CLAT Data Shows General Category Dominating at 62% Persisting Inequities

General Category Dominates With 62% Share

The category-wise breakup of student data shows that the general category remains the most competitive among all. General category candidates, including EWS, make up 62.60% — from roughly 30% of the total population.

In contrast;

• OBC students were 23.86%. Their population share is roughly 40-50%
• SC participation in CLAT was close to 10.46%; they constitute around 16.8% of the total population as per 2011 census data
• ST representation is around 3%, which is similar to JEE and NEET exams. They make up around 8.6% of the total population
• The EWS category has no official survey data, but it is roughly around 18% as per NITI Aayog estimates. Against this, around 8.9% students participate in CLAT from this category.

CLAT 2025 and 2024 Registration Trends: Category-Wise Breakup

PwD and EWS categories are included in other relevant categories above
Source- RTI

Year on year, the general category saw the highest jump in registrations. The numbers rose by over 5,000 in a single year, indicating an increased level of competition in this category.

CLAT UG and PG: Historical Data

Success Rate in CLAT

Overall, CLAT success rate ranges from 5-6% and it varies for each NLU, with four top-ranked universities recording less than 1% success rate for the general category. The success rate drops due to the NLU preference order submitted by students just before the counselling.

Big 4 NLUs: less than 1% success rate for general category

Tier 2 universities follow the top-4 NLUs mentioned above. These include GNLU Gandhinagar, NLIU Bhopal, RMLNLU Lucknow, HNLU Raipur, NLU Odisha, RGNLU Patiala, NLU Kochi and CNLU Patna.

OBC Participation in CLAT Vs JEE & NEET

The 2025 and 2024 CLATs had 23.86% and 25.77% representation from the Other Backward Classes (OBC). This is significantly lower participation compared to two other major national entrance exams conducted in India - JEE and NEET, where they form the majority.

JEE-Main paper 1 held in 2025 had 38.7% OBC participation, the highest among all categories. NEET UG 2025 also had a similar participation at 41.67%, outnumbering general category students. The OBC share in the total population in the country was 52% according to the 1980 Mandal Commission report. The 2006 National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) claims OBC forms 41% of the total population in the country. Both the Mandal Commission and the NSSO data, if taken as reference points, align with OBC participation in JEE and NEET.

Looking ahead: 2026 CLAT expected to continue this trend

The exorbitant CLAT application fee, with an English-heavy question paper, is seen by the students as prohibitive, discouraging lower-income groups from participating in the examination. The NLU's fee structure is also at par with most of the private law schools, making affordability an important factor in choosing law schools.

As there have been no attempts in CLAT 2026 to improve student participation in different categories, the current trend is expected to continue.

CLAT 2026 is set to reveal its own participation insights once the consortium releases the data. Based on current trends, another uptick in registrations is likely, driven by:

• Increasing competition in the general category

• Saturation in engineering/medical career options

• Acceptance of law as a mainstream career and increasing opportunities in the private sector