Numerical reasoning: what is tested and how to get faster

8 min read · updated October 2026

A numerical reasoning item gives you a table or chart and one question with five options. Two minutes per item sounds generous until you realise the question usually needs two or three steps, the data has to be located among distractor rows, and no calculator is allowed.

The recurring question types

• Percentage change between two years, and the reverse: "X was 15% higher than in 2020; what was the 2020 value?"
• Shares and ratios: one row as a share of the total, or one country as a multiple of another.
• Per-capita and derived rates: GDP per inhabitant, unemployed persons from a rate and a labour force.
• Percentage points versus percent: a rate moving from 5.0% to 6.0% is +1.0 point, but +20%.
• Averages, including weighted averages where the sizes differ.
• Projections and growth rates: continue a trend, or compute the average annual (compound) growth.

Method

1. Read the question first, then find the cells you need. Do not read the whole table.
2. Write the computation as a formula before calculating; most errors come from the wrong base, not the wrong arithmetic.
3. Estimate before you compute. Options are usually spread wide enough that a rounded estimate eliminates three of them.
4. Check units in the title and headers: "EUR million", "thousand", "%". Unit slips are the most common distractor.

Mental arithmetic that pays off

Percent of a number via 10% and 1% steps; dividing by a number close to 100 by adjusting; converting "x times" to "(x-1) × 100 percent more"; and for compound growth, remembering that four years at 4% is roughly 17%, not 16%.

Try a practice session without the clock first, then move to the timed test.