GRE Data Interpretation
A chart, graph or table with several questions attached to it. It sits inside Data Analysis and uses any of the four question formats. Because the questions share one source, the time you spend understanding it is repaid across all of them.
Read the chart before the questions
- Read the title — it tells you what the figures actually are.
- Read both axes, including the units and any multiplier such as "in thousands".
- Read the legend and any footnote; footnotes are where exclusions hide.
- Notice whether the scale starts at zero — a truncated axis exaggerates differences visually.
The "in thousands" multiplier is the most common single error on this type, and it is usually printed once, small, above the vertical axis.
The percentage traps
- Percent of what. Percent of the total, of one category, or of the previous year are three different questions and often three different options.
- Percent change versus percentage points. A share going from 20% to 25% is a rise of five percentage points and a 25% increase.
- Percent greater than. "X is what percent greater than Y" is (X−Y)/Y, not X/Y.
- Estimation beats precision. Many questions have options far enough apart to answer by eye; reading a value to three figures off a bar chart is time spent on precision the chart does not have.
Where two charts are given, check whether they share a scale or a time range before combining them. Questions are frequently built on the assumption that you will not.
Data Interpretation — FAQs
2 questions
Yes, and this is where it earns its place — awkward ratios off real figures.
Usually two or three, which is why reading the chart carefully once is worth more than it appears.
More quantitative question types
Sources
Written from the test board's own published material and checked on 1 October 2026.