WAEC Economics 2023 past questions

Checked by the Skolra question team · Last updated 23 October 2026

Ten questions from the 2023 WAEC Economics paper, with answers and explanations. We hold 58 questions from this paper, and the Skolra app has all of them.

WAEC Economics 2023 questions and answers

1. 1.

   The rate of growth of population is

   1. A
      the sum of the birth rate and the death rate
   2. B
      the difference between the birth rate and the death rate
      Correct
   3. C
      the difference between emigration and immigration
   4. D
      the difference between the total population and the labour force
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   The rate of growth of population (natural increase rate) is defined as the difference between the birth rate and the death rate of a country, usually expressed as a percentage of the total population over a given period (often a year).

   So the correct definition remains: birth rate minus death rate.

2. 2.

   a. Define economic system

   b. Distinguish between a capitalist economy and a socialist economy under the following:
   
   i. aim of production

   ii. consumer sovereignty

   iii. competition

   c. State three features of land as a factor of production

   1. A
      A system where the government makes all production and consumption decisions through central planning
   2. B
      A system based exclusively on barter and exchange of goods
   3. C
      A system where land, labor and capital are privately owned with minimal government control
   4. D
      A mixed system combining elements of both market and command economies
      Correct
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: D

   An economic system is the institutional arrangement through which a society organizes production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.

3. 3.

   An example of government's recurrent expenditure is

   1. A
      Construction of new roads
   2. B
      Payment of workers' salaries
      Correct
   3. C
      Building of hospitals
   4. D
      Purchase of machinery for a new factory
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   Payment of workers' salaries is correct because recurrent expenditure covers the government's regular, day-to-day running costs — things like salaries, wages, maintenance and interest on loans — which must be paid again and again within the fiscal year and do not create any lasting asset.

4. 4.

   a. Differentiate between a sole proprietorship and a partnership

   b. List four characteristics of a sole proprietorship

   c. Outline four advantages of a public limited liability company.

   1. A
      Sole proprietorship is owned by one person while partnership is owned by two or more persons
      Correct
   2. B
      Sole proprietorship has perpetual existence while partnership dissolves when a partner leaves
   3. C
      Sole proprietorship requires government registration while partnership does not
   4. D
      Sole proprietorship has unlimited liability while partnership has limited liability for all partners
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: A

   A sole proprietorship is owned and operated by a single individual, while a partnership is a business owned and operated by two or more persons who agree to share profits and losses.

5. 5.

   Many workers are employed in the agricultural sector of developing countries because

   1. A
      the level of technology used is low
      Correct
   2. B
      the sector requires the highest level of education
   3. C
      the sector attracts the highest wages
   4. D
      government restricts workers to other sectors
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: A

   The level of technology used is low is correct. In most developing countries, agriculture is still carried out with simple tools and traditional, labour-intensive methods rather than machines. Because each worker can only cultivate a small area without mechanization, a large number of workers is needed to produce enough output, so the sector absorbs a huge share of the labour force.

6. 6.

   If the government stops subsidy on cocoa production, the supply curve of cocoa will

   1. A
      shift to the right
   2. B
      become perfectly elastic
   3. C
      remain unchanged
   4. D
      shift to the left
      Correct
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: D

   A subsidy lowers a producer's cost of production, so removing it does the opposite: it raises the cost of producing cocoa. When production costs rise, producers are willing and able to supply less cocoa at every given price, so the supply curve shifts leftward (a decrease in supply).

7. 7.

   Which of the following is a non-renewable natural resources?

   1. A
      Soil
   2. B
      Water
   3. C
      Forest
   4. D
      Crude oil
      Correct
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: D

   Crude oil is correct. It is a fossil fuel formed over millions of years from decayed organic matter buried deep in the earth. Once extracted and used, it cannot be replaced within a human lifetime, which is exactly what makes a resource non-renewable.

   Forest is a renewable resource because trees can be replanted and will grow again over time through afforestation and natural regeneration.

8. 8.

   Petrol and Kerosene are jointly obtained from crude oil. If the supply of petrol increases, the

   1. A
      price of kerosene will rise
   2. B
      demand for kerosene will fall
   3. C
      price of kerosene will fall
      Correct
   4. D
      demand for kerosene will rise
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: C

   Petrol and kerosene are products in joint supply — they come from the same crude oil refining process, so producing more of one automatically increases the output of the other.

   If the supply of petrol increases, the supply of kerosene increases along with it. Since demand for kerosene has not changed, this extra supply creates a surplus, and the price of kerosene will fall.

9. 9.

   A government may cause a favourable change in her invisible trade account by

   1. A
      encouraging the export of services such as tourism, shipping and insurance
      Correct
   2. B
      borrowing more from foreign financial institutions
   3. C
      discouraging foreign tourists from visiting the country
   4. D
      increasing the importation of capital goods
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: A

   The invisible trade account records payments and receipts for services and other non-physical items — tourism, shipping, insurance, banking, interest and dividends — separate from the visible account, which records physical goods.

10. 10.

    When the demand for a commodity increases while supply remains unchanged, the equilibrium price and quantity will

    1. A
       fall
    2. B
       rise
       Correct
    3. C
       remain unchanged
    4. D
       price rise while quantity falls
    Show answerHide answer

    Answer: B

    Rise is correct. When demand for a commodity increases (the demand curve shifts to the right) while supply stays the same, buyers now want more of the commodity at every price. This pushes the equilibrium point up along the unchanged supply curve, so both the equilibrium price and the equilibrium quantity rise together.

The questions come from past JAMB, WAEC and NECO papers. We use software to help write the answer options and explanations, and every answer is checked twice before it goes on the site. How we check

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Practise all 58 questions we hold from the 2023 paper, on a timed CBT screen

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