Economics syllabus reference · IGCSE, A-Level and IB

Economics Syllabus Codes Explained: 0455, 8843, 9570, 9757 and IB SL/HL (2026 and 2027)

Every economics syllabus code a Singapore student is likely to meet, which cohort sits which, what changed at the last revision, and where the official document lives. Written for students and parents who have found notes or past papers with a code on the cover and want to know whether it is the right one.

Written by Kirby Ng, Lead IGCSE Economics Tutor, KS Academia Prep Published 13 September 2026 Updated 13 September 2026

Codes and assessment facts checked against the Cambridge 0455 syllabus for 2027 to 2029, the Cambridge 0455 syllabus for 2023 to 2025, the SEAB syllabus documents for 8843 and 9570, and the IB Economics subject briefs for SL and HL. Last verified 13 September 2026.

What is an economics syllabus code? A syllabus code is the number an examining body assigns to one specific syllabus and its assessment. 0455 is Cambridge IGCSE Economics. 8843 is Singapore A-Level H1 Economics and 9570 is A-Level H2 Economics, both set by SEAB. 9757 and 8819 are the retired H2 and H1 codes, last examined in 2022. IB Diploma Economics has no numeric code: it is identified by level, Standard Level or Higher Level, and by syllabus year, currently the syllabus first assessed in 2022. The code on a set of notes or a past paper tells you which content list and which paper structure it was written for, which is why a mismatch matters.

Is this the page you need? This page does one job: it tells you which syllabus a code refers to and whether it still applies. For the comparison and decision questions, go to the right page:

How the four syllabuses compare and which route fits: H1 vs H2 vs IB vs IGCSE Economics compared
What the 2027 IGCSE syllabus adds and removes: IGCSE Economics 2027 syllabus changes
IB SL or HL, and what the course involves: What is IB Economics?
Choosing H1 or H2 in a junior college: H1 vs H2 Economics

Every code at a glance

Status as at 13 September 2026. "Sat by" describes the typical Singapore candidate; check your school's entry for your exact code.
Code	Qualification	Awarding body	Status	Sat by	Assessment in one line
0455	Cambridge IGCSE Economics (syllabus for 2023 to 2026)	Cambridge International	Current to Nov 2026	International-school students sitting IGCSE in 2026	Paper 1 multiple choice, 45 min, 30 marks, 30%; Paper 2 structured, 2 h 15, 90 marks, 70%
0455	Cambridge IGCSE Economics (syllabus for 2027 to 2029)	Cambridge International	From 2027	Students sitting IGCSE in 2027, 2028 or 2029, so today's Year 10 cohort onward	Paper 1 multiple choice, 1 h, 40 marks, 30%; Paper 2 structured, 2 h, 80 marks, 70%
8843	Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-Level H1 Economics	SEAB with Cambridge	Current	JC students taking Economics as their H1 contrasting subject; A-Level private candidates	One paper, 3 h, two compulsory 40-mark case studies, 80 marks
9570	Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-Level H2 Economics	SEAB with Cambridge	Current (examined since 2023)	JC students taking Economics at H2; A-Level private candidates	Paper 1 case studies, 2 h 30, 60 marks, 40%; Paper 2 essays, 2 h 30, 75 marks, 60%
9757	A-Level H2 Economics (previous syllabus)	SEAB with Cambridge	Retired, last examined 2022	Nobody sits it now; its past papers and notes are still in circulation	Two papers; content overlaps 9570 heavily but the assessment structure differs
8819	A-Level H1 Economics (previous syllabus)	SEAB with Cambridge	Retired, last examined 2022	Nobody sits it now	One paper; its structure and mark allocation differ from 8843, so use its papers for topic practice only
IB SL	IB Diploma Economics, Standard Level (syllabus first assessed 2022)	International Baccalaureate	Current	IB Diploma students at international schools	Paper 1, 1 h 15, 30%; Paper 2, 1 h 45, 40%; internal assessment portfolio, 30%
IB HL	IB Diploma Economics, Higher Level (syllabus first assessed 2022)	International Baccalaureate	Current	IB Diploma students at international schools	Paper 1, 20%; Paper 2, 30%; Paper 3 policy paper, 1 h 45, 30%; internal assessment, 20%

Which syllabus am I sitting?

Work down the list. The first line that describes you gives your code.

You are in Year 10 or 11 at an international school and take Economics. You are on Cambridge IGCSE 0455. If your final examination is in 2026, the 2023 to 2026 syllabus applies; if it is in 2027 or later, the 2027 to 2029 syllabus applies, with the changed paper structure above. KS Academia Prep's guide to the 2027 IGCSE Economics syllabus changes lists every content addition and removal.
You are in the IB Diploma Programme. You sit IB Economics at SL or HL on the syllabus first assessed in 2022. There is no numeric code; your school registers the level. See What is IB Economics? for the difference between the levels.
You are in a Singapore junior college. You sit 9570 if Economics is one of your H2 subjects and 8843 if it is your H1. The comparison, including what happens to rank points if you drop from H2 to H1, is in H1 vs H2 Economics on Higher Nucleus.
You are registering as an A-Level private candidate with SEAB. You choose 8843 or 9570 at registration; both are on SEAB's private-candidate list. There is no private route for IB Economics.
Your notes or past papers say 9757 or 8819. They are from the pre-2023 A-Level syllabuses. The content is mostly still relevant, but the paper structure, mark allocations and some content emphasis follow the current codes, so use them for practice on topics, not for exam format.

What changed in IGCSE 0455 between the 2026 and 2027 syllabuses

Source: Cambridge 0455 syllabus for 2027 to 2029, "Changes to this syllabus" section.
Component	Syllabus for 2023 to 2026	Syllabus for 2027 to 2029
Paper 1 (multiple choice)	45 minutes, 30 questions, 30 marks	1 hour, 40 questions, 40 marks
Paper 2 (structured)	2 hours 15 minutes, 90 marks	2 hours, 80 marks; Section A question reduced in marks
Weighting	30% / 70%	30% / 70% (unchanged)
Assessment objectives	Higher weighting on evaluation	Evaluation reduced to 10% of the qualification; knowledge 43%, analysis 47%
Grades	A* to G	A* to G (unchanged)

Practical consequence. A student sitting in 2027 who practises only on 2023 to 2026 papers will be under-prepared for a longer multiple-choice paper and over-prepared for evaluation weighting that has fallen. Use the 2027 to 2029 specimen papers published with the syllabus.

Why 9757 became 9570 and 8819 became 8843

SEAB issued revised A-Level Economics syllabuses for first examination in 2023. The H2 code changed from 9757 to 9570 and the H1 code from 8819 to 8843. The most visible change for students is the current assessment structure: each H2 paper is 2 hours 30 minutes, and 8843 is examined entirely through two 40-mark case studies with no essay section. Notes written for the retired codes describe a different paper structure, so check the code on anything you inherit. Higher Nucleus's H2 Economics complete guide covers the current 9570 syllabus in full and notes where older 9757 material still circulates.

Where the official documents are

Cambridge IGCSE 0455: the syllabus page at cambridgeinternational.org/0455 hosts the current and next syllabus PDFs, specimen papers and mark schemes. Direct links: 2023 to 2025 (extended to 2026) and 2027 to 2029.
SEAB 8843 and 9570: SEAB publishes a syllabus document for each examination year on its A-Level syllabus pages, for school candidates and for private candidates. Direct links for 2026: 8843, 9570.
IB Economics: the full guide is distributed to IB World Schools through the IB's programme resource centre; the public subject briefs for SL and HL give the assessment model and unit hours. Ask your school's IB coordinator for the guide itself.

Syllabus code questions

Is 0455 the same as IGCSE Economics?

Yes. 0455 is the Cambridge International code for IGCSE Economics. Two syllabuses carry the code at present: the one for examinations in 2023 to 2026 and the revised one for 2027 to 2029, which changes the paper lengths and mark totals. The code stays the same across revisions, so always check the year range on the document.

What is the difference between 9570 and 9757?

9570 is the current Singapore A-Level H2 Economics syllabus, examined since 2023; 9757 is the previous one, last examined in 2022. Content overlaps heavily, but 9570's assessment structure, two papers of 2 hours 30 minutes each with a 40% case-study paper and a 60% essay paper, is the one that applies now. Past papers labelled 9757 are useful for topic practice, not for format.

What is syllabus code 8843?

8843 is Singapore A-Level H1 Economics, examined since 2023. It is assessed in a single three-hour paper of two compulsory 40-mark case studies, with no essay section. It replaced 8819, the previous H1 syllabus last examined in 2022, so any H1 notes that describe a different paper structure refer to the retired syllabus.

Does IB Economics have a syllabus code?

No numeric code. IB Diploma Economics is identified by level, Standard Level or Higher Level, and by the syllabus version, currently the one first assessed in May 2022. Your school registers the level with the IB; there is no private-candidate registration route for the Diploma.

Which IGCSE Economics syllabus applies if I sit in 2027?

The Cambridge 0455 syllabus for 2027 to 2029. Paper 1 becomes one hour with 40 multiple-choice questions and Paper 2 becomes two hours with 80 marks, and evaluation falls to 10% of the qualification. Students sitting in 2026 remain on the 2023 to 2026 syllabus.

Can I use past papers from a retired code to revise?

For topic practice, yes, as long as the topic is still in your current syllabus. For exam technique and timing, no: use the specimen papers and past papers published for your own code and year range, because mark allocations, durations and question structure are what a retired code gets wrong.

Not sure which code you should register for?

Message KS Academia Prep with your school, your year and your target examination session. We teach IGCSE and IB Economics at Far East Shopping Centre, Orchard Road, and will tell you plainly which syllabus applies, including when the right answer is an A-Level route we do not teach.

Ask on WhatsApp See our Economics programmes

Sources

Cambridge International, Cambridge IGCSE Economics 0455 syllabus for 2027, 2028 and 2029, including the "Changes to this syllabus" section.
Cambridge International, Cambridge IGCSE Economics 0455 syllabus for 2023, 2024 and 2025.
SEAB, Economics 8843 (H1) syllabus, 2026 and Economics 9570 (H2) syllabus, 2026; 2026 syllabuses examined for private candidates.
International Baccalaureate, Economics SL subject brief and Economics HL subject brief, first assessment 2022.

Verified 13 September 2026. Syllabus codes and year ranges change at each revision; confirm against the awarding body's document for your examination session. This page is general guidance, not individual advice.