What Demand Is — Demand | IGCSE Economics

Exam Frequency Analysis

Past paper frequency (2018 to 2024)

This topic accounts for approximately 20% of your exam marks.

stable

Very High

Stable20%

Demand is the single highest-frequency topic; demand definition, curve shifts, and factors appear on virtually every Paper 2, typically worth 10 to 18 marks.

Demand is the quantity of a good or service that consumers are willing and able to buy at a given price over a given time period.

Two words in the definition carry all the marks.

Willing. The consumer actually wants the product. Wanting is a necessary part of demand.
Able. The consumer has the purchasing power to pay. Wanting a product without being able to afford it is not demand.

Demand backed by the ability to pay is sometimes called effective demand. A child who wishes she had a £400 phone but cannot pay £400 is not part of the demand for that phone. A wish without purchasing power does not count.

A definition that just says "what people want" or "how much consumers would like to buy" loses the second mark. Both willing and able must appear.

Demand is always measured over a time period (per day, per month, per year) and at a specific price (or across a range of prices). A statement like "demand for coffee is 5,000 cups" is incomplete; "demand for coffee is 5,000 cups per week at £3 per cup" is the correct form.