)
- Countries (e.g., United States, Canada, Mexico)
It is extremely helpful to us if you send this information as a spreadsheet.
We will compile an extract and deliver it to you.
World Poll Documentation
Gallup Worldwide Research and Methodology Codebook (Jan 2023).
World Poll Reference Tool Info Sheet.
Gallup World Poll Dataset Details (covers 2005-2022).
Getting Started with the World Poll Data Set: User Guide for Data Subscribers (2019).
Gallup World Poll: Weighting Process Document (2019).
Best Practices for Using Gallup World Poll (2019).
World Poll list of variables and variable labels. Produced by UVA Library. This is a list of all of the variable names and variable labels that are in the files we have available. Created 18 Oct 2020.
US Daily Tracker Poll
The U.S. Dailies cover the United States from 2009 to 2019. You can view the entire US (aggregate) or select an MSA. (Note that data are not available for each MSA or for each year.) You can learn more about how Gallup Daily Tracking works.
Preparing to Request US Daily Tracker Microdata
Gallup encourages users to search Gallup Analytics for questions asked in the US Daily Tracker poll. You can search by keyword, or browse questions by nested topics such as Religion & Ethics, Quality of Life, Health, Well-being, Government & Politics. Available geographies are the United States, as well as individual states and MSAs.
You can also view the QTAGs and Labels in the Gallup US Daily Tracker Methodology (May 2017), although you will not be able to see the years asked. It is helpful to review the Methodology document to discover general indicators, such as age and gender.
For better or worse, the variable names change year to year. Even a simple variable representing age has a different variable name over the course of the years available. The official Gallup methods documents do not reflect the fact that some variable names change over time. You should verify your selections by viewing the US Daily Tracker list of variable names and variable labels, by year. This is a zipped folder of spreadsheets created by UVA Library. Each spreadsheet shows the variable names and variable labels taken from the actual files (by year) that we have available.
The Well-Being portion of the US Daily Tracker was discontinued in 2019. The Politics and Economics Tracks no longer follow the methodology outlined in the US Daily Tracker methods documents; these questions have been incorporated into the Gallup Poll Social Series (GPSS) post mid-year 2019. See below for more information about the GPSS.
Requesting US Daily Tracker Microdata
Once you have made selections, reach out to data@virginia.edu with the following information:
- Variable names
- Don’t forget weights variables
- Years (see time coverage, above)
- Geographies, if needed (e.g. only particular states)
It is extremely helpful to us if you send this information as a spreadsheet.
We will compile an extract and deliver it to you.
US Daily Tracker Documentation
Gallup US Daily Tracker Methodology (2017) – Methodology report for the combined Wellbeing and Politics & Economics Tracks for 2008-2017.
Gallup Tracking Methodology 2018 – Methodology report for the 2018 Politics & Economics track.
Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index Methodological Documentation (May 2019) – Methodology report for the 2018-2019 Wellbeing track conducted via mail – addressed based sampling.
US Daily Tracker list of variable names and variable labels, by year. Produced by UVA Library. This is a list of all of the variable names and variable labels that are in the files we have available. Provided as a zipped folder containing csv files, by year. Created 18 Oct 2020.
Gallup Poll Social Series (GPSS)
“The Gallup Poll Social Series (GPSS) is a set of public opinion surveys designed to monitor U.S. adults’ views on numerous social, economic, and political topics. The topics are arranged thematically across 12 surveys. Gallup administers these surveys during the same month every year and includes the survey’s core trend questions in the same order each administration. Using this consistent standard allows for unprecedented analysis of changes in trend data that are not susceptible to question order bias and seasonal effects.” Learn more about GPSS at Gallup. Note that we do not have access to the December Lifestyle poll.
Preparing to Request GPSS Microdata
GPSS is broken out into themes by month. UVA Library created these spreadsheets of metadata indicating what you can find in the different months of the GPSS. Each month’s spreadsheet also reports which year questions were asked. Political and Economic questions (formerly of the US Daily Tracker) were incorporated into the GPSS in 2019.
- All months. This is a simple variable list. It does not include which year questions were asked. Each month is its own sheet within the spreadsheet. You can use the search function in Excel to find variables across the workbook. This can help you determine which month of the GPSS you need.
- January: Mood of the Nation
- February: World Affairs
- March: Environment
- April: Economy and Finance
- May: Values and Beliefs
- June: Minority Rights and Relations (the last year of data collection for the Minority Relations Poll was 2016. See also the Race Relations Survey for standalone data in 2018.)
- July: Consumption Habits
- August: Work and Education
- September: Governance
- October: Crime
- November: Health
- December: Lifestyle (Survey only ran from 2001-2008)
- Gallup Poll Social Series Methodology
Gallup has provided spreadsheets as well. We have found that they are incomplete (e.g., there are variables in the dataset that are not represented in the spreadsheet), and for that reason, we suggest you use the spreadsheets created by UVA Library. We will send the Gallup-provided spreadsheets upon request.
Requesting GPSS Microdata
Once you have made selections, reach out to data@virginia.edu with the following information:
- Survey name(s) (e.g., June – Minority Rights and Relations)
- Variable names
- Don’t forget weights variables
- Years (see time coverage, above)
- Geographies, if needed (e.g. only particular states)
It is extremely helpful to us if you send this information as a spreadsheet.
We will compile an extract and deliver it to you.
Gallup Panel COVID-19 & Wellbeing Survey
“The COVID-19 web survey began fielding on March 13, 2020 with daily random samples of U.S. adults, aged 18 and older who are members of the Gallup Panel. Approximately 1,200 daily completes were collected from March 13 through April 26, 2020. From April 27 to August 16, 2020 approximately 500 daily completes are being collected. Starting August 17, 2020, the survey moved from daily surveying to a survey conducted one time per month over a two week field period (typically the last two weeks of the month).”
In Q2 2023, the survey was adjusted to focus on the topic of Wellbeing. The original COVID survey was narrowed down to serve as a Wellbeing focused survey going forward.
The survey now includes FIPS codes for respondents.
COVID-19 Survey Methodology Documentation.
Requesting COVID-19 Survey Microdata
Reach out to data@virginia.edu.
Race Relations Survey
The Race Relations Survey includes topics that were previously represented in the GPSS Minority Relations Survey that ran through 2016. The Race Relations Survey was conducted November 2018. See also the June “Minority Rights and Relations” segment of the GPSS.
Race Relations Codebook (Excel). Produced by Gallup.
Requesting "Race Relations Survey" data
Reach out to data@virginia.edu.
Confidence in Institutions Survey
Starting in 1973, Gallup started measuring the confidence level in several US institutions like Congress, Presidency, Supreme Court, Police, etc. The included dataset includes data from 1973-2023 and data is collected once per year.
Confidence in Institutions Questions by Year (Excel). Produced by Gallup.
Requesting "Confidence in Institutions" data
Reach out to data@virginia.edu.
Honesty and Ethics in Professions Survey
Starting in 1976, Gallup started measuring US perceptions of the honesty and ethics of a list of professions. The included dataset includes data ranging from 1976-2023.
Honesty and Ethics in Professions Survey (Excel). Produced by Gallup.
Requesting "Honesty and Ethics in Professions Survey" data
Reach out to data@virginia.edu.
Religion Battery
Consolidated list of items focused on religion in the US from 1999-2023.
Religion Battery (Excel). Produced by Gallup.
Requesting "Religion Battery" data
Reach out to data@virginia.edu.
Gallup Analytics, Gallup Brain, and non-Gallup Polls
Gallup Analytics provides trends in public opinion polling, using a user-friendly web-interface. You can export tables, charts and plots, and maps for individual poll question responses. (You cannot access microdata through this portal.) This is a great choice if you only want to see trends and export graphs, and you do not need to do any statistical analysis.
Gallup Brain reports aggregate responses to individual questions asked in Gallup Polls going back to the 1930s. (To reach Gallup Brain, visit Gallup Analytics, and click on Gallup Brain on the bottom banner.) Use the keyword search to find questionnaires, or browse by date. Use the “Locate a question” tool to discover similarly-worded questions asked by Gallup over the years. You potentially could create trendlines going back further than Gallup Analytics with this feature.
Roper iPoll is a strong alternative to Gallup Brain. Search for questions by keyword. Download data with RoperEXPRESS. Create cross-tabs using RoperExplorer.
Polling the Nations offers responses to surveys asked in 100+ countries going back to the 1980s.
Gallup Microdata Access Restrictions
Restricted to UVA faculty, staff, and students
UVA students, faculty, and staff may download, use, and manipulate the data. They may create reports and publish externally, redistribute, and manipulate such reports, so long as such externally distributed reports do not contain only Gallup data and so long as Gallup data are not included in a report in a quantity or specificity that could reasonably be deemed to be a substitute for acquiring the data from Gallup. UVA affiliates may not share Gallup data with any third party. Reports must include attribution when Gallup data are included without modification or are used as a direct source of analysis.
Request Access, and Questions? Contact data@virginia.edu.
Last updated: 12 Sept 2024