

Comparative Socio-Economic, Public Policy, and Political Data,1900-1960 (ICPSR 34)

Principal Investigator(s):


This study contains selected demographic, social, economic, public policy, and political comparative data for Switzerland, Canada, France, and Mexico for the decades of 1900-1960. Each dataset presents comparable data at the province or district level for each decade in the period. Various derived measures, such as percentages, ratios, and indices, constitute the bulk of these datasets. Data for Switzerland contain information for all cantons for each decennial year from 1900 to 1960. Variables describe population characteristics, such as the age of men and women, county and commune of origin, ratio of foreigners to Swiss, percentage of the population from other countries such as Germany, Austria and Lichtenstein, Italy, and France, the percentage of the population that were Protestants, Catholics, and Jews, births, deaths, infant mortality rates, persons per household, population density, the percentage of urban and agricultural population, marital status, marriages, divorces, professions, factory workers, and primary, secondary, and university students. Economic variables provide information on the number of corporations, factory workers, economic status, cultivated land, taxation and tax revenues, canton revenues and expenditures, federal subsidies, bankruptcies, bank account deposits, and taxable assets. Additional variables provide political information, such as national referenda returns, party votes cast in National Council elections, and seats in the cantonal legislature held by political groups such as the Peasants, Socialists, Democrats, Catholics, Radicals, and others. Data for Canada provide information for all provinces for the decades 1900-1960 on population characteristics, such as national origin, the net internal migration per 1,000 of native population, population density per square mile, the percentage of owner-occupied dwellings, the percentage of urban population, the percentage of change in population from preceding censuses, the percentage of illiterate population aged 5 years and older, and the median years of schooling. Economic variables provide information on per capita personal income, total provincial revenue and expenditure per capita, the percentage of the labor force employed in manufacturing and in agriculture, the average number of employees per manufacturing establishment, assessed value of real property per capita, the average number of acres per farm, highway and rural road mileage, transportation and communication, the number of telephones per 100 population, and the number of motor vehicles registered per 1,000 population. Additional variables on elections and votes are supplied as well. Data for France provide information for all departements for all legislative elections since 1936, the two presidential elections of 1965 and 1969, and several referenda held in the period since 1958. Social and economic data are provided for the years 1946, 1954, and 1962, while various policy data are presented for the period 1959-1962. Variables provide information on population characteristics, such as the percentages of population by age group, foreign-born, bachelors aged 20 to 59, divorced men aged 25 and older, elementary school students in private schools, elementary school students per million population from 1966 to 1967, the number of persons in household in 1962, infant mortality rates per million births, and the number of priests per 10,000 population in 1946. Economic variables focus on the Gross National Product (GNP), the revenue per capita per household, personal income per capita, income tax, the percentage of active population in industry, construction and public works, transportation, hotels, public administration, and other jobs, the percentage of skilled and unskilled industrial workers, the number of doctors per 10,000 population, the number of agricultural cooperatives in 1946, the average hectares per farm, the percentage of farms cultivated by the owner, tenants, and sharecroppers, the number of workhorses, cows, and oxen per 100 hectares of farmland in 1946, and the percentages of automobiles per 1,000 population, radios per 100 homes, and cinema seats per 1,000 population. Data are also provided on the percentage of Communists (PCF), Socialists, Radical Socialists, Conservatives, Gaullists, Moderates, Poujadists, Independents, Turnouts, and other political groups and parties in elections 1946-1969. Additional variables provide information on medical insurance, death benefits, and aid to families. Data for Mexico provide information for all states at decennial points from 1910 to 1960. Social and economic data are available for the entire period, while political and public policy data are presented for the decades beginning with 1930. Variables are provided on population size, population density per kilogram, the percentage of illiterate population, the percentage increase in population by decade, the percentage of economically active population, the total per capita state revenues and expenditures, per capita personal income, median family income, minimum salary in city and in countryside, the poverty index in percentages, the average number of employees per industrial firm, the average investment per manufacturing establishment, the value of industrial and agricultural products in pesos per capita, the average number of hectares per farm, gasoline consumption in litres per capita, and the number of telephones and of registered motor vehicles per 1,000 population. Variables also provide information on the percentage of registered voters who voted in elections.

Access Notes



DS0:  Study-Level Files
DS1:  Switzerland, 1900 and 1910 Data - Download All Files (0.8 MB)
DS2:  Switzerland, 1920 and 1930 Data - Download All Files (0.9 MB)
DS3:  Switzerland, 1940 and 1950 Data - Download All Files (0.9 MB)
DS4:  Switzerland, 1960 Data - Download All Files (0.9 MB)
DS5:  Canada Data - Download All Files (0.7 MB)
DS6:  France Data - Download All Files (0.9 MB)
DS7:  Mexico Data - Download All Files (0.8 MB)

Study Description


Hofferbert, Richard I. COMPARATIVE SOCIO-ECONOMIC, PUBLIC POLICY, AND POLITICAL DATA, 1900-1960. ICPSR ed. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [producer and distributor], 1991. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR00034.v1

Persistent URL:

Export Citation:

  • EndNote XML (EndNote X4.0.1 or higher)

Scope of Study


Sample:   Selected provinces or districts of Switzerland, Canada, France, and Mexico in the decades of 1900-1960.

Data Source:

(1) Recensement Federal de la Population, (2) EIDGENOSSISCHE VOLKSZAHLUNG, (3) Census of Switzerland, (4) STATISTICHES JAHRBUCH DER SCHWIZ, (5) ANNUAIRE STATISTIQUE DE LA SUISSE, (6) YEARBOOK OF SWISS STATISTICS, 1900-1964, (7) Census of Canada, 1931 to 1961, and (8) RESUMEN GENERAL DEL CEASO INDUSTRIAL DE 1935


Original ICPSR Release:  

Version History:

  • 2006-01-12 All files were removed from dataset 8 and flagged as study-level files, so that they will accompany all downloads.

Related Publications ?



Metadata Exports


Download Statistics
