IBPS Clerk · Bite-size lessons
Data Interpretation
About 6 min · Numerical Ability · English
Time worked out from the lesson's 353 words at 150 words a minute, plus a minute for each question.
Unlike standalone arithmetic problems, DI tests your ability to extract information from visual formats—tables, bar graphs, pie charts, and line graphs—and perform quick calculations.
Key ideas
- Tables present data in rows and columns; read row headers and column headers carefully before solving.
- Bar Graphs display quantities using rectangular bars; height/length represents magnitude. Watch for scale divisions on the y-axis—each small division may represent 10, 50, or 100 units.
- Pie Charts represent parts of a whole as sectors of a circle. The complete circle = 360° = 100%. Thus, 1% = 3.6°. Converting between percentage and degrees is essential.
- Line Graphs show trends over time using connected points. Focus on direction (increasing/decreasing) and magnitude of change between consecutive points.
- Percentage calculations dominate DI questions: percentage share, percentage change, and percentage comparison.
Quick reference
- Pie chart: 360° = 100%; 1% = 3.6°; Value = (Percentage/100) × Total
- Percentage change = (Change ÷ Original) × 100; denominator is always the BASE value
- Scan all questions of a DI set before solving—do easiest 3–4 first, skip calculation-heavy ones
- For bar graphs, use finger or pen tip to align bars with y-axis scale accurately
- Approximation rule: round numbers when options differ by more than 5%
Check yourself: 3 questions
1. The table below shows the number of students enrolled in five different courses in a college. Course | Number of Students --- | --- BCA | 240 BBA | 180 B.Com | 360 B.Sc | 150 BA | 270 What is the total number of students enrolled in all five courses?
2. A bar graph shows the production (in thousand tonnes) of rice in six different states: State A: 45, State B: 60, State C: 30, State D: 50, State E: 40, State F: 55 What is the average production of rice (in thousand tonnes) across all six states?
3. A pie chart shows the distribution of a company's annual budget of Rs. 72 lakhs across five departments. The departments and their respective percentages are: Marketing: 25%, Production: 30%, HR: 15%, Finance: 20%, R&D: 10% What is the budget allocation (in Rs. lakhs) for the Production department?
This lesson is cut from the topic's note, not rewritten. Fact-checked on 17 Oct 2026: an AI-assisted check of this note against cited sources; the errors it found were corrected that day. Some errors may remain. The questions are from Shishya's validated question bank.
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