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Civil Service statistics

Statistics on the composition of the Civil Service workforce, including regional, diversity and earnings data.

Updates to this page

From:
Cabinet Office
Published:
6 September 2018
Last updated:
29 July 2026
Show all updates

  1. Civil Service Statistics 2026 added to collection

  2. Added 'Civil Service statistics: Ad-hoc statistical requests - 2026' to the collection.

  3. The 2025 publication has been added to the collection,

  4. Link to Ad-hoc statistical requests for 2025 added.

  5. The 2024 publication has been added to the collection,

  6. Link to Ad-hoc statistical requests for 2024 added.

  7. Link to Ad-hoc statistical requests for 2023 added.

  8. Civil Service statistics 2023 added

  9. Added 2022 statistics

  10. Added Proportions of minority civil servants; 2021

  11. Added Summary of civil servants in the policy profession: 2019 and Summary of civil servants in the policy profession: 2020

  12. Added Summary of civil servants in the policy profession: 2021

  13. Added Number of civil servants by department in Mid Wales on a headcount basis; 2021

  14. Added Number of civil servants by postcode, department, responsibility level and leaving cause, 2021

  15. Added Number of civil servants working at Senior Civil Service (SCS) level by profession of post, function and department: 2021

  16. Added Civil Service Responsibility Level in West Midlands (England) by department: 2021 and Number of civil servants by profession of post and ethnicity: 2021

  17. Added the number of dismissals of civil servants by government department at Grades 7 and above between 1 April 2016 and 31 March 2021.

  18. Added Civil Service mean salary by region and government department: 2021

  19. Added Permanent and temporary civil servants in Scotland by department, 2021 and Civil Service entrants and leavers by department and profession pages

  20. Added Civil Service diversity in North West (England) by department: 2021 and Summary of civil servants in the Policy Profession: 2019 to 2021

  21. Added Civil Service diversity in West Midlands (England) by department: 2021

  22. Updated Annual Statistics section text and links to a number of historical bulletins and tables amended.

  23. Added Civil Service diversity in South West (England) by department: 2021 and Civil Service by department and responsibility level in London and outside of London: 2021

  24. Added Summary of civil servants in the Operational Delivery Profession: 2021

  25. Added Civil Service median salary by region and responsibility level: 2021

  26. Added Civil Service diversity in Wales by department: 2021

  27. Added 2021 statistics

  28. Added Civil Service headcount by region and selected age bands: 2020 to Ad-hoc statistical requests

  29. Added Civil Service diversity by organisation and grade: 2020 to Ad-hoc requests

  30. Updated to include 'Summary of civil servants in the Operational Delivery Profession: 2020'

  31. Ad-hoc statistical requests section updated with 2020 data.

  32. 2020 statistics added.

  33. We have added data on civil servants by median time in department, 2015 to 2019.

  34. Added in links to latest ad hoc publications.

  35. Added Civil Service disabled and ethnic minority proportions link.

  36. Added Civil Service by organisation, postcode, grade and leaving cause statistics

  37. Added in 2019 stats.

  38. Added ad-hoc statistics: Civil servants by grade, age, employment length and paid exit type: 2017 to 2018

  39. New 'Ad hoc statistical requests' group and new page.

  40. Added text under 'Annual statistics' heading. Linked 2013 and 2012 stats.

  41. Added note about the transfer from ONS to CO.

  42. First published.

Details

Civil Service Statistics present detailed information on the Civil Service workforce. Data are sourced from all Civil Service organisations via the Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES).

These statistics count all home Civil Service employees. They exclude the Northern Ireland Civil Service, other Crown servants and employees of the wider public sector (for example, employees of non-departmental public bodies and the National Health Service). However, there are home Civil Service employees based in Northern Ireland and overseas.

Official statistics are produced impartially and free from political influence

Statistics standards and policies

These accredited official statistics have been independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics. Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

Accreditation signifies their compliance with the authority’s Code of Practice for Statistics which broadly means these statistics are:

  • managed impartially and objectively in the public interest
  • meet identified user needs
  • produced according to sound methods
  • well explained and readily accessible

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).

OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

These statistics were independently reviewed by the OSR in February 2022. See Compliance Check of Civil Service Statistics. Since this review by the OSR, we have continued to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics.

All Cabinet Office official statistics are governed by the standards set out by the UK Statistics Authority in their code of practice. These standards can be found on our Cabinet Office statistics: standards and policies page.

Annual statistics

All Civil Service Statistics publications and tables prior to 2006 can be found on the national archives. Please note the links on the national archives webpage for 2006 to 2010 do not work and the links provided below for these publications should be used. The links below provide access to all Civil Service Statistics publications since 2006 (2006 to 2018 Office for National Statistics, and 2019 onwards Cabinet Office).

Civil Service statistics data browser

Ad-hoc statistical requests

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