The Cambridge IGCSE Economics (0455) May/June 2026 papers and mark schemes are out, and they’re free. Paper 1 (0455/12) and Paper 2 (0455/22) can be downloaded and printed on the Tutopiya Learning Portal. Below is a breakdown of what each paper tested and how the mark scheme gave marks, taken from the papers themselves.

Key points from the 2026 0455 papers

• The labour market ran through both papers. Unemployment rates, youth unemployment, non-wage factors, public and private sector jobs, miners and trade unions all appeared.
• Calculations were short but frequent. A percentage of GDP on Paper 2, and on Paper 1 a PED calculation, savings from disposable income, lowest average total cost and an unemployment rate.
• Indirect tax came up three times: a supply and demand diagram for jeans, taxing private school fees, and the UK’s tax-free goods in Question 4.
• The 8-mark discuss questions use levels. Both sides must be developed to reach the top band, and two questions capped answers with no context at Level 2.
• “Analyse” questions punish lists. Every 6-mark analyse question in Section B capped a list of points at 3 marks.

All May/June 2026 0455 papers

Paper	Code	Duration	Marks	What it tests
Paper 1 Multiple Choice	0455/12	45 minutes	30	30 questions across the whole syllabus
Paper 2 Structured Questions	0455/22	2 hours 15 minutes	90	Section A: compulsory data response (30 marks). Section B: three from four questions (20 marks each)

Timings and marks are taken from the front cover of each 2026 paper. Each paper comes with its official Cambridge mark scheme. For the full list of syllabus content, see the Cambridge IGCSE Economics 0455 syllabus.

Which variant is this? Cambridge sets different versions of each paper (variants) for different time zones. The papers here are variant 2: 0455/12 and 0455/22. All variants cover the same syllabus at the same difficulty, so variant 2 is just as good for practice as the one your school sat.

Download the 0455 May/June 2026 papers →

What came up in 0455 Paper 2 (Structured Questions), May/June 2026?

Paper 2 is worth 90 marks. You answer Question 1 and any three of Questions 2 to 5.

Section A: Question 1, employment and unemployment in Kuwait (30 marks)

The source gave a Kuwait fact file (labour force, GDP and current account surplus), a passage on its exports, living standards and prices, a table of unemployment and youth unemployment in six countries, and a passage on a new port project.

Part	Topic	Marks
1(a)	Current account surplus as a percentage of GDP	1
1(b)	Two items in Kuwait’s trade in services	2
1(c)	The opportunity cost of exporting	2
1(d)	Two reasons living standards may be high in Kuwait	4
1(e)	Diagram: an increase in indirect tax on jeans	4
1(f)	Relationship between the unemployment rate and the youth unemployment rate	5
1(g)	Discuss: would workers benefit from moving from the public to the private sector?	6
1(h)	Discuss: will a new port benefit an economy?	6

Section B: answer three (20 marks each)

Every Section B question had the same shape: 2, 4, 6 and 8 marks.

Question	Context	Parts (a) to (d)
2	A copper mine in Mongolia run by a foreign MNC	Disadvantages of working as a miner; why official unemployment figures may be inaccurate; why an MNC may close a mine; does a larger tertiary sector increase economic development?
3	Zimbabwe’s 2022 bank lending ban and high inflation	Meaning of a fall in the inflation rate; why households save in commercial banks; how a falling exchange rate causes inflation; does less bank lending harm an economy?
4	UK indirect taxes, clothes firm mergers and school fees	Characteristics of an economic good; why demand for cakes may rise; effects of taxing private school fees; should a government encourage clothes firms to merge?
5	Birth rates, childcare and trade unions in Denmark	Define birth rate; benefits of a rising birth rate; how a firm can make demand more price-inelastic; should governments stop workers joining trade unions?

What made it hard: Question 1(f) wanted more than “they move together”. The full 5 marks needed the overall relationship, evidence from the table, an explanation, and an exception. Kuwait had a lower unemployment rate than Australia but a higher youth unemployment rate.

What came up in 0455 Paper 1 (Multiple Choice)?

Paper 1 has 30 questions, one mark each, with no marks lost for wrong answers. Grouped by syllabus area:

• The basic economic problem: a free good, the reward for capital, opportunity cost from a leisure and earnings diagram, a macroeconomic aim.
• Allocation of resources: a shift in demand for tea, an extension of supply, a PED calculation for a cigarette tax, which good does not cause market failure, a lower maximum price on a medicine.
• Microeconomic decision makers: functions of money, saving from disposable income, non-wage factors in choosing a job, labour productivity, economies of scale from a factor table, lowest average total cost, competitive markets compared with monopoly.
• Government and the macroeconomy: an international role of government, conflicts between unemployment and inflation aims, progressive tax, monetary policy, spending on education, identifying a recession from quarterly GDP, the unemployment rate from labour market data, when deflation started.
• Economic development: causes of absolute poverty, features of low-income economies.
• International trade and globalisation: disadvantages of national specialisation, globalisation, fixed exchange rates, effects of a current account deficit.

Watch for: the unemployment rate question gave figures for the long-term sick as well as employed, self-employed and unemployed workers. You needed to leave out the people who are not in the labour force.

How the 0455 May/June 2026 mark scheme gives marks

Paper 2 uses three different marking styles. Each one rewards something slightly different.

1. Short “explain two” answers are 1 mark for the point and 1 for the explanation. In Question 1(d), “good quality healthcare” earned 1 mark and linking it to long life expectancy earned the second. If you give more than two reasons, examiners consider only the first three, so don’t pad your answer.

2. The 6-mark discuss questions in Section A are points-based, up to 4 marks per side. In Question 1(h) on the new port, you could score up to 4 for reasons it would help (jobs, cheaper sea transport, more exports) and up to 4 for reasons it might not (pollution, harm to wildlife and tourism, opportunity cost of the land). Six is the maximum, so a two-sided answer is the only way to full marks.

3. A reversed point scores nothing. The scheme explains that each point can be credited only once, on either side. If you argue “tax revenue may fall because incomes fall”, then “tax revenue may rise because incomes rise” earns 0. A genuinely different reason on the other side does score.

4. The 8-mark discuss questions in Section B use three levels. Level 1 (1–2 marks) is a simple attempt with basic terms. Level 2 (3–5) is reasoned discussion that may be one-sided or lack depth. Level 3 (6–8) needs both sides considered and developed, with thoughtful evaluation, though one side can be deeper. In Question 3(d) on cutting bank lending, harm to firms and output on one side and lower demand-pull inflation and less household debt on the other is the kind of balance the top band needs.

5. Context can cap your level. For Questions 4(d) and 5(d), answers with no reference to the question’s context were limited to Level 2. In 4(d), one mention of either the government decision or clothing firms was enough to lift that cap.

6. “Analyse” means a chain of reasoning, not a list. Questions 2(c), 3(c), 4(c) and 5(c) all capped a list of points at 3 of the 6 marks. In 3(c), the word “inflation” on its own wasn’t credited. You had to say demand-pull or cost-push and show how a falling exchange rate leads there.

7. Diagrams have four separate marks. In Question 1(e) the marks were for labelled axes, labelled original curves, the supply curve shifted left, and both equilibrium positions. Without a correct supply shift, the equilibrium mark couldn’t be given.

8. Calculations need the right base. Question 1(a) gave 1 mark for 40%, the surplus divided by GDP. The scheme also accepted 40 without the % sign. In general, a correct answer gets full credit even without working, but showing it protects you if you slip.

Which papers should you sit?

There are no Core and Extended tiers in 0455. Every candidate sits Paper 1 and Paper 2. On Paper 2, Question 1 is compulsory and you choose three of Questions 2 to 5. Pick the questions where you can handle the 8-mark part (d) best, as that part carries the most marks.

How to use the 2026 papers as a mock

1. Keep them for last. Use older 0455 papers for topic practice and save May/June 2026 for a full mock two to four weeks before your exam.
2. Sit both papers timed. Allow 45 minutes for Paper 1 and 2 hours 15 minutes for Paper 2. Spend a few minutes choosing your Section B questions before you start writing.
3. Mark strictly with the mark scheme. For each discuss answer, count your points on each side, then decide the level.
4. Redraw the Question 1(e) diagram until you can do all four marked features without looking.
5. Rewrite one Section B part (d) so it has a developed argument on both sides and a final judgement tied to the country in the question.

More IGCSE Economics resources

• IGCSE Economics past papers (Cambridge 0455 and Edexcel 4EC1)
• IGCSE past papers 2026: all subjects

🔍 Looking for a specific past paper? Use our free Past Paper Finder to search by subject, year and exam board.

Need help with a 0455 topic? Book a free trial lesson with an IGCSE Economics tutor →

Frequently asked questions

Are the 0455 May/June 2026 past papers free? +

Yes. Both question papers (0455/12 and 0455/22) and their official mark schemes are free to download and print on the Tutopiya Learning Portal.

What topics came up in 0455 Paper 2 May/June 2026? +

The compulsory data response was on employment and unemployment in Kuwait, covering the current account, living standards, an indirect tax diagram, youth unemployment, public and private sector jobs and a new port. The four optional questions covered mining and the tertiary sector in Mongolia, inflation and bank lending in Zimbabwe, indirect taxes and mergers in the UK, and birth rates and trade unions in Denmark.

How is 0455 Paper 2 marked? +

Short parts are points-based. The 6-mark discuss questions in Question 1 give up to 4 marks for each side of the argument. The 8-mark discuss questions in Section B use three levels (1 to 2, 3 to 5 and 6 to 8), and the top level needs both sides developed with thoughtful evaluation.

How many questions do you answer on 0455 Paper 2? +

Four in total. Question 1 in Section A is compulsory, and you choose three of the four questions in Section B.

Why can't I find 0455/21 or 0455/23 for 2026? +

Only variant 2 of the May/June 2026 papers is on the portal at the moment. Cambridge sets different variants for different time zones; variants 1 and 3 test the same syllabus in the same format, so variant 2 prepares you just as well.

When will the October/November 2026 0455 papers be available? +

Cambridge usually releases the October/November papers in the new year. We add them to the Learning Portal once they are published.

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