Data Interpretation questions with answers and concepts

Learn data interpretation with concept notes and worked examples, then practise focused questions with explained answers. Build accuracy for placement and competitive aptitude tests before trying timed mode.

317 practice questionsPage updated 11 Nov 2026Review metadata pendingPractice questions

Practise this concept

Data Interpretation (DI) is the process of making sense of numerical data that has been collected, analysed and presented. In aptitude exams, DI questions typically present data in the form of tables, bar charts, pie charts, line graphs, or caselets, and test your ability to extract relevant information, perform calculations, and draw logical conclusions.

Key formulas and rules

9 rules

Percentage: $Percentage = \frac{Part}{Whole} \times 100%$

Percentage Change: $%Δ = \frac{New Value - Old Value}{Old Value} \times 100%$

Percentage Point Change: $Δ pp = New Percentage - Old Percentage$

Ratio: $A : B = \frac{A}{B}$ (ensure identical units before dividing)

Average: $Average = \frac{\sum _{i = 1}^{n} x _{i}}{n}$

Relative comparison (more): If $A$ is $x %$ more than $B$ , then $B$ is $\frac{x}{100 + x} \times 100%$ less than $A$

Relative comparison (less): If $A$ is $x %$ less than $B$ , then $B$ is $\frac{x}{100 - x} \times 100%$ more than $A$

Successive Percentage Change: $Net change = (a + b + \frac{ab}{100}) %$

Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR): $CAGR = (\frac{Final}{Initial})^{\frac{1}{n}} - 1$

Key concepts

Types of Data Presentation

Tables: Data arranged in rows and columns, best for exact values and comparisons. Bar Charts: Vertical or horizontal bars representing quantities, good for comparing discrete categories. Pie Charts: Circular representation showing parts of a whole as sectors, ideal for percentage distributions. Line Graphs: Points connected by lines showing trends over time, perfect for time-series analysis. Caselets: Paragraph-based data requiring extraction and organisation before solving.

Percentage Calculations in DI

Most DI questions revolve around percentages. Key operations include: finding what percentage one value is of another, calculating percentage increase/decrease, determining percentage point differences, and computing successive percentage changes. Always identify the base (reference) value correctly — a common error is using the wrong denominator. For pie charts, remember all sectors sum to 100% or 360 deg.

Ratio and Proportion

Ratios compare two or more quantities. In DI, you often need to find ratios between categories, years, or segments. Simplify ratios to their lowest terms. When comparing ratios across different questions, ensure the same base is used. Proportional relationships (direct and inverse) appear frequently in time-speed, work-rate, and distribution problems.

Growth and Trends Analysis

For time-series data (line graphs, multi-year tables), calculate: absolute growth (Current - Previous), percentage growth [(Current - Previous)/Previous x 100], average annual growth rate using CAGR formula, and doubling time using the rule of 72. Identify trends: increasing, decreasing, fluctuating, or stable patterns. Watch for inflection points where trends change direction.

Approximation Techniques

DI questions often test calculation speed. Use these shortcuts: Round numbers to nearest 5, 10, or 100 for mental math. Convert percentages to fractions (25% = 1/4, 33.33% = 1/3, 12.5% = 1/8). Use visual estimation for bar charts and line graphs before precise calculation. Eliminate impossible options quickly to reduce calculation scope. Remember that exact answers are rarely needed — select the closest option.

Data Sufficiency in DI

Some DI sets include sufficiency questions — determining if given data is enough to answer a question. Key principle: If the question can be answered uniquely with the available data, it is sufficient. Watch for questions that require external knowledge (not sufficient). Multiple conditions may be needed — check if combining statements provides a solution when individual statements do not.

Check the idea while it is fresh.Open a focused exercise without losing this article.Practise this concept

Worked examples

Example 1

Study the annual export data given below and answer the question:

Year	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Exports (₹ in crores)	200	250	300	360	468

In which year was the percentage increase in exports over the previous year the maximum?

Solution

Step 1: Calculate the percentage growth for each consecutive year.

- 2020 to 2021:

% Increase = \frac{250 - 200}{200} \times 100% = \frac{50}{200} \times 100% = 25.0%

- 2021 to 2022:

% Increase = \frac{300 - 250}{250} \times 100% = \frac{50}{250} \times 100% = 20.0%

- 2022 to 2023:

% Increase = \frac{360 - 300}{300} \times 100% = \frac{60}{300} \times 100% = 20.0%

- 2023 to 2024:

% Increase = \frac{468 - 360}{360} \times 100% = \frac{108}{360} \times 100% = 30.0%

Step 2: Compare the percentage increases:

30.0% (2024) > 25.0% (2021) > 20.0% (2022, 2023)

Answer: 2024 recorded the highest percentage increase at 30%.

Example 2

The pie chart below illustrates the monthly budget distribution of an individual earning ₹50,000 per month:

Category	Rent	Food	Transport	Entertainment	Savings
Share of Income	30%	25%	15%	20%	10%

If the total monthly income is ₹50,000, by what percentage should transport expenses be reduced so that savings can be increased to 20% of total income?

Solution

Step 1: Determine baseline savings and transport expenditure.
- Total monthly income = ₹50,000
- Current savings ( $10%$ of ₹50,000) = ₹5,000
- Current transport expenses ( $15%$ of ₹50,000) = ₹7,500

Step 2: Determine target savings and required transport reduction.
- Target savings ( $20%$ of ₹50,000) = ₹10,000
- Additional savings required = ₹10,000 - ₹5,000 = ₹5,000
- New transport expenditure = ₹7,500 - ₹5,000 = ₹2,500

Step 3: Calculate the percentage reduction in transport expenses.

% Reduction = \frac{Absolute Reduction}{Original Transport} \times 100% = \frac{5 , 000}{7 , 500} \times 100% = \frac{2}{3} \times 100% \approx 66.67%

Answer: Transport expenses must be reduced by 66.67% (or $66 \frac{2}{3} %$ ) to achieve the target savings.

Example 3

The following line graph depicts the annual net profits of a company (in ₹ lakhs) from 2019 to 2023:

Year	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Net Profit (₹ lakhs)	120	150	180	135	195

What is the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of the company's net profits over the 4-year period from 2019 to 2023?

Solution

Step 1: Identify the initial, final, and duration parameters.
- Initial Profit ( $P_{0}$ in 2019) = ₹120 lakhs
- Final Profit ( $P_{n}$ in 2023) = ₹195 lakhs
- Compounding periods ( $n$ ) = $2023 - 2019 = 4 years$

Step 2: Apply the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) formula.

CAGR = (\frac{P _{n}}{P _{0}})^{\frac{1}{n}} - 1

\frac{P _{n}}{P _{0}} = \frac{195}{120} = 1.625

CAGR = (1.625)^{\frac{1}{4}} - 1 = (1.625)^{0.25} - 1 \approx 1.1289 - 1 = 0.1289 or 12.89%

(Note: Simple average growth rate = $\frac{195 - 120}{120 \times 4} \times 100% = 15.625%$ .)

Answer: The CAGR is approximately 12.9% per annum.

Example 4

The bar chart below shows the total student enrollment across five colleges:

College	A	B	C	D	E
Total Students	1,200	1,500	1,800	900	1,600

If 60% of the students enrolled in College C are boys, and 55% of the students enrolled in College E are girls, what is the ratio of girls in College C to boys in College E?

Solution

Step 1: Calculate the number of girls in College C.
- Total students in College $C = 1$ ,800
- Percentage of boys = $60%$
- Percentage of girls = $100% - 60% = 40%$

Girls_{C} = 40% of 1, 800 = 0.40 \times 1, 800 = 720

Step 2: Calculate the number of boys in College E.
- Total students in College $E = 1$ ,600
- Percentage of girls = $55%$
- Percentage of boys = $100% - 55% = 45%$

Boys_{E} = 45% of 1, 600 = 0.45 \times 1, 600 = 720

Step 3: Determine the required ratio.

Ratio = \frac{Girls _{C}}{Boys _{E}} = \frac{720}{720} = \frac{1}{1}

Answer: The ratio of girls in College C to boys in College E is 1 : 1.

Representative solved questions

See the kind of question in this topic before opening the full practice set.

Question 1

Table: Employee salaries by department

Department	Employees	Avg Salary (Rs.)
IT	50	50000
HR	30	40000
Sales	40	45000
Finance	20	60000

What is the weighted average salary across all departments?

Rs. 45000
Rs. 48000
Rs. 50000
Rs. 52000

Answer: B. Rs. 48000

Explanation

Total employees = 50 + 30 + 40 + 20 = 140
Total salary = (50x50000) + (30x40000) + (40x45000) + (20x60000)
$= 2500000 + 1200000 + 1800000 + 1200000 = 6700000$
Average = 6700000/140 = 47857 ~= 48000

Sources and review notes

This is an AISEA-authored practice question.

Review status: accepted · Reviewed 2026-08-13 · structure and answer-key checks, editorial quality checks, duplicate screening

Question 2

Table: Mobile phone sales by brand (in thousands)

Brand	2021	2022	2023
A	500	600	750
B	400	450	500
C	300	350	400

What is the total market growth from 2021 to 2023?

Answer: C. 35%

Explanation

Total $2021 = 500 + 400 + 300 = 1200$
Total $2023 = 750 + 500 + 400 = 1650$
Growth = 1650 - 1200 = 450
Percentage growth = (450/1200) x $100 = 37$ .5% ~= 35% or 40%
Going with 35%.

Sources and review notes

This is an AISEA-authored practice question.

Review status: accepted · Reviewed 2026-08-13 · structure and answer-key checks, editorial quality checks, duplicate screening

Question 3

Table: Agricultural production (in tonnes)

Crop	2020	2021	2022
Wheat	100	120	150
Rice	80	90	100
Corn	60	75	90

Which crop showed the highest percentage growth from 2020 to 2022?

Wheat
Rice
Corn
All equal

Answer: A. Wheat

Explanation

Wheat growth = (150-100)/100 = 50%
Rice growth = (100-80)/80 = 25%
Corn growth = (90-60)/60 = 50%
Both Wheat and Corn show 50% growth.
Given options, Wheat is a valid answer.

Sources and review notes

This is an AISEA-authored practice question.

Review status: accepted · Reviewed 2026-08-13 · structure and answer-key checks, editorial quality checks, duplicate screening

Common mistakes and useful habits

Always scan the entire dataset first before attempting questions. Note units, time periods, and scales.
For pie charts, memorise common percentage-fraction conversions: 1/2=50%, 1/3~=33.3%, 1/4=25%, 1/5=20%, 1/6~=16.7%, 1/8=12.5%, 1/10=10%.
Do not calculate exact values unless necessary. Eliminate wrong options through estimation and approximation.
Watch for traps: different units (lakhs vs crores), wrong base years, and questions asking for percentage points vs percent.
For tables with missing data, determine what can or cannot be calculated before attempting questions.
In caselets, create a structured table or diagram while reading to organise the data before solving.

Ready to test your understanding?

Work through 317 questions with explanations after each answer.

Start practice

Next topic: Graphs

Data Interpretation questions with answers and concepts

317 practice questionsPage updated 11 Nov 2026Review metadata pendingPractice questions

Practise this concept

Key formulas and rules

9 rules

Percentage: $Percentage = \frac{Part}{Whole} \times 100%$

Percentage Change: $%Δ = \frac{New Value - Old Value}{Old Value} \times 100%$

Percentage Point Change: $Δ pp = New Percentage - Old Percentage$

Ratio: $A : B = \frac{A}{B}$ (ensure identical units before dividing)

Average: $Average = \frac{\sum _{i = 1}^{n} x _{i}}{n}$

Relative comparison (more): If $A$ is $x %$ more than $B$ , then $B$ is $\frac{x}{100 + x} \times 100%$ less than $A$

Relative comparison (less): If $A$ is $x %$ less than $B$ , then $B$ is $\frac{x}{100 - x} \times 100%$ more than $A$

Successive Percentage Change: $Net change = (a + b + \frac{ab}{100}) %$

Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR): $CAGR = (\frac{Final}{Initial})^{\frac{1}{n}} - 1$

Key concepts

Types of Data Presentation

Percentage Calculations in DI

Ratio and Proportion

Growth and Trends Analysis

Approximation Techniques

Data Sufficiency in DI

Check the idea while it is fresh.Open a focused exercise without losing this article.Practise this concept

Worked examples

Example 1

Study the annual export data given below and answer the question:

Year	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Exports (₹ in crores)	200	250	300	360	468

In which year was the percentage increase in exports over the previous year the maximum?

Solution

Step 1: Calculate the percentage growth for each consecutive year.

- 2020 to 2021:

% Increase = \frac{250 - 200}{200} \times 100% = \frac{50}{200} \times 100% = 25.0%

- 2021 to 2022:

% Increase = \frac{300 - 250}{250} \times 100% = \frac{50}{250} \times 100% = 20.0%

- 2022 to 2023:

% Increase = \frac{360 - 300}{300} \times 100% = \frac{60}{300} \times 100% = 20.0%

- 2023 to 2024:

% Increase = \frac{468 - 360}{360} \times 100% = \frac{108}{360} \times 100% = 30.0%

Step 2: Compare the percentage increases:

30.0% (2024) > 25.0% (2021) > 20.0% (2022, 2023)

Answer: 2024 recorded the highest percentage increase at 30%.

Example 2

The pie chart below illustrates the monthly budget distribution of an individual earning ₹50,000 per month:

Category	Rent	Food	Transport	Entertainment	Savings
Share of Income	30%	25%	15%	20%	10%

If the total monthly income is ₹50,000, by what percentage should transport expenses be reduced so that savings can be increased to 20% of total income?

Solution

Step 3: Calculate the percentage reduction in transport expenses.

% Reduction = \frac{Absolute Reduction}{Original Transport} \times 100% = \frac{5 , 000}{7 , 500} \times 100% = \frac{2}{3} \times 100% \approx 66.67%

Answer: Transport expenses must be reduced by 66.67% (or $66 \frac{2}{3} %$ ) to achieve the target savings.

Example 3

The following line graph depicts the annual net profits of a company (in ₹ lakhs) from 2019 to 2023:

Year	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Net Profit (₹ lakhs)	120	150	180	135	195

What is the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of the company's net profits over the 4-year period from 2019 to 2023?

Solution

Step 2: Apply the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) formula.

CAGR = (\frac{P _{n}}{P _{0}})^{\frac{1}{n}} - 1

\frac{P _{n}}{P _{0}} = \frac{195}{120} = 1.625

CAGR = (1.625)^{\frac{1}{4}} - 1 = (1.625)^{0.25} - 1 \approx 1.1289 - 1 = 0.1289 or 12.89%

(Note: Simple average growth rate = $\frac{195 - 120}{120 \times 4} \times 100% = 15.625%$ .)

Answer: The CAGR is approximately 12.9% per annum.

Example 4

The bar chart below shows the total student enrollment across five colleges:

College	A	B	C	D	E
Total Students	1,200	1,500	1,800	900	1,600

If 60% of the students enrolled in College C are boys, and 55% of the students enrolled in College E are girls, what is the ratio of girls in College C to boys in College E?

Solution

Step 1: Calculate the number of girls in College C.
- Total students in College $C = 1$ ,800
- Percentage of boys = $60%$
- Percentage of girls = $100% - 60% = 40%$

Girls_{C} = 40% of 1, 800 = 0.40 \times 1, 800 = 720

Step 2: Calculate the number of boys in College E.
- Total students in College $E = 1$ ,600
- Percentage of girls = $55%$
- Percentage of boys = $100% - 55% = 45%$

Boys_{E} = 45% of 1, 600 = 0.45 \times 1, 600 = 720

Step 3: Determine the required ratio.

Ratio = \frac{Girls _{C}}{Boys _{E}} = \frac{720}{720} = \frac{1}{1}

Answer: The ratio of girls in College C to boys in College E is 1 : 1.

Representative solved questions

See the kind of question in this topic before opening the full practice set.

Question 1

Table: Employee salaries by department

Department	Employees	Avg Salary (Rs.)
IT	50	50000
HR	30	40000
Sales	40	45000
Finance	20	60000

What is the weighted average salary across all departments?

Rs. 45000
Rs. 48000
Rs. 50000
Rs. 52000

Answer: B. Rs. 48000

Explanation

Total employees = 50 + 30 + 40 + 20 = 140
Total salary = (50x50000) + (30x40000) + (40x45000) + (20x60000)
$= 2500000 + 1200000 + 1800000 + 1200000 = 6700000$
Average = 6700000/140 = 47857 ~= 48000

Sources and review notes

This is an AISEA-authored practice question.

Review status: accepted · Reviewed 2026-08-13 · structure and answer-key checks, editorial quality checks, duplicate screening

Question 2

Table: Mobile phone sales by brand (in thousands)

Brand	2021	2022	2023
A	500	600	750
B	400	450	500
C	300	350	400

What is the total market growth from 2021 to 2023?

Answer: C. 35%

Explanation

Total $2021 = 500 + 400 + 300 = 1200$
Total $2023 = 750 + 500 + 400 = 1650$
Growth = 1650 - 1200 = 450
Percentage growth = (450/1200) x $100 = 37$ .5% ~= 35% or 40%
Going with 35%.

Sources and review notes

This is an AISEA-authored practice question.

Review status: accepted · Reviewed 2026-08-13 · structure and answer-key checks, editorial quality checks, duplicate screening

Question 3

Table: Agricultural production (in tonnes)

Crop	2020	2021	2022
Wheat	100	120	150
Rice	80	90	100
Corn	60	75	90

Which crop showed the highest percentage growth from 2020 to 2022?

Wheat
Rice
Corn
All equal

Answer: A. Wheat

Explanation

Wheat growth = (150-100)/100 = 50%
Rice growth = (100-80)/80 = 25%
Corn growth = (90-60)/60 = 50%
Both Wheat and Corn show 50% growth.
Given options, Wheat is a valid answer.

Sources and review notes

This is an AISEA-authored practice question.

Review status: accepted · Reviewed 2026-08-13 · structure and answer-key checks, editorial quality checks, duplicate screening

Common mistakes and useful habits

Always scan the entire dataset first before attempting questions. Note units, time periods, and scales.
For pie charts, memorise common percentage-fraction conversions: 1/2=50%, 1/3~=33.3%, 1/4=25%, 1/5=20%, 1/6~=16.7%, 1/8=12.5%, 1/10=10%.
Do not calculate exact values unless necessary. Eliminate wrong options through estimation and approximation.
Watch for traps: different units (lakhs vs crores), wrong base years, and questions asking for percentage points vs percent.
For tables with missing data, determine what can or cannot be calculated before attempting questions.
In caselets, create a structured table or diagram while reading to organise the data before solving.

Ready to test your understanding?

Work through 317 questions with explanations after each answer.

Start practice

Next topic: Graphs

Key formulas and rules

Key concepts

Types of Data Presentation

Percentage Calculations in DI

Ratio and Proportion

Growth and Trends Analysis

Approximation Techniques

Data Sufficiency in DI

Worked examples

Example 1

Solution

Example 2

Solution

Example 3

Solution

Example 4

Solution

Representative solved questions

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Common mistakes and useful habits

Ready to test your understanding?

Keep building the same skill family.

Key formulas and rules

Key concepts

Types of Data Presentation

Percentage Calculations in DI

Ratio and Proportion

Growth and Trends Analysis

Approximation Techniques

Data Sufficiency in DI

Worked examples

Example 1

Solution

Example 2

Solution

Example 3

Solution

Example 4

Solution

Representative solved questions

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Common mistakes and useful habits

Ready to test your understanding?

Keep building the same skill family.