2024 AP Comparative Government Exam Guide

Your Guide to the 2025 AP Comparative Government Exam

We know that studying for your AP exams can be stressful, but Fiveable has your back! We created a study plan to help you crush your AP Comparative Government exam. This guide will continue to update with information about the 2025 exams, as well as helpful resources to help you do your best on test day. Unlock Cram Mode for access to our cram events—students who have successfully passed their AP exams will answer your questions and guide your last-minute studying LIVE! And don't miss out on unlimited access to our database of thousands of practice questions. 

Format of the 2025 AP Comparative Government Exam

Going into test day, this is the exam format to expect:

Section 1: Multiple Choice Questions

• 55 Questions | 60 Minutes | 50% of Exam Score
  • Individual questions (no stimulus): 40–44 questions.
  • Set-based questions:
    • Quantitative Analysis: 3 sets of questions asking students to analyze a quantitative stimulus (line graphs, charts, tables, maps, or infographics)
    • Qualitative Analysis: 2 sets of questions asking students to analyze text-based secondary sources
  • The 6 countries addressed in AP Comparative Government and Politics are China, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, and the United Kingdom. Section 2: Free Response
• 4 Questions | 1 Hour 30 Minutes | 50% of Exam Score
• Concept Application: Define or describe a political concept and explain and/or compare political systems, principles, institutions, processes, policies, or behaviors.
• Quantitative Analysis: Analyze quantitative data, identify a trend or pattern, or draw a conclusion from a visual representation and explain how it relates to political systems, principles, institutions, processes, policies, or behaviors.
• Comparative Analysis: Compare political concepts, systems, institutions, or policies in different course countries.
• Argument Essay: Develop an argument in the form of an essay, using evidence from course countries related to the course concepts in the question prompt. 👉 Check out the 2023 AP Comparative Government Free-Response Section posted on the College Board site.

Scoring Rubric for the AP Comparative Government Exam

View an example set of questions and the corresponding scoring guidelines from the College Board to get an idea of what they look for in your responses!

Check out our study plan below to find resources and tools to prepare for your AP Comparative Government exam.

When is the 2025 AP Comparative Government Exam and How Do I Take It?

• The AP Comparative Government exam will be in-person and on paper at your school on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, 12:00 PM your local time. You will have 3 hours to take the exam. Active Cram Mode to get updates on the latest 2024 exam news. 

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How Should I Prepare for the Exam?

• First, download the AP Comparative Government Cheatsheet PDF - a single sheet that covers everything you need to know at a high level. Take note of your strengths and weaknesses!
• We've put together the study plan found below to help you study between now and May. This will cover all of the units and essay types to prepare you for your exam. Pay special attention to the units that you need the most improvement in.
• Study, practice, and review for test day with other students during our live cram sessions via Cram Mode. Cram live streams will teach, review, and practice important topics from AP courses, college admission tests, and college admission topics. These streams are hosted by experienced students who know what you need to succeed.

Pre-Work: Set Up Your Study Environment

Before you begin studying, take some time to get organized.

🖥 Create a study space.

Make sure you have a designated place at home to study. Somewhere you can keep all of your materials, where you can focus on learning, and where you are comfortable. Spend some time prepping the space with everything you need and you can even let others in the family know that this is your study space. 

📚 Organize your study materials.

Get your notebook, textbook, prep books, or whatever other physical materials you have. Also, create a space for you to keep track of review. Start a new section in your notebook to take notes or start a Google Doc to keep track of your notes. Get yourself set up!

📅 Plan designated times for studying.

The hardest part about studying from home is sticking to a routine. Decide on one hour every day that you can dedicate to studying. This can be any time of the day, whatever works best for you. Set a timer on your phone for that time and really try to stick to it. The routine will help you stay on track.

🏆 Decide on an accountability plan.

How will you hold yourself accountable to this study plan? You may or may not have a teacher or rules set up to help you stay on track, so you need to set some for yourself. First, set your goal. This could be studying for x number of hours or getting through a unit. Then, create a reward for yourself. If you reach your goal, then x. This will help stay focused!

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AP Comparative 2024 Study Plan

Unit 1: Political Systems, Regimes, and Governments

In this unit, you go over how a political system impacts the lives of its people on a daily basis. You also go over how comparative political scientists generate meaningful conclusions to develop trends in other nations.

📚 Read these study guides:

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💻 Learn about the best prep books so you can start studying early:

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Unit 2: Political Institutions

Unit 2 can be broken down into 3 Big Ideas, according to the Course Exam and Description (CED):

1.  Explaining and comparing parliamentary, presidential, and semi-presidential systems. Your goal at the end of this unit is to be able to explain the different political structures in each of the courses' countries. You are then expected to take that knowledge about each Comp Gov country and use it to compare the courses' countries with one another using the skills 💪🏽 you learned in unit 1.
2. Executive, Legislative, and Judicial 👩‍⚖️ Branches. Once you understand the political systems in each of the Comp Gov countries, College Board expects that you will be able to develop an understanding of not only the various structures of the branches but also an understanding of how those structures are used in each of the course countries to wield and maintain power. 🏋🏿
3. Advantages and Disadvantages of Political Systems. In addition to knowing and applying what you have learned about the political systems and their branches, it is expected that you can take the knowledge and characterize the advantages and disadvantages of having one system over another with regard to stability, legitimacy, and policymaking. 💯 📚 Read these study guides:

• 2.1 Parliamentary, Presidential, and Semi-Presidential Systems
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💻 Here are some Multiple Choice and Free Response Guides to assist you while studying!

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Unit 3: Political Culture and Participation

All-in-all, this unit is about people 👨‍👧 and their relationship with the state. You also need to explain what influences the relationship between the state and its people. 💱

📚 Read these study guides:

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💻 Here are some Self-Studying/Homeschool tips for AP Comp Gov!

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Unit 4: Party and Electoral Systems and Citizen Organizations

In this unit, the focus is on how various electoral systems 🗳️ work in our course countries (UK, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, China, Nigeria) and how individuals participate in those systems via political parties, interest groups, and systems that support various interest groups.

📚 Read these study guides:

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Unit 5: Political and Economic Changes and Development

In this unit, you will explore the political systems and power structures of the six countries that are discussed in the course!

Topics that are included:

• Political responses to global market forces

• The effects of economic liberalization policies

• How governments adapt social policies to address political, cultural, and economic changes

• Rapid industrialization and its impacts

• The causes and effects of demographic changes 📚 Read these study guides:

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💻 Here are some practice questions and Quizlets to refresh on the unit:

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