ABSTRACT
This chapter shows what the World Values Survey (WVS) can tell us about the evolution and comparison of science culture around the world since the end of the eighties. It presents some historical and methodological information on the WVS and gives the reasons for the subset of data. In the WVS, each wave is realised within a range of years, but within that period of time important events occurred and may have influenced attitudes towards science. The WVS was conducted over a five-year time period. Six waves of WVS were carried out among 99 countries worldwide; each country did not participate in all of them, some countries were very active participants, like South Africa or the United States, while other countries were less active participants, like France. There are too few longitudinal items on science in the WVS to provide full evidence; the upcoming wave 7 announces six items on science, it is hoped that they will allow longitudinal comparisons.
