Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS)

The Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) is a household survey program housed within the Surveys & Methods Unit of the World Bank's Development Research Group that provides technical assistance to national statistical offices (NSOs) in the design and implementation of multi-topic household surveys. Since its inception in the early 1980s, the LSMS program has worked with dozens of statistics offices around the world: generating high-quality data, incorporating innovative technologies and improved survey methodologies, and building technical capacity. The LSMS team also provides technical support across the World Bank in the design and implementation of household surveys and in the measurement and monitoring of poverty.