Statistics — Topic-wise Weightage Across All Papers
📊 Statistics — Topic-wise Weightage
10 marks · 10 syllabus topics. This file answers one question: how much does each topic actually earn?
| Paper | Post | Statistics block |
|---|---|---|
| ⭐ FAA 2022 (6 Mar 2022) | Finance Account Assistant | Q71–80 — its own section |
| ⭐ FAA 2024 (28 Jan 2024) | Finance Account Assistant | Q71–80 — its own section |
| PAA 2020 (10 Nov 2020) | Accounts Assistant (Panchayat) | Q31–40 — combined with Maths |
| PAA 2020 · series A | Accounts Assistant (Panchayat) | Q31–40 — combined with Maths |
They are two booklets of the same exam, and their Q31–40 is a combined Maths/Statistics block — so 3 of its 10 questions are not statistics at all. Use the FAA columns for weightage.
🥇 THE MASTER TABLE
| # | Syllabus topic | ⭐ FAA 2022 | ⭐ FAA 2024 | FAA TOTAL | Panchayat | In both FAA? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (i) | Primary and Secondary Data | Q71, Q73 = 2 | Q71 = 1 | 3 ⭐ | 0 | ✅ |
| (v) | Measures of Central Tendency | Q75, Q80 = 2 | Q75 = 1 | 3 ⭐ | 0 | ✅ |
| (iii) | Preparation of Questionnaires | Q79 = 1 | Q73 = 1 | 2 | 0 | ✅ |
| (vi) | Theory of Probability | Q74 = 1 | Q76 = 1 | 2 | 1 | ✅ |
| (vii) | Theory of Attributes | Q77 = 1 | Q77 = 1 | 2 | 1 | ✅ |
| (viii) | Theory of Index Numbers | Q78 = 1 | Q78 = 1 | 2 | 0 | ✅ |
| (ix) | Demography — Census | Q72 = 1 | Q79 = 1 | 2 | 2 | ✅ |
| (x) | Vital Statistics | Q76 = 1 | Q80 = 1 | 2 | 0 | ✅ |
| (ii) | Methods of Collecting Data | — | Q72 = 1 | 1 | 2 | ❌ |
| (iv) | Tabulation and Compilation | — | Q74 = 1 | 1 | 1 | ❌ |
| — | Off-syllabus (sets, coordinate geometry, time series) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | — |
| Total | 10 | 10 | 20 | 10 | 8 / 10 |
⭐⭐ THE HEADLINE — statistics is the most predictable section on the paper
2024 was a perfect sweep — one question per topic, in syllabus order, Q71 → Q80. 2022 covered eight — it doubled up on (i) and (v) and skipped (ii) and (iv).
⭐ Cover all ten topics shallowly and you cannot lose more than 1–2 marks here. ⚠️ Skip one topic and you are near-guaranteed to drop a mark. There is nowhere to hide in a 10-topic, 10-mark section.
🎯 The slot pattern — two topics have not moved
| Question number | FAA 2022 | FAA 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Q77 | (vii) Theory of Attributes | (vii) Theory of Attributes |
| Q78 | (viii) Theory of Index Numbers | (viii) Theory of Index Numbers |
⭐⭐ Attributes at Q77 and Index Numbers at Q78 in both years — and they were the two hardest questions in both papers. If that holds in 2026, you know in advance where the two hardest marks sit. Do them last; do not burn time there early.
🎯 THE THREE TIERS
🥇 TIER 1 — the double-weighted topics (6 of 20 marks)
| Topic | FAA marks | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| (i) Primary & Secondary Data | 3 | Which is primary vs secondary · published vs unpublished sources · diaries are unpublished |
| (v) Measures of Central Tendency | 3 | Mode = 3 Median − 2 Mean · median of even-n data (average the two middle values) · mean vs median vs mode ordering |
⭐ These two topics carry 6 of the 20 marks — nearly a third of the section from two topics. Both are easy. Do them first.
🥈 TIER 2 — one mark each, every year (12 marks)
| Topic | FAA marks | Core thing to memorise |
|---|---|---|
| (vii) Attributes | 2 | (AB) vs (A)(B)/N — = independent · > positive · < negative |
| (viii) Index Numbers | 2 | Fisher = √(Laspeyres × Paasche) · time- and factor-reversal tests · what CPI is and is not used for |
| (vi) Probability | 2 | 0 ≤ P ≤ 1 · complement rule · mutually exclusive vs independent |
| (ix) Demography / Census | 2 | Census features — simultaneity, universality, periodicity (10 yrs), government sponsorship · growth rate on the initial base |
| (x) Vital Statistics | 2 | CBR/CDR per 1,000 · IMR per 1,000 live births · MMR per 1,00,000 live births · NRR ≤ GRR |
| (iii) Questionnaires | 2 | The four types: Structured/Unstructured × Disguised/Undisguised |
🥉 TIER 3 — asked once, but cheap (2 marks)
| Topic | FAA marks | Note |
|---|---|---|
| (ii) Methods of Collecting Data | 1 | Interview/survey/observation = primary; publications/census/records = secondary |
| (iv) Tabulation and Compilation | 1 | Parts of a table · tabulation precedes diagrams · a FALSE-statement question |
⚠️ These two are the cheapest topics on the syllabus — an hour each. They appeared only in 2024, but the Panchayat paper tested them too. Do not skip them to save an hour.
🔀 What each paper actually asked
| Topic | FAA 2022 | FAA 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| (i) | Example of primary data (Q71) · which is not published data (Q73) | Secondary data is sourced from (Q71) |
| (ii) | — | Example of a primary collection method (Q72) |
| (iii) | Which is not a type of questionnaire (Q79) | Correct statements on questionnaire prep (Q73) |
| (iv) | — | Which statement on tabulation is FALSE (Q74) |
| (v) | Mode from mean & median (Q75) · median of 12 values (Q80) | Order mean/median/mode from raw data (Q75) |
| (vi) | 3 coins, at least two tails (Q74) | Correct statements about probability (Q76) |
| (vii) | (AB) < (A)(B)/N → association (Q77) | 100 students & sports — matching (Q77) |
| (viii) | Which is not a CPI characteristic (Q78) | Fisher Ideal Value Index (Q78) |
| (ix) | Population growth rate 2020→2025 (Q72) | Feature of the census (Q79) |
| (x) | Mortality rate per thousand (Q76) | Match the vital-statistics measures (Q80) |
📈 Difficulty and format — the paper got harder
| Format | FAA 2022 | FAA 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Direct definition / factual | 5 | 3 |
| Numerical calculation | 5 | 2 |
| ⭐ Multi-statement "which are correct / FALSE" | 0 | 3 |
| ⭐ Matching (a-1, b-2 …) | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | 10 |
2022 was easy — every question was a direct fact or a one-step sum. 2024 replaced half of that with statement-judgement and matching, which reward precise knowledge: you must evaluate each statement independently, so a vague sense of the topic scores zero.
⭐ Practise by eliminating one statement at a time — that alone usually removes two options.
| Level | FAA 2022 | FAA 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Easy | Q71, Q73, Q79 | Q71, Q72, Q79 |
| Moderate | Q72, Q74, Q75, Q76, Q80 | Q73, Q74, Q75, Q76 |
| Hard | Q77, Q78 | Q78 (Fisher), Q77 |
🔗 The overlap with Mathematics — worth double marks
| Topic | Statistics section | Mathematics section |
|---|---|---|
| Probability | FAA 2022 Q74 · FAA 2024 Q76 | FAA 2022 Q87 · FAA 2024 Q88 |
| Set Theory | — | FAA 2022 Q85, Q88 · FAA 2024 Q85 |
⭐ Probability is tested in BOTH sections of BOTH papers — that is 4 marks from one topic. The same 8-outcome coin sample space answered FAA 2022 Q74 (statistics) and Q87 (maths). Set theory adds up to 3 more marks on the maths side. Together, probability + sets ≈ 6–7 marks across the quantitative half of the paper — the highest-value revision you can do.
🔮 Prediction for 15 Nov 2026
Confirmed by both real FAA papers. Watch Q77 (Attributes) and Q78 (Index Numbers) — same slots, same difficulty, both years.
| Topic | Most likely question |
|---|---|
| (i) | which is primary vs secondary · published vs unpublished |
| (ii) | interview/survey = primary · publications/census = secondary |
| (iii) | the four questionnaire types · pilot testing is required |
| (iv) | a FALSE statement · parts of a table · tabulation precedes diagrams |
| (v) | ⭐ Mode = 3 Median − 2 Mean · median of an even-sized set |
| (vi) | 0 ≤ P ≤ 1 · mutually exclusive vs independent · simple P(A∪B) · coins/dice |
| (vii) | ⭐ (AB) = (A)(B)/N for independence · consistency · Venn-style counting |
| (viii) | ⭐ Fisher = √(Laspeyres × Paasche) · reversal tests · CPI uses |
| (ix) | census features · decadal growth · sex ratio · Census 2011 figures |
| (x) | CBR/CDR · NRR ≤ GRR · ASFR · MMR per 1,00,000 live births |
Three safest bets: (i) primary vs secondary, (v) central tendency, and (ix) census — the three highest-scoring topics, all recall or one-step sums. Prepare hardest: ⭐ (viii) Index Numbers — hardest question in both papers, sat at Q78 both times, and the Fisher formula is not guessable.
🔗 Related
- Worked solutions: Statistics-Tagged-Answers — all 40 questions
- Mapping & analysis: Statistics-Analysis-and-Mapping · Plan: Statistics-Study-Plan
- The notes: Notes-Statistics · one file per topic: ST-INDEX
- Maths overlap: Maths-Tagged-Answers · Maths-Study-Plan
- Cross-paper: Four-Paper-Comparison
- Accountancy equivalent: Accountancy-Chapterwise-Weightage
- PROJECT-LOG · Home
