How does digitalization influence life and work? How does an individual's life path influence adult satisfaction? What and how do they learn throughout their lives? These and other questions can be answered thanks to regular surveys of the adult cohort of the National Education Panel (NEPS). Now it is time to expand the cohort – among other reasons because younger birth cohorts are not included in the current group of participants. Starting in January 2026, people between the ages of 21 and 50 throughout Germany will receive invitations by mail to participate in “How Germany Lives and Learns.”
Cities and municipalities were selected at random to conduct the survey, and individuals were also selected at random from the local population registers. These individuals are representative of many other people born between 1975 and 2004 who are either not yet or no longer sufficiently represented in the NEPS.
In total, more than 8,000 people are to be newly included in the NEPS adult cohort and surveyed at regular intervals. This will make it possible to observe whether and how people's living conditions, knowledge, and skills change over time and how younger and older birth cohorts differ from each other. The repeated surveys make the participants' responses particularly valuable. Only if as many of those invited as possible decide to participate in the study can meaningful data be collected. This will enable important questions, for example about social change, to be answered. In the long term, this will help improve educational opportunities for everyone in Germany.
After careful processing in accordance with data protection regulations, the research data from all surveys is made available free of charge to the scientific community worldwide. Over the years, this has created a valuable treasure trove of data that can be used to gain a wide range of insights into various aspects of life, learning, and work in Germany. These insights are then incorporated into, for example, advice for political decision-makers or the National Education Report.
The NEPS is coordinated at the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi) in Bamberg. Since its launch in 2009, it has been the largest long-term survey on education in Germany. A central focus of the surveys in the NEPS adult cohort is research into lifelong learning beyond school, vocational training, and university studies. It also records participation in courses and informal learning opportunities in people's everyday lives, such as the use of new technologies. In addition to the adult cohort, NEPS comprises six other cohorts, thus covering life courses from early childhood to old age.
General information about NEPS
Information and video for participants