There is no exact answer to how many students appeared for GATE 2026 CSE, as the registration for GATE 2026 started in August 2025. As per GATE 2025 Registration stats, around 170,825 students appeared for GATE 2025 for the CSE branch. There was a significant increase of around 38% as compared to GATE 2024, when 123,967 candidates appeared for GATE 2024 CSE.
To answer how many students appeared for GTE 2026 CSE, experts expect around 200,000 candidates will appear for the GATE 2026 CSE exam due to the increasing demand in areas like AI, design, and PSU requirements.
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Key Summary
- Expected CSE Candidates (2026): Around 200,000 candidates expected.
- Past Year Comparison: From 123,967 in 2024 to 170,825 in 2025, marking a 37.8% YoY increase.
- Total GATE 2025 Registrations: Around 936,019 candidates across all branches, and around 747,319 appeared.
- CSE is the most demanded branch as it accounts for 23% of all GATE participants
- GATE 2026 overview
- GATE Exam Pattern 2026
- How many students appeared for GATE 2026 CSE
- How many students appeared for the GATE 2025, branch-wise
- Year-wise Trend in CSE Registrations/and Appeared Students
- How Many Students Appeared for GATE 2026 CSE
- Competition Level Analysis
- How many students appeared for GATE 2026 CSE FAQs
GATE 2026 overview
The GATE exam 2026 is going to be organised by IIT Guwahati and will be conducted fully by computer-based test (CBT). The registration for GATE 2026 has already started and will close on 25th Sept 2025.
| Activity | Day | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Opening Date of GATE Online Application Processing System (GOAPS) | Monday | August 25, 2025 |
| Closing Date of REGULAR online registration/application process (Without Late Fee) | Thursday | September 25, 2025 |
| Closing Date of EXTENDED online registration/application process (With Late Fee) | Monday | October 06, 2025 |
| GATE 2026 Examinations | Saturday, Sunday, Saturday, Sunday | February 07, 2026; February 08, 2026; February 14, 2026; February 15, 2026 |
| Announcement of results | Thursday | March 19, 2026 |
Source: GATE 2026 Official Website
GATE Exam Pattern 2026
The GATE exam pattern 2026 consists of two sections.
- The General Aptitude section (15 marks) tests analytical and reasoning skills.
- The Subject-specific section is of 85 marks.
- For all GATE papers except AR, CY, DA, EY, GE, GG, MA, PH, ST, XH, and XL, the distribution of marks is as follows: General Aptitude: 15 marks, Engineering Mathematics:13 marks, and Subject Questions: 72 marks, making a total of 100 marks. (Note: In the XE paper, the Engineering Mathematics section (XE-A) carries 15 marks.)
- For papers AR, CY, DA, EY, GE, GG, MA, PH, ST, XH, and XL, the distribution is General Aptitude: 15 marks and Subject Questions: 85 marks, with a total of 100 marks.
| Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
| Mode of Examination | Computer-Based Test (CBT) |
| Language of Examination | English |
| Duration | 3 Hours* |
| Number of Papers (Subjects) | 30 test papers |
| Sections | General Aptitude (GA) + Candidate's Selected Subject(s) |
| Type of Questions | (a) Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) (b) Multiple Select Question (MSQ) (c) Numerical Answer Type (NAT) |
| Testing of Abilities | (a) Recall (b) Comprehension (c) Application (d) Analysis & Synthesis |
| Distribution of Marks in all Papers (EXCEPT AR, CY, DA, EY, GE, GG, MA, PH, ST, XH, XL) | General Aptitude: 15 marks, Engineering Mathematics**: 13 marks, Subject Questions: 72 marks Total: 100 marks (**XE includes Engineering Mathematics section XE-A of 15 marks) |
| Distribution of Marks in Papers (AR, CY, DA, EY, GE, GG, MA, PH, ST, XH, XL) | General Aptitude: 15 marks Subject Questions: 85 marks Total: 100 marks |
| Marking Scheme | Questions carry either 1 mark or 2 marks |
| Negative Marking | • For wrong answer in MCQ: – 1-mark MCQ → 1/3 mark deducted – 2-mark MCQ → 2/3 mark deducted • No negative marking for MSQ & NAT questions • No partial marking in MSQ |
How many students appeared for GATE 2026 CSE
At this point, there is no official information on how many students appeared for the GATE 2026 CSE in India. As per previous years' analysis, CSE is the most demanded branch and has the highest number of registered and appeared candidates for this branch as compared to other branches.
How many students appeared for the GATE 2025, branch-wise
From official records, for GATE 2025 CSE, 170,825 candidates appeared for the paper, making it the most popular paper across all branches. Civil Engineering, Electronics & Communication, Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering followed, all having tens of thousands in the count.
| GATE Papers | Candidates Appeared: 2025 | Candidates Appeared: 2024 | Candidates Appeared: 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Science & Information Technology (CS) | 170,825 | 123,967 | 75,679 |
| Civil Engineering (CE) | 79,951 | 85,869 | 83,187 |
| Mechanical Engineering (ME) | 62,015 | 65,546 | 63,489 |
| Electronics & Communication Engineering (EC) | 81,475 | 63,092 | 45,833 |
| Electrical Engineering (EE) | 67,701 | 63,092 | 55,292 |
Read More:
How Many Students Qualified for GATE?
Year-wise Trend in CSE Registrations/and Appeared Students
The statistics indicate a moderate increase in GATE registrations and appearances from 2023 to 2025, with 2025 noting the greatest registrant total with 9.3 lakh registered candidates. Attendance continued to show strength, with both years 2022 and 2025 equalling over 7 lakhs.
| Year | Total Registrations | Total Appearances |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 936,019 | 747,319 |
| 2024 | 826,239 | 653,292 |
| 2023 | 670,000 | 517,000 |
| 2022 | 800,000 | 711,542 |
How Many Students Appeared for GATE 2026 CSE
How many students appeared for GATE 2026 CSE? is a common question for exam aspirants. While official numbers have yet to emerge, conversations on platforms such as Quora seem to suggest it is likely the number will be the same as in recent years, therefore maintaining the level of competition.
You can check the detailed discussion on Quora:
Competition Level Analysis
- Conversations such as How many students appeared for GATE 2026 CSE indicate good participation and a demand in the Computer Science Engineering paper.
- Provisional data from How many students appeared for GATE 206 CSE PDF reports suggests that the number of candidates has marginally grown compared with the previous year's performance in India.
- Many aspirants also search for How many students appeared for GATE 206 CSE in India, representing a more useful metric for assessing how the level of competition may affect GATE 2026 CSE preparation efforts.
- Trends from previous years suggest that the GATE 2026 CSE paper will have similar performance.
- Based on the How many candidates who applied for GATE 2025 figures, CSE has been noted consistently over the last couple of years to be amongst the leading top branches in applicant volume, therefore creating high competitive pressure on a limited number of seats.
Read More:
GATE Preparation StrategyHow many students appeared for GATE 2026 CSE FAQs
How many students appeared for GATE 2026 CSE FAQs
Ques. How many candidates applied for Gate CSE 2025?
Ans. For GATE 2025, 207,851 candidates registered for the Computer Science and Information Technology (CS) paper, and 170,825 appeared. Overall, all subjects saw 936,019 registered and 747,319 appeared.
- CS had one of the highest participation rates among all branches.
- The overall attendance and participation demonstrate an ongoing interest in GATE across all disciplines.
Ques. Who got Air 1 in GATE 2025 CSE?
Ans. Rahul Kumar Singh scored the perfect 100 marks in GATE 2025 Computer Science and Information Technology (CSE) to rank AIR 1. He obtained a GATE score of 1000.
- The Highest rank among more than 1.7 lakh CSE candidates who appeared for GATE 2025.
- He has achieved perfect accuracy in all questions and will set a rare record in the history of GATE CSE.
Ques. Which IIT will conduct the GATE 2026 exam?
Ans. IIT Guwahati will conduct GATE 2026 in February 2026, offering examinations in 30 subjects via a computer-based exam.
- Handles registration, scheduling, and conducting the examination.
- Responsible for releasing the official results and scorecards.
Ques. What is the selection ratio of Gate CSE?
Ans. Each year, approximately 6-7 lakh candidates take the GATE examinations each year, but only about 15% can score above 25 marks and qualify for the exam after passing. GATE is run by a computer-based (or CBT) format, and the Computer Science branch started the online mode in 2012.
- The qualification rate is quite low because there is a fair amount of difficulty and competition among all candidates.
- The simple change from a physical paper-based GATE exam to an online format for the Computer Science paper in 2012 was a large step toward digital transformation for GATE papers.
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