The Xavier Aptitude Test, or XAT, is scheduled to be held on January 4, 2026, and is being conducted by XLRI, Jamshedpur. This year, approximately 1.5 lakh students are expected to take the exam online.
The XAT Quantitative Aptitude section is a crucial part of the paper, accounting for 28% of the overall XAT exam. Your performance in this section determines whether you will score above the 95 percentile or below the 90 percentile on the XAT 2026 exam. As per one Quora user, the “QA can make or break your XAT score”.
The total XAT marks, including the QA section, will be 95. The difficulty level of Quantitative Ability (Quant) in the XAT 2026 exam is expected to be moderate to difficult, with a blend of lengthy Data Interpretation (3–4 sets) and calculation-based questions.
Also Check : XAT 2026 Question Paper with Solutions PDF
Also Read:
Key Summary
- The topic-wise weightage of XAT Quantitative Ability varies from year to year.
- Over the past five years, topics like Arithmetic and Algebra have dominated the XAT Quant section.
- The XAT 2025 paper follows a similar pattern to that of the 2023–2024 exam.
- Previous years' XAT papers are the best predictor of XAT Quant topic-wise weightage for the XAT 2026 exam.
XAT Quant Topic Wise Weightage 2026 (Expected)
The Arithmetic section in XAT QA will remain a high-scoring topic this year as well, with 8–10 questions, 30–35% weightage (including questions from Percentages, Profit & Loss, Time & Distance) expected in the XAT 2026 exam.
- If your fundamentals are strong, you can easily master the Quant section in the XAT 2026 exam.
- After Arithmetic, the second topic that carries approximately 20–25% of the total XAT question weightage is DI.
- This year, students can expect approximately 12 to 13 questions from the Quantitative Ability section.
- Overall, the XAT Quant weightage will cover 28 questions from different topics.
| Topic | Expected Questions | Weightage (%) | Difficulty Level | Important Topics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arithmetic | 8–10 | 30–35 | Moderate | Percentages, Profit & Loss, Time-Speed-Distance, Averages |
| Algebra | 5-7 | 20-25 | Moderate-Difficult | Equations, Polynomials, Inequalities |
| Geometry & Mensuration | 3-5 | 15-20 | Moderate | Triangles, Circles,2D/3D Shapes |
| Number Systems | 2-3 | 10 | Moderate | Surds, Indices, Factors |
| Modern Math | 1-2 | 5-10 | Difficult | Probability, Permutations |
| Data Interpretation | 12-13 | 40-45 (of section) | Moderate | Bar Graphs, Pie Charts, Caselets, Time Zone |
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XAT Quant Topic Wise Weightage 2025
The Quant section had two main topics: Arithmetic, which had 9 questions and carried a 32% weightage, and DI, which had 13 questions and carried a 46% weightage in the XAT 2025 exam.
- The difficulty level of the XAT Quant topic-wise will be moderate to difficult, with lengthy calculation-based questions in Algebra.
- In contrast, Modern Math had a weightage of only 4% in the XAT Quant section, and only 1 question was asked in the XAT 2025 exam.
| Topic | Questions | Weightage (%) | Difficulty Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arithmetic | 9 | 32 | Moderate |
| Algebra | 6 | 21 | Difficult |
| Geometry & Mensuration | 4 | 14 | Moderate |
| Number Systems | 2 | 7 | Moderate |
| Modern Math | 1 | 4 | Difficult |
| Data Interpretation | 13 | 46 | Moderate |
XAT Quant Topic Wise Weightage 2024
As per students who appeared in the XAT 2024 exam, there were a higher number of application-based arithmetic questions, carrying a total weightage of 36%. Overall, the Quant section had 13-15 doable questions. DI had 6-8 lengthy calculation questions, which were time-consuming.
| Topic | Questions | Weightage (%) | Difficulty Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arithmetic | 10 | 36 | Moderate |
| Algebra | 5 | 18 | Moderate-Difficult |
| Geometry & Mensuration | 4 | 14 | Moderate |
| Number Systems | 2 | 7 | Easy-Moderate |
| Modern Math | 1 | 4 | Difficult |
| Data Interpretation | 13 | 46 | Moderate |
XAT Quant Topic Wise Weightage Previous Year (2023-2021)
The table below shows the weightage of XAT Quant topics for the three years 2023, 2022 and 2021. In 2021, the QA section had 28 questions, with Arithmetic having a weightage of 36% or 10 questions, and the Algebra section having a weightage of around 25%, with the highest weightage in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
| Year | Total Qs | Arithmetic | Algebra | Geometry/Mensuration | Number Systems/Modern Math | DI/Qs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 28 | 9 (32%) | 6 (21%) | 4 (14%) | 3 (11%) | 12 |
| 2022 | 27 | 8 (30%) | 5 (19%) | 5 (19%) | 4 (15%) | 11 |
| 2021 | 28 | 10 (36%) | 7 (25%) | 3 (11%) | 2 (7%) | 13 |
XAT Quant Weightage Vs CAT Quant Weightage
According to a Quora user, "XAT's difficulty level in 2025 was similar to CAT. In some years, CAT is more difficult than XAT, and in other years, it's the other way around."
- In 2015, 2020, and 2023, candidates found the CAT Quant section was more on the harder side.
- In these years, even 90 percentile scoring candidates were able to attempt only 12-15 questions in the QA section.
- The XAT topic-wise Quant weightage has seen a slight change over the years.
- Before 2015, their difficulty level and exam pattern were a bit different.
- But after 2015, the XAT exam pattern for the QA section became somewhat similar to that of CAT.
- Therefore, now a well-prepared MBA aspirant who can score beyond 95 percentile in one exam can easily score well in other exams that follow the same pattern.
| Topic | XAT Weightage (2025 Avg.) | CAT Weightage (2024 Avg.) | Key Differences |
| Arithmetic | 30-35% (8-10 Qs) | 35-40% (8-9 Qs) | XAT: More application-based (e.g., time zones); CAT: Formula-heavy. |
| Algebra | 20-25% (5-7 Qs) | 25-30% (5-7 Qs) | Similar, but XAT hybrids with geometry. |
| Geometry/Mensuration | 15-20% (3-5 Qs) | 15-20% (3-4 Qs) | XAT: Conceptual proofs; CAT: Direct calculations. |
| Number Systems | 10% (2-3 Qs) | 10-15% (2-3 Qs) | XAT: Less frequent but trickier. |
| Modern Math | 5-10% (1-2 Qs) | 5-10% (1-2 Qs) | XAT: Higher variance (e.g., probability spikes). |
| Data Interpretation | 40-45% (12-13 Qs) | N/A (in DILR: 20-24 Qs total) | XAT: Integrated with QA; CAT: Separate, logic-heavy sets. |
XAT Quant Section Discussion on Reddit
Reddit User:
“XAT 2025 was much tougher than previous years.
This shows the overall difficulty level of the XAT exam.
Another User stated that,
"QA-DI felt endless—more equations and mensuration than expected, tougher than 2024."
This highlights that in the XAT 2025 Quant Paper, the questions were lengthy and majorly calculation-based.
Similar statement for XAT Percentile Vs Score for 2025:
"Ignored raw data, calling it 'toughest'—but QA scores down 10-15% from priors."
This suggests that initially, when candidates left the exam hall on January 5, 2025, few of them felt the paper was challenging. However, later data revealed that the Quantitative Aptitude section was by far the most difficult in the XAT 2025 exam.
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