Success Rate of Optional in UPSC Year-Wise | UPSC Optional Success Rate
By Balaji
Updated on: March 21st, 2023
Every year there is a possibility of change in the Success Rate of Optional in UPSC for the Civil Services exam. UPSC, or the Union Public Service Commission of India, conducts the reputed IAS exam to allow candidates to enter civil services. The examination is executed in 3 stages: Prelims, Mains, and the Interview test. Every year millions of optimistic IAS applicants give the exam. For every student, the process of assessment is equivalent.
In the Mains exam of IAS, they must select an optional subject (2 papers having a weightage of 500 marks). Candidates should choose the best subject by reviewing the actual UPSC optional subjects success rate to obtain the highest marks in the exam. In this article, aspirants can learn about the Success Rate of Optional in UPSC for 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014, if they are still preparing for the most challenging exam.
Table of content
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1. Success Rate of Optional in UPSC
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2. List of UPSC Optional Success Rate Year Wise
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3. Success Rate of Optional in UPSC 2017
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4. Success Rate of Optional in UPSC 2016
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5. UPSC Optional Subjects Success Rate in 2015
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6. Success Rate of Optional in UPSC 2014
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7. Most Opted IAS Optional Subjects Success Rate
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8. What is the Best Optional Subject for UPSC?
Success Rate of Optional in UPSC
Check out the latest information on the Success Rate of Optional in UPSC. The table lists figures extracted from the 2017 data of the Civil Services exam. Before choosing the best optional subject for the UPSC Mains exam, there are various factors one must consider, including available preparation time, the curriculum of the exam, etc.
Success Rate of Optional in UPSC PDF
Aspirants can choose a subject they know about as it will help them cover the UPSC syllabus quickly and understand it more efficiently, or they can even go through the recent UPSC optional subjects success rate list. Candidates opting for the subject they are interested in will score better in the exam as UPSC asks in-depth questions about any topic.
List of UPSC Optional Success Rate Year Wise
The table illustrates the UPSC optional subjects success rate from 2014 to 2017 for Civil Services Examination. Aspirants can briefly know the success rates of optional subjects and choose the one with the highest rate.
Apart from the success rate, there are many other aspects you should look at before picking the best optional subject, for instance, analyzing its overall syllabus, considering the time available for preparation, and keeping the mind the expert’s advice.
Success Rate of Optional in UPSC 2017
Candidates appearing for the UPSC exam can glance at the latest UPSC optional subjects success rate. The figures have been taken from the 2017 civil services examination results.
| Optional Subject | Success Rate of Optional in UPSC | Number of Aspirants Suggested | Number of Aspirants Appeared |
| Management | 8.1 | 7 | 86 |
| Civil Engineering | 8.9 | 11 | 124 |
| Bengali Lit. | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 11.2 | 19 | 170 |
| Urdu Lit. | 19.2 | 5 | 26 |
| Bodo Lit. | 100 | 1 | 1 |
| Commerce and Accountancy | 12.5 | 28 | 224 |
| Zoology | 1.8 | 1 | 55 |
| Kannada Lit. | 3.5 | 4 | 115 |
| Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences | 8.7 | 2 | 23 |
| Public Administration | 10.2 | 119 | 1165 |
| Botany | 11.4 | 5 | 44 |
| Mathematics | 5.9 | 26 | 441 |
| International Relations and Political Science | 9.4 | 117 | 1246 |
| Tamil Lit. | 4.7 | 5 | 107 |
| Manipuri Lit. | 7.7 | 1 | 13 |
| Telugu Lit. | 1.4 | 1 | 72 |
| Geography | 5.5 | 147 | 2669 |
| Sindhi Lit. | 50 | 1 | 2 |
| English Lit. | 9.5 | 2 | 21 |
| Philosophy | 7 | 53 | 755 |
| Statistics | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Marathi Lit. | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Chemistry | 8.7 | 11 | 126 |
| Gujarati Lit. | 7.9 | 8 | 101 |
| Hindi Lit. | 7.1 | 19 | 267 |
| Agriculture | 12.4 | 11 | 89 |
| Oriya Lit. | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Malayalam Lit. | 7.2 | 8 | 111 |
| Psychology | 10.9 | 21 | 193 |
| Nepali Lit. | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sociology | 9.6 | 137 | 1421 |
| Assamese Lit. | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Anthropology | 9.7 | 85 | 880 |
| Physics | 10 | 14 | 140 |
| Law | 14.1 | 43 | 304 |
| Maithili Lit. | 6.4 | 5 | 78 |
| Punjabi Lit. | 15.4 | 6 | 39 |
| History | 5.5 | 59 | 1074 |
| Medical Sciences | 10.2 | 32 | 313 |
| Electrical Engineering | 9.8 | 19 | 193 |
| Economics | 6.9 | 16 | 233 |
| Geology | 5.4 | 2 | 37 |
| Sanskrit Lit. | 7.1 | 5 | 70 |
Success Rate of Optional in UPSC 2016
It can be easily comprehended from the table that the success rate for a few Literature papers appears to be the highest. In contrast, a significantly less number of aspirants opted for this optional subject of UPSC.
| Optional Subject | Success Rate Percentage | Number of Aspirants Suggested | Number of Aspirants Appeared |
| Agriculture | 18.6 | 41 | 220 |
| Economics | 11.3 | 37 | 326 |
| Konkani Lit. | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Geology | 5.6 | 2 | 36 |
| Arabic Lit. | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Management | 7.7 | 1 | 13 |
| Zoology | 3.7 | 18 | 484 |
| Assamese Lit. | 40 | 2 | 5 |
| Mathematics | 2.9 | 8 | 277 |
| Law | 5.2 | 19 | 365 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 5.2 | 5 | 96 |
| Sociology | 5.7 | 89 | 1555 |
| Marathi Lit. | 16.7 | 7 | 42 |
| Tamil Lit. | 12.9 | 29 | 225 |
| Medical Sciences | 16.3 | 16 | 98 |
| Hindi Lit. | 5.7 | 56 | 974 |
| Political Science and International Relations | 6.4 | 85 | 1320 |
| Botany | 4.5 | 14 | 312 |
| Geography | 5.8 | 236 | 4049 |
| Sindhi Lit. | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Statistics | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Bengali Lit. | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Urdu Lit. | 13.8 | 4 | 29 |
| Dogri LIt. | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Punjabi Lit. | 26.3 | 5 | 19 |
| Kannada Lit. | 16.7 | 14 | 84 |
| Chemistry | 5.6 | 7 | 124 |
| Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences | 12.3 | 8 | 65 |
| Electrical Engineering | 5.4 | 4 | 74 |
| History | 5.5 | 212 | 3870 |
| Pali Lit. | 7.1 | 18 | 255 |
| English Lit. | 15 | 6 | 40 |
| Anthropology | 10.7 | 37 | 345 |
| Physics | 6.7 | 16 | 239 |
| Gujarati Lit. | 16.7 | 7 | 42 |
| Psychology | 10.9 | 116 | 1061 |
| Public Administration | 10.5 | 337 | 3301 |
| Maithili Lit. | 4 | 1 | 25 |
| Telugu Lit. | 6.1 | 9 | 147 |
| Malayalam Lit. | 7.3 | 5 | 67 |
| Philosophy | 4 | 84 | 2092 |
| Oria Lit. | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Civil Engineering | 3.9 | 1 | 35 |
| Sanskrit Lit. | 8.2 | 10 | 122 |
| Manipuri Lit. | 4.5 | 1 | 22 |
| Persian Lit. | 0 | 0 | 10 |
UPSC Optional Subjects Success Rate in 2015
The table shows the IAS optional subjects success rate from the 2015 figures of the civil services examination, excluding the Literature optional subjects.
| Optional Subject | Success Rate of Optional in UPSC | Number of Aspirants Suggested | Number of Aspirants Appeared |
| Physics | 6.4 | 17 | 266 |
| Public Administration | 5.1 | 359 | 7077 |
| Agriculture | 16.4 | 20 | 122 |
| Anthropology | 6.3 | 38 | 579 |
| Philosophy | 8.9 | 99 | 1116 |
| Civil Engineering | 10.6 | 5 | 47 |
| Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science | 23.1 | 12 | 52 |
| Zoology | 12.7 | 29 | 228 |
| Chemistry | 10.6 | 11 | 104 |
| Electrical Engineering | 6.3 | 8 | 126 |
| Economics | 19 | 51 | 269 |
| Law | 17.1 | 42 | 246 |
| Psychology | 7.9 | 92 | 1163 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 4.7 | 3 | 64 |
| Geography | 7.2 | 314 | 4351 |
| Mathematics | 7.1 | 23 | 325 |
| Management | 14.4 | 24 | 167 |
| Sociology | 9.2 | 230 | 2490 |
| Medical Science | 23.4 | 55 | 235 |
| Political Science and International Relations | 10.9 | 121 | 1107 |
| Commerce and Accountancy | 14.9 | 28 | 188 |
| Botany | 11.5 | 12 | 104 |
| Geology | 14.4 | 4 | 28 |
| History | 8.3 | 174 | 2090 |
| Statistics | 6.3 | 1 | 16 |
Success Rate of Optional in UPSC 2014
Union Public Service Commission provided the UPSC optional subjects success rate for the 2014 Civil services examination mentioned below.
| Optional Subject | Success Rate Percentage | Number of Aspirants Suggested | Number of Aspirants Appeared |
| Botany | 14 | 7 | 50 |
| Medical Science | 16.4 | 48 | 293 |
| Literature of Malayalam Language | 8.7 | 6 | 69 |
| Literature of Sanskrit Language | 5.6 | 4 | 71 |
| Literature of Assamese Language | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Literature of Gujarati Language | 12.5 | 8 | 64 |
| Mathematics | 6.1 | 32920 | |
| Philosophy | 7.9 | 73658 | |
| Literature of Marathi Language | 3.8 | 1 | 26 |
| Literature of English Language | 16.7 | 5 | 30 |
| Literature of Punjabi Language | 11.1 | 54 6 | |
| Statistics | 16.7 | 1 | 6 |
| Management | 13.8 | 16723 | |
| Sociology | 9.1 | 150 | 1647 |
| Economics | 20.2 | 38 | 188 |
| Literature of Hindi Language | 4.2 | 12 | 284 |
| Zoology | 9.8 | 92 9 | |
| Chemistry | 7.1 | 85 6 | |
| Literature of Tamil Language | 10.7 | 758 | |
| Literature of Telugu Language | 4.3 | 4 | 93 |
| Literature of Santhali Language | 100 | 1 | 1 |
| Psychology | 9.8 | 34834 | |
| Mechanical Engineering | 6.7 | 60 4 | |
| Literature of Kannada Language | 12 | 75 9 | |
| Geology | 6.7 | 151 | |
| Political Science and International Relations | 6.1 | 65140 | |
| Agriculture | 9.1 | 7 | 77 |
| Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science | 15.6 | 5 | 32 |
| Literature of Oriya Language | 10 | 10 1 | |
| Physics | 8.8 | 13 | 147 |
| Anthropology | 11.8 | 53 | 449 |
| Public Administration | 6.2 | 176 | 2840 |
| Literature of Urdu Language | 17.9 | 5 | 28 |
| Commerce and Accountancy | 7.5 | 20015 | |
| Electrical Engineering | 11.5 | 11313 | |
| Literature of Maithili Language | 10.7 | 84 9 | |
| Literature of Sindhi (Devanagari) Language | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Literature of Dogri Language | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| History | 7.7 | 100 | 1303 |
| Geography | 5.6 | 178 | 3158 |
| Law | 24.3 | 35 | 144 |
| Literature of Bengali Language | 16.7 | 1 | 6 |
| Civil Engineering | 13 | 7 | 54 |
| Literature of Manipuri Language | 5 | 1 | 20 |
Most Opted IAS Optional Subjects Success Rate
Below is an average number of aspirants that appeared for each optional subject for UPSC. The choice for these subjects is their overlapping in more than two papers.
| Optional Subject | (Approx) Number of Aspirants | UPSC optional success rate |
| Philosophy | 1000 | 7 |
| Sociology | 1800 | 9.6 |
| Political Science | 1800 | 9.4 |
| Public Administration | 3000 | 10.2 |
| Geography | 3500 | 5.5 |
| History | 3500 | 5.5 |
Read:
What is the Best Optional Subject for UPSC?
Aspirants can select their optional subjects as per their preference from the list of 48 available subjects. Of the total choices, 23 subjects are from the modern Indian languages, and the remaining are from different educational fields.
- The best optional subject for any candidate is not necessarily the same for the other, so aspirants should consider UPSC optional subjects success rate, which will help them pick the easiest and most recommended subject according to other applicants’ experience.
- Candidates should examine the success rate of optional subjects in UPSC and shortlist the subjects further, relying on personal interest and educational background.
- Aspirants must examine the number of hours they can dedicate to the optional subjects and research for the availability of quality study material/lecturers.
- Lastly, candidates should inspect whether the UPSC optional subjects coincide with the other parts of the IAS exam (Prelims, GS papers in mains, Essay).
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