Cambridge O Level Bangladesh Studies 7094 Past Papers 2026

History and Culture of Bangladesh

Duration: 1h 30m

Environment and Development of Bangladesh

Duration: 1h 30m

Plate tectonics — position of Bangladesh, named plates, Dauki fault

Plate tectonics, a new topic on the syllabus, produced a range of responses. The strongest answers included information about the position of Bangladesh on a collision plate margin and named the plates. Some also referred to the Dauki fault.

Paper 2

Composite / compound line graphs (e.g. energy consumption Fig. 1.2)

Many candidates found the composite line graph in this resource skills question challenging: they were unable to read the data for gas accurately or recognise that from 1971 to 1982, oil was consumed more than gas.

Paper 2

Definition of the informal sector

Several candidates described the features of the informal sector or those who work in this sector. Candidates needed to concisely define the informal sector as activities not formally regulated by the government, or the sector that does not come under any legal regulatory framework.

Paper 2

Definition of infant mortality rate

The definition of infant mortality rate needed to include infant deaths between birth and the age of one, not just the number of infants (dying) per 1000 live births.

Paper 2

Definition vs formation of a delta

Most candidates appeared to know what a delta is. However, many were unable to give a precise definition; instead, they included information about formation which was asked for in Question (b)(ii).

Paper 2

1991–96 system of government and popular vote in Bangladesh

Some responses to Question 4(a)(v) could have been improved with more understanding of the impact of the system of government in 1991–96 on the involvement of people in Bangladesh… fewer understood the impact of changes in national decision-making on the popular vote.

Paper 1

Confusion between 1905 First Partition of Bengal and 1947 Partition; late-19th vs mid-20th century attitudes

Some candidates confused the late nineteenth-century attitudes and expectations of the parties in these questions with mid-twentieth-century attitudes and expectations… The 1947 date in Questions 3(b)(i) and 3(b)(ii) did cause some confusion for a small number of candidates who were working to the wrong Partition.

Paper 1

International migration — locational detail (Middle East, Rohingya)

Many candidates omitted locational information in their responses; they had ignored or missed the word 'international' in the question… The strongest answers included reference to migrations such as Bangladeshis to the Middle East or Rohingya refugees from Myanmar to Bangladesh.

Paper 2

Aquaculture — jobs, food security, and environmental impacts (Sundarbans, Cox's Bazaar)

Aquaculture was one area of the syllabus where there was a noticeable lack of specific knowledge. Only the best candidates showed detailed knowledge of jobs related to aquaculture and the benefits these jobs created, or the importance of fish as a source of protein and food security. Specifics about deforestation and increasing salinity in the Sundarbans or Cox's Bazaar were only included infrequently.

Paper 2

Key syllabus term definitions — subsistence farming, per capita income, informal sector

Across 2023 and 2024, several candidates did not clearly define core syllabus terms — including subsistence farming and per capita income — and so could not score full marks on the definition sub-questions or apply the term in follow-up parts.

Paper 2

Lord Cornwallis — structure of government (not just Permanent Settlement / taxation)

Candidates struggled with the question about the way Britain's rule of the subcontinent changed under Lord Cornwallis (3(b)(ii)); this was a question testing the structure of government, rather than the rules of taxation. Few candidates got beyond taxes and zamindars in their responses.

Paper 1

Sketch maps, diagrams and graph completion — labels and shading

Sketches of braided rivers were often drawn correctly but lacked labels for main features. Candidates need to use a ruler and sharp pencil and replicate the exact shading used on bar charts and graphs in resources.

Paper 2