How the EPSO numerical reasoning test works
Each question gives you a table or chart, often of EU statistics, and asks for a calculated value: a percentage change, a ratio, an average or a share. There are five options, A to E, and E is often "None of the above".
The test has 10 questions on one 20-minute clock in every current EPSO procedure. There is no pass mark for it alone: EPSO adds your numerical and abstract scores and needs at least 10 out of 20 across the two. In the AD5 2026 competition neither counts toward the ranking.
You sit it in your Language 1 on TAO, with an on-screen calculator and, where enabled, a scratchpad. Paper and writing materials are not allowed, and a physical calculator is reported as not allowed either.
How to solve an EPSO numerical question
Work through each question in this order:
- Find the row, the column and the unit before you calculate. Tables often state units such as thousands in the heading.
- Write the calculation out in words: what is divided by what.
- For percentage change, divide the change by the earlier figure, never the later one.
- Calculate, then compare with the options. The options sit close together, so estimating alone rarely separates them.
- Choose "None of the above" only when your answer is clearly not among A to D at the precision shown.
Worked example
Recycled municipal waste, thousand tonnes. Country P: 1 840 in 2023 and 2 116 in 2025. Country Q: 3 250 and 3 120. Country R: 960 and 1 104.
Question: by what percentage did recycled waste across the three countries change from 2023 to 2025? A. +4.6% B. +4.8% C. +8.7% D. +15.0% E. None of the above.
Totals: 1 840 + 3 250 + 960 = 6 050 in 2023, and 2 116 + 3 120 + 1 104 = 6 340 in 2025. The change is 290, and 290 ÷ 6 050 = 0.048, so the answer is B, +4.8%.
A divides by the 2025 total. C averages the three countries’ own changes (+15%, -4% and +15%) instead of using the totals. D is Country P or R alone.
Tips for the real EPSO numerical reasoning test
- Practise with an on-screen calculator. On TAO you press the equals sign for a result, not Enter.
- Keep to about two minutes a question, and bookmark anything that runs over.
- Remember the combined bar. A strong numerical score buys room on abstract reasoning, and the other way round.
- Read numbers in the EU style, with a space between thousands, so 21 582 is twenty-one thousand five hundred and eighty-two.
- Answer every question. Scores run from 0 to 10, and EPSO’s notices describe no deduction for wrong answers.
Practise EPSO numerical reasoning on CogniPrep
Our version is 10 questions on one 20-minute clock, at AD or AST level, each with a table or chart, five options and "None of the above" on many. It has an on-screen calculator that ignores Enter as TAO’s advice suggests, plus free navigation and bookmarks. Your mark is out of 10, and the feedback tells you what abstract reasoning would need to reach EPSO’s combined 10 out of 20. The tables and questions are ours.