Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas

What Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas does

The Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS) is a Spanish public research institution (Centro Público de Investigación) established in 1963 and headquartered at C/ Montalbán 8, Madrid, operating under the Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Courts. Its statutory mandate, defined by article 3 of its founding Law and Royal Development Decree, is the scientific study of Spanish society through quantitative and qualitative research. The institution runs regular monthly opinion barometers, the Consumer Confidence Index, post-electoral studies, the Health Barometer (Barómetro Sanitario), the comparative General Social Survey (ESG), and a long catalog of thematic studies, applying rigorous sampling and weighting methodologies documented in its methodologies section.

CIS's core technology is its survey research and sociological data collection infrastructure — telephone-based public opinion polling, structured questionnaires, statistical weighting, and anonymization systems that underpin the FID (Ficheros Integrados de Datos) integrated microdata extraction service. The FID service allows researchers to download disaggregated variables from the institution's studies free of charge. A telephone-based verification system allows respondents to confirm the legitimacy of CIS survey calls. Data outputs are released under explicit reuse conditions permitting both academic and commercial reuse with attribution.

CIS's business model is publicly funded rather than commercial: the institution does not generate revenue in the conventional sense, with all core services — studies, microdata, barometers, the open-access REIS journal, yearbooks, and historical publications — provided free of charge. A secondary revenue stream comes from physical and online sales of monographs, methodological notebooks, yearbooks, and collections through the CIS Bookstore. The institution is led by President José Félix Tezanos and serves four primary user constituencies: the Spanish Government and Public Administration (informing policy and governance), academia and researchers (via microdata access, training scholarships, and research grants), Spanish media and journalists (as the authoritative source of public opinion data), and the Spanish general public (as survey respondents and consumers of published findings).

Name

Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas

Legal name

Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas

Website

https://cis.es

Company type

Private

Founded year

1963

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS) is Spain's statutory public research institution for sociological research and opinion polling, founded in 1963 and operating under the Ministry of the Presidency, serving government, academia, media, and the general public with free survey data, microdata, and publications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Opinion Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Public Administration (92)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Financial Risk, Controls & Audit (Public Sector) (BPAIAEAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Government & Public Policy Publishing (Regulations, Gazettes, Legislative Tracking) (MPAJACAI)

Keywords

• Public opinion polling
• Sociological research services
• Social survey data
• Academic journal publishing
• Government statistical agency

Headquarters

HQ city

Madrid

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Free Public Data and Studies: The primary function of CIS is to produce and disseminate sociological research and opinion data free of charge to the public, government, and academia, funded by the Spanish government's Ministry of the Presidency.
2. Publication Sales (Bookstore): Physical and online sales of books, monographs, methodological notebooks, yearbooks, and collections published by CIS's editorial unit. Revenue is secondary to the public mission.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas is a Spanish autonomous public institution that conducts recurring public opinion barometers, the general social survey (Encuesta Social General España), and commissioned sociological studies. It archives and disseminates survey microdata through the FID system and Banco de Datos, publishes the REIS academic journal and a catalog of books, and runs training courses on survey methodology. Most outputs are made freely available to government bodies, academia, media, and the general public, with publications also sold through its bookstore.

Product overview

The Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS) is a Spanish public research institution that serves as the primary agency for sociological research and opinion polling in Spain. Founded in 1963, it conducts quantitative and qualitative studies, including regular barometers (monthly opinion polls, Consumer Confidence Index, Health Barometer, post-electoral studies), and provides access to its extensive catalogue of historical studies dating back to its founding. The institution operates several integrated services: the FID (Ficheros Integrados de Datos) for microdata extraction, a Data Bank, and a comprehensive publications program including the REIS scientific journal, yearbooks, and specialized collections. CIS also offers training programs through scholarships, research grants, and postgraduate courses, and grants the annual National Prize for Sociology and Political Science.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• FID - Servicio de Datos de Encuestas Microdata management and download service that allows researchers to access underlying survey data files from CIS studies for secondary analysis.
• Banco de Datos Online repository for browsing and accessing CIS survey series and historical barometer data, free to users.
• Barómetros de opinión Monthly national public opinion barometers that measure Spanish citizens' political, social, and economic attitudes using standardized methodology.
• Encuesta Social General España Periodic comprehensive general social survey covering a broad range of sociological topics about Spanish society.
• Catálogo de Estudios Catalog of all sociological studies conducted by or commissioned through CIS, providing detailed documentation of each study's objectives and methodology.
• Revista Española de Investigaciones Sociológicas (REIS) Quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal publishing original sociological research on Spanish society, targeted at academics and researchers.
• Publicaciones y librería Books and publications produced by CIS, available for sale through the institutional bookstore, covering Spanish sociology and society.
• España 2025 Strategic research line and associated publications analyzing current trends and challenges in Spanish society.
• Formación (Cursos y seminarios) In-person and online training courses and seminars on survey methodology, data analysis, and sociological research techniques, for researchers, students, and practitioners.
• Peticiones específicas de encuestas Bespoke survey commissioning service through which institutions can request tailored sociological studies on specific topics.
• Premio Nacional de Sociología National prize awarded by CIS to recognize outstanding sociological research.
• Biblioteca Specialist library and documentation center focused on sociology and social sciences, supporting researchers and students.

Quantifiable outcome

• 84% of Spaniards visited their primary care physician during the last year (Barómetro Sanitario 2026)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Ipsos: Global market research and public opinion firm with significant Spanish operations, offering polling, social research, and consumer studies as part of a much broader international portfolio that overlaps with CIS's national polling mandate.
• Eurobarometer: European Commission public opinion survey instrument covering all EU member states including Spain, providing cross-national context that competes with and complements CIS's national-only data series.

Direct peers

• NC Report: Spanish private polling firm publishing frequent electoral tracking polls and political barometers, frequently cited alongside CIS in Spanish media as a competing source of public opinion measurement.
• Metroscopia: Established Spanish public opinion research firm publishing barometers for El País, applying rigorous sampling methodologies directly comparable to CIS's survey approach.
• GAD3: Spanish sociological and market research firm producing monthly political barometers (e.g., for ABC newspaper) that directly compete with the CIS Barometer for media coverage and analytical reference.
• Sigma Dos: Spain's leading private-sector polling firm, conducting monthly barometers, electoral surveys, and consumer confidence studies that compete directly with CIS for media citations and government data contracts.
• Pew Research Center: US-based nonpartisan public opinion research institution producing rigorous, methodology-transparent polling and social research — the closest international functional equivalent to CIS in scope and academic orientation.
• NatCen Social Research: UK's largest independent social research charity conducting the British Social Attitudes survey and other longitudinal public opinion studies — a structural peer to CIS as a nationally significant, methodologically transparent research institution.

Emerging players

• CIS-Barómetro (Sociología Consultores / IESEP): Smaller Spanish private polling firms publishing regional and national barometers that compete with CIS in specific verticals (electoral, social attitudes) though with smaller samples and lower recognition.
• YouGov: Digital-first polling and market research firm operating in Spain with online panel methodology, representing a methodological contrast to CIS's telephone-based approach and competing for media attention on political polling.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CIS_Institucion
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@centrodeinvestigacionessoc4856
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centro-de-investigaciones-sociol-gicas

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas