The IBPS RRB PO Prelims Exam Analysis Trend of Last 5 Years provides useful insights into the examination’s difficulty level, section-wise question distribution and changing patterns. By reviewing the analysis of previous years, candidates can understand which topics have appeared frequently and how the overall level of the examination has varied. This comparison can also help aspirants identify important areas for revision before attempting the upcoming IBPS RRB PO Prelims.
IBPS RRB PO Prelims Exam Analysis Trend
The IBPS RRB PO Prelims examination mainly assesses candidates in Reasoning Ability and Quantitative Aptitude. Over the last five years, the number and types of questions from topics such as puzzles, seating arrangements, simplification, number series and data interpretation have provided useful preparation insights. Comparing year-wise exam analyses helps candidates identify recurring topics, changes in difficulty level and shifts in question distribution
IBPS RRB PO Prelims Exam Trend of Reasoning Ability
The reasoning Ability section consists of 40 questions with 40 marks. Here in the following table, we have tabulated the exam analysis trend of the reasoning ability section.
| Topics | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Puzzle and Seating Arrangement | 24 | 22 | 23 | 20 | 22 | 25 |
| Direction Sense | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Number Based Series | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Alphabet Based Series | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Inequality | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| Coding-Decoding | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| Miscellaneous questions (Number Based, Word Pairing, Meaningful Word, Odd One Out) | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Blood Relation | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Syllogism | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
IBPS RRB PO Prelims Exam Trend of Quantitative Aptitude
Candidates can check the topics asked from the Quantitative Aptitude in IBPS RRB PO Prelims exam with the weightage that will help the candidates to understand what topic consists of how much weightage.
| Topics | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Data Interpretation | 13-15 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 17 | 10 |
| Caselet DI | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Approximation | 4 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Quadratic Equation | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Missing/Wrong Number Series | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| Quantity 1 and Quantity 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Arithmetic Word Problems | 10 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 15 |
| Data Sufficiency | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
IBPS RRB PO Prelims Exam Pattern
Candidates can check the exam pattern for the IBPS RRB PO Prelims exam in the following table:
| Sections | No. of Questions | Marks |
| Reasoning Ability | 40 | 40 |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 40 | 40 |
| Overall | 80 | 80 |
IBPS RRB PO Prelims Exam Trend: Most Repeated Topics
The previous five years’ exam trends highlight several topics that have appeared repeatedly in the IBPS RRB PO Prelims examination. Candidates can refer to the table below to identify these topics and prioritise their preparation accordingly.
| Section | Most Repeated Topics | Preparation Priority |
| Reasoning Ability | Puzzle and Seating Arrangement | Very High |
| Inequality | High | |
| Syllogism | High | |
| Coding-Decoding | High | |
| Blood Relation | Moderate | |
| Quantitative Aptitude | Arithmetic Word Problems | Very High |
| Data Interpretation | Very High | |
| Missing/Wrong Number Series | High | |
| Approximation | High | |
| Quadratic Equation | Moderate |
Topic-Wise Trends of the Last 6 Years (2020–2025)
The IBPS RRB PO Prelims exam analysis of the previous six years (2020–2025) shows that the examination has maintained a largely consistent structure, with Puzzles and Seating Arrangement dominating Reasoning Ability and Data Interpretation and Arithmetic carrying significant weightage in Quantitative Aptitude.
- Reasoning Ability – Puzzles and Seating Arrangement: This is consistently the highest-weightage topic, accounting for approximately 20–25 questions in most years.
- Inequality: A regularly appearing topic, generally contributing around 3–5 questions.
- Coding-Decoding: Has appeared in several years, with variations in its question distribution.
- Syllogism and Blood Relation: Both are recurring topics, although their weightage varies from year to year.
- Direction Sense: Usually contributes around 3–4 questions in the section.
- Quantitative Aptitude – Data Interpretation: A major topic, generally accounting for around 10–17 questions, with different types of DI sets appearing across years.
- Arithmetic Word Problems: Another high-weightage area, contributing approximately 10–15 questions in most years.
- Missing/Wrong Number Series: A frequently tested topic, usually carrying around 5–6 questions.
- Approximation: Has appeared regularly in recent years, generally contributing around 4–6 questions.
- Quadratic Equations: A recurring topic that has carried around 5 questions in several examination cycles.
| Related Posts | |
| IBPS RRB PO Syllabus | IBPS RRB PO Salary |
| IBPS RRB Handwritten Declaration | IBPS RRB Previous Year Question Paper |
| IBPS RRB Preparation Strategy | Topic Wise Weightage in IBPS RRB PO Exam |












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