Which subjects carry the most weight?
Across the 16 GS Paper I papers from 2011–2026, 1,600 questions in all: Environment (268), Economy (212), Polity (208). Between the first 5 papers (2011–2015) and the last 5 (2022–2026), the biggest rises were International Relations (4 to 9 a paper) and Science & Tech (11 to 14 a paper); the biggest falls, Modern History (8 to 5) and Environment (20 to 13).
Questions per subject, year by year
| Subject | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | All |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Environment | 18 | 18 | 21 | 29 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 12 | 19 | 14 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 268 |
| Economy | 19 | 9 | 19 | 11 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 212 |
| Polity | 9 | 17 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 5 | 22 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 16 | 15 | 6 | 208 |
| Science & Tech | 16 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 179 |
| Art & Culture | 4 | 12 | 10 | 15 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 166 |
| Geography | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 19 | 14 | 12 | 164 |
| Governance | 4 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 17 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 110 |
| International Relations | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 17 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 110 |
| Modern History | 10 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 13 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 106 |
| Agriculture | 4 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 63 |
| Miscellaneous | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 14 |
Years shown as their last two digits. The 2026 column uses a provisional key; it changes nothing here, since it counts questions, not answers.
What rose and what fell
Average questions a paper, first 5 papers against last 5.
| Subject | 2011–15 | 2022–26 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| International Relations | 3.6 | 9.4 | +5.8 |
| Science & Tech | 10.6 | 13.8 | +3.2 |
| Geography | 11.2 | 13.8 | +2.6 |
| Miscellaneous | 0.2 | 1.8 | +1.6 |
| Governance | 4.4 | 6.0 | +1.6 |
| Art & Culture | 10.2 | 10.0 | -0.2 |
| Agriculture | 3.8 | 2.4 | -1.4 |
| Economy | 14.4 | 13.0 | -1.4 |
| Polity | 13.6 | 11.6 | -2.0 |
| Modern History | 7.6 | 4.8 | -2.8 |
| Environment | 20.4 | 13.4 | -7.0 |
The ten most asked topics
How this is counted
Each of the 1,600 questions carries one subject tag and one topic tag. A question that touches two subjects counts once, under its tag. Current affairs is not a separate subject here: a question on a scheme in the news counts under Governance, one on a treaty under Environment or International Relations.
Questions
Which subject has the highest weightage in UPSC Prelims?
Over 2011–2026: Environment (268), Economy (212), Polity (208) questions out of 1,600.
Which subjects have grown in recent Prelims papers?
Comparing 2011–2015 with 2022–2026: International Relations (4 to 9 a paper) and Science & Tech (11 to 14 a paper).
Is current affairs counted separately?
No. Each question is counted under its subject, so a scheme in the news is Governance and a treaty is Environment or International Relations.
Practise them with negative marking.
One question at a time, +2 and −0.66, a sure / 50-50 / guess tap, and your mistakes saved to revise. Free, no sign-in.