NinetynineCAT topic-wise weightage, 2017–2025
In the 24 CAT papers from 2017 to 2025, the most-asked QA topic was Ratio, Mixtures & Averages (84 questions), the most-asked DILR set type was Charts & Tables (130), and VARC was led by RC · Society, History & Politics passages (179). The tables below give every topic's count for every year.
Key facts
- CAT asked 1,830 questions across 24 papers from 2017 to 2025: 642 VARC, 576 DILR and 612 QA.
- Ratio, Mixtures & Averages is CAT's most-asked quant topic since 2017, with 84 questions; Geometry is second with 65.
- The top five QA topics (Ratio, Mixtures & Averages, Geometry, Logarithms & Exponents, Equations, Inequalities & Modulus) account for 50% of all CAT quant questions since 2017.
- The fastest-rising CAT topic is Sentence Placement (VARC), up from 0.0 to 2.3 questions per paper in 2022–2025.
- The steepest fall is RC · Society, History & Politics (VARC), down from 9.0 to 5.7 questions per paper.
What is the weightage of each topic in CAT quant?
Ratio, Mixtures & Averages, Geometry and Logarithms & Exponents together make up 33% of CAT's 612 QA questions since 2017. Arithmetic and algebra dominate; geometry is the largest single non-arithmetic block.
| Topic | 2017 2 slots | 2018 2 slots | 2019 2 slots | 2020 3 slots | 2021 3 slots | 2022 3 slots | 2023 3 slots | 2024 3 slots | 2025 3 slots | Total | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ratio, Mixtures & Averages | 7 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 84 | steady |
| Geometry | 6 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 65 | steady |
| Logarithms & Exponents | 6 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 55 | steady |
| Equations | 4 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 52 | steady |
| Inequalities & Modulus | 5 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 49 | steady |
| Time, Speed & Distance | 5 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 48 | falling |
| Percentages & Profit-Loss | 10 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 46 | falling |
| Number Systems | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 40 | steady |
| Progressions & Series | 5 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 38 | steady |
| Time & Work | 3 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 34 | falling |
| Functions & Graphs | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 23 | falling |
| Permutations & Probability | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 21 | steady |
| Interest | – | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 19 | steady |
| Coordinate Geometry | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | – | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 16 | steady |
| Mensuration | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | – | – | – | 1 | – | 13 | falling |
| Set Theory | – | 4 | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | 9 | steady |
Which DILR set types does CAT ask most?
DILR is counted per question, so a four-question set adds four. Charts & Tables and Quant-based Puzzles each account for more than a fifth of DILR questions; see the 30 DILR set archetypes for a finer split.
| Topic | 2017 2 slots | 2018 2 slots | 2019 2 slots | 2020 3 slots | 2021 3 slots | 2022 3 slots | 2023 3 slots | 2024 3 slots | 2025 3 slots | Total | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charts & Tables | 12 | 8 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 25 | 25 | 130 | steady |
| Quant-based Puzzles | 12 | 20 | 4 | 10 | 10 | 22 | 20 | 14 | 15 | 127 | rising |
| Grids & Matrices | 8 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 67 | falling |
| Venn & Set Puzzles | 4 | 12 | 4 | 16 | – | 15 | 5 | 4 | – | 60 | falling |
| Routes & Networks | 8 | – | 4 | – | – | 10 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 41 | rising |
| Scheduling | 4 | – | 4 | 12 | 6 | – | 10 | – | 5 | 41 | falling |
| Selection & Distribution | 8 | 4 | 8 | – | 12 | – | 5 | 4 | – | 41 | falling |
| Arrangements | 8 | 8 | 12 | 4 | – | – | – | – | 8 | 40 | falling |
| Games & Tournaments | – | – | 8 | 6 | 10 | – | – | 5 | – | 29 | falling |
How is CAT VARC split between RC and verbal ability?
Reading comprehension is tagged by the passage's subject. 71% of VARC questions since 2017 were RC; the rest were para jumbles, summaries, odd sentence out and sentence placement.
| Topic | 2017 2 slots | 2018 2 slots | 2019 2 slots | 2020 3 slots | 2021 3 slots | 2022 3 slots | 2023 3 slots | 2024 3 slots | 2025 3 slots | Total | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RC · Society, History & Politics | 21 | 13 | 27 | 26 | 24 | 12 | 32 | 12 | 12 | 179 | falling |
| RC · Science & Technology | 21 | 31 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 16 | 4 | 20 | 16 | 138 | falling |
| Para Jumbles | 14 | 14 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 6 | – | 6 | 81 | falling |
| RC · Humanities & Philosophy | – | 5 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 8 | 8 | – | 4 | 54 | falling |
| Para Summary | – | – | – | 9 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 48 | rising |
| RC · Economics & Business | 9 | 5 | 5 | 5 | – | – | 4 | 12 | 4 | 44 | steady |
| RC · Arts & Culture | 3 | – | 5 | 5 | – | 12 | – | 4 | 12 | 41 | rising |
| Odd Sentence Out | – | – | – | 6 | 6 | – | 6 | 6 | 6 | 30 | steady |
| Sentence Placement | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 27 | rising |
Which CAT topics are rising and which are falling?
A topic is rising when it averaged at least 25% (and 0.4 questions) more per paper in 2022–2025 than in 2018–2021, and falling for the mirror case. Per-paper rates matter because papers got shorter: 100 questions per paper until 2019, 68 in 2025.
Rising: Sentence Placement (VARC, 0.0 → 2.3 per paper); Routes & Networks (DILR, 0.4 → 2.4 per paper); Quant-based Puzzles (DILR, 4.4 → 5.9 per paper); RC · Arts & Culture (VARC, 1.0 → 2.3 per paper); Para Summary (VARC, 1.8 → 2.5 per paper).
Falling: RC · Society, History & Politics (VARC, 9.0 → 5.7 per paper); Para Jumbles (VARC, 4.6 → 1.8 per paper); Games & Tournaments (DILR, 2.4 → 0.4 per paper); Arrangements (DILR, 2.4 → 0.7 per paper); RC · Humanities & Philosophy (VARC, 3.4 → 1.7 per paper); Selection & Distribution (DILR, 2.4 → 0.8 per paper); RC · Science & Technology (VARC, 6.1 → 4.7 per paper); Time, Speed & Distance (QA, 2.7 → 1.3 per paper); Venn & Set Puzzles (DILR, 3.2 → 2.0 per paper); Scheduling (DILR, 2.2 → 1.3 per paper); Grids & Matrices (DILR, 3.2 → 2.3 per paper); Percentages & Profit-Loss (QA, 2.1 → 1.3 per paper); Mensuration (QA, 0.9 → 0.1 per paper); Functions & Graphs (QA, 1.2 → 0.7 per paper); Time & Work (QA, 1.7 → 1.2 per paper).
How should I use topic weightage in my preparation?
Weightage tells you where marks are, not what to skip. Low-weight topics still turn up: Set Theory, the rarest QA topic, came up in 7 of 24 papers, and a question you can solve is worth the same three marks wherever it comes from. Use it to order your work: master the top QA topics first, practise the common DILR set types under time, and read widely across the RC subjects CAT favours.
Method: counted from all 24 CAT papers 2017–2025 (1,830 questions), each tagged with one topic. Counts are questions, not marks; every question in CAT carries the same marks. How the data is built.
Frequently asked questions
Which topic has the highest weightage in CAT quant?
Ratio, Mixtures & Averages, with 84 of 612 QA questions (14%) in the 24 papers from 2017 to 2025.
Is geometry important for CAT?
Yes. 65 geometry questions appeared since 2017, in 24 of 24 papers, making it the second most-asked QA topic.
How many RC questions come in CAT?
In 2025, each slot had 16 RC questions out of 24 VARC questions.