National statistics

Statistical bulletin - Civil Service Statistics: 2023

Published 2 August 2023

Statistical Enquiries: Chris White

Press Enquiries: Conor Walsh

Next Publication: July 2024

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1. Overview

This National Statistics release presents headline statistics on the UK Civil Service workforce, including breakdowns by demographic characteristics, earnings, grade, and location of civil servants as at 31 March 2023.

Key Statistics:

Civil Service Statistics 2023 shows that employment stood at 519,780 headcount and 487,665 on a full-time equivalent basis (FTE) as at 31 March 2023 (NB: see section 2 below for more information on our headline measure for monitoring the changing size of the Civil Service workforce). Of these civil servants:

• 54.6% are women, up slightly from 54.5% in 2022.

• 15.4% are from an ethnic minority background, up from 15.0% in 2022.

• 15.8% declare themselves as having a disability, up from 14.0% in 2022.

• 6.4% identify as being lesbian, gay, bisexual or recorded their sexual orientation as ‘other’ (LGBO), up from 6.1% in 2022.

• 72.4% are working at Executive Officer (EO) grade and above, up from 71.8% in 2022 and 55.8% in 2013.

• The median age of civil servants is 44 years, unchanged from 2022.

• Headcount has increased across all regions except for London, East of England and Overseas, with the largest increase in North West England (67,110, up from 64,305 in 2022).

• The median salary is £31,920, up £1,810 (6.0%) from £30,110 in 2022.

• The median and mean gender pay gap for the Civil Service is 9.6% and 8.1%, down from 11.3% and 8.5% in 2022 respectively.

• There were 56,760 entrants to the Civil Service in 2022/23, down from 69,400 in 2021/22.

• In 2022/23, 46,080 people left the Civil Service, up from 44,215 in 2021/22.

Figure 1.1: Representation of ethnic minority, disabled and LGBO (from 2015) civil servants, 2013 to 2023 (see table E1)

2. Civil Service Headcount

Civil service headcount stands at 519,780 as at 31 March 2023. On a full-time equivalent (FTE) basis, Civil Service employment is 487,665. FTE takes into account part-time workers.

Statistical Note

At the time of release, the latest statistics from the ONS Quarterly Public Sector Employment Survey (QPSES) are also as at 31 March 2023, and show Civil Service employment was 520,560 (488,400 on an FTE basis). Users should refer to the regular ONS quarterly statistics when monitoring changes in the size of the Civil Service.

Figure 2.1: Civil Service departmental headcount (see table 11)

The five largest departments (Department for Work and Pensions, Ministry of Justice, HM Revenue and Customs, Ministry of Defence and Home Office) account for over two-thirds (68%) of the workforce.

Note on Machinery of Government changes

On 7 February 2023, the Prime Minister announced Machinery of Government changes to create three new government departments: the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and the Department for Business and Trade; as well as a refocused Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The new departments are formed from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for International Trade, along with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Although the changes took effect immediately following the announcement, the full transition programme is yet to complete and consequently the new departments are not yet in a position to report under the new structure. All affected departments and their associated agencies will appear in these statistics under the pre-existing hierarchies until the transition programme is complete.

3. Grade

The Civil Service is becoming more senior in grade.

The percentage of civil servants working at grades EO and above is now 72.4%, up from 71.8% in 2022 and 55.8% in 2013.

The percentage of civil servants working at the most junior grades (Administrative Assistant/Administrative Officer) is 27.6%, and has fallen each year since 2013 when it stood at 44.2%.

The percentage of civil servants working in grades 6 and 7 has increased to 15.2%, up from 14.3% in 2022 and 7.8% in 2013.

Figure 3.1: Civil Service grade structure, 2013 to 2023 (see tables 1 and E2)

The percentage of unreported grades has increased to 4.9%, up from 4.6% in 2022.

Several departments did not supply grade information for some of their employees. The Ministry of Justice (21,570) and Ministry of Defence (3,850) account for nearly all unreported grades.

The large increase in unreported grade between 2021 and 2022 is mainly attributed to around 7,000 Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) staff without a mapped standard Civil Service grade being transferred into MOJ in late June 2021.

Figure 3.2: Percentage of grade reported and not reported, 2013 to 2023 (see tables 1 and E3)

Civil Service grades:

• Senior Civil Service level (SCS level)

• Grade 6 and 7 (G6/G7)

• Higher Executive Officer/Senior Executive Officer (HEO/SEO)

• Executive Officer (EO)

• Administrative Assistant/Administrative Officer (AA/AO)

Departments with large numbers of front-line staff delivering public services tend to have a higher proportion of junior grades. For example, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has the highest percentage of staff at EO grade and below (78.8%).

Departments with more senior grades tend to have fewer employees delivering services directly to the public. For example, DCMS and DIT have the highest percentage of employees at grades HEO/SEO and above (90.8%).

Figure 3.3: Grade structure by department (see table 20)

Statistical Note

There are two measures of the SCS available: the Senior Civil Service and SCS level. See Notes section.

4. Location

Civil servants work in all regions of the UK, and Overseas.

One in five civil servants are based in London (20.1%), down from 20.7% in 2022.

The regions with the largest number of civil servants are London (103,735), the North West of England (67,110), and Scotland (53,495).

Excluding Northern Ireland and Overseas, the East of England has the fewest civil servants (22,390).

Figure 4.1: Civil Service headcount by region (see table 10)

Most Civil Service departments have a presence in London. The majority of civil servants in the North West are working for DWP, HMRC, MOJ and the Home Office. Civil servants in the North East are primarily working for HMRC, DWP and MOJ.

Departments with large numbers of staff in Wales include DFT, Welsh Government, DWP, MOJ, HMRC, BEIS, and UKSA. There are home civil servants working in Northern Ireland – the majority for HMRC, MOD and Home Office. The departments employing the most civil servants in Scotland are Scottish Government, DWP, HMRC and MOD.

The majority of civil servants based Overseas work for FCDO and MOD.

Civil Service employment increased in all regions except for London, East of England and Overseas between 2022 and 2023.

The number of civil servants based in London has fallen by 1,095 (-1.0%) since 2022. The overall proportion of civil servants based in London has decreased for the second consecutive year, to 20.1% in 2023 from 20.7% in 2022 and 21.2% in 2021.

The regions with the largest percentage increases in headcount are Northern Ireland (+6.8%), Scotland (+4.9%), North West (+4.4%) and Yorkshire & the Humber (+4.1%). The regions that have seen the largest increase in headcount are the North West (+2,805), Scotland (+2,480), Yorkshire & the Humber (+1,625) and West Midlands (+1,275).

Figure 4.2: Percentage change in Civil Service regional headcount from 2022 to 2023 (see table 10)

Outside of London, 31.8% of civil servants are in AA/AO grades, compared to just 11.7% within London. The percentage of those in G6/G7 and SCS level grades outside of London is 12.3%, compared to 34.0% within London.

Some professions are predominantly London-based; 74.5% of those in Economics, 68.6% in Corporate Finance, 64.6% in International Trade, and 62.4% in Policy. Other professions tend to be more evenly distributed across the regions (see table 47).

Figure 4.3: Percentage of civil servants at each grade within London, and outside of London (see table 16)

Statistical Note

Workplace postcode data are used to derive geographical information (International Territorial Level) from the National Statistics Postcode Lookup (NSPL).

5. Sex

There are more women (283,705) than men (236,060) in the Civil Service; however, men outnumber women at G6/G7 and SCS level. The percentage of women in senior grades is, however, increasing: in 2023 47.9% of those at SCS level are women compared to 47.2% in 2022 and 36.2% in 2013. Similarly, 49.5% of G6/G7 are women in 2023, compared to 48.9% in 2022 and 41.7% in 2013.

Figure 5.1: Civil servants by sex (see table 1)

Figure 5.2: Percentage of civil servants at each grade by sex (see table 1)

Figure 5.3: Percentage of women by grade, 2013 to 2023 (see table E4)

Statistical Note

The Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES) collection that these statistics draw from records data on sex, not gender.

6. Age

The median age of civil servants stands at 44 years, unchanged from 2022 and down from 46 in 2013.

The percentage of civil servants aged under 40 is 39.0%, up from 38.7% in 2022 and 30.8% in 2013.

Figure 6.1: Civil Service by age band, 2013 to 2023 (see tables 4 and E5)

Those at the younger and older ends of the age distribution are more likely to be at administrative grades (AA/AO).

Figure 6.2: Percentage of civil servants at each grade by age band (see table 4)

7. Ethnicity

Of those with a known ethnicity, the percentage who are from an ethnic minority background is at a record high of 15.4%. This is an increase, from 15.0% in 2022 and 9.6% in 2013

The proportion of civil servants from an ethnic minority background has increased across all grades compared to 2022, except EO level where it remained unchanged at 17.8%.

The largest increase has been at AA/AO; up to 14.9% in 2023 from 13.9% in 2022, and 9.7% in 2013.

Civil servants from an ethnic minority background are less represented at senior grades than in junior grades, with those at SCS level having the lowest representation rate at 10.5%, although this is up from 10.3% in 2022 and 4.7% in 2013.

The Civil Service has a lower proportion of workers from an ethnic minority background than the working age population in the UK (15.7%).

Figure 7.1: Percentage of civil servants from an ethnic minority background by grade, 2013 to 2023 (see tables 2 and E6)

On a headcount basis, Asian civil servants (35,355) make up the largest ethnic minority group in the Civil Service, followed by Black civil servants (17,290).

Figure 7.2: Civil servants by ethnic group (see table 2)

Statistical Note

Percentages exclude those with an unknown ethnicity and those who have elected to not declare their ethnicity. The working age population figure includes only those who are economically active. See the Notes section for more information.

8. Disability

Since 2013 there have been year-on-year increases in the percentage of civil servants who declare themselves as disabled. This figure now stands at 15.8%, a record high, up from 14.0% in 2022, and 8.6% in 2013.

The proportion of civil servants with a declared disability has increased across all grades compared to 2022.

The largest increase has been at EO level; up to 17.8% in 2023 from 15.7% in 2022, and 8.8% in 2013.

The percentage of civil servants declaring themselves as disabled remains below that of the economically active working age population (16.8%).

Figure 8.1: Percentage of civil servants that have declared a disability by grade, 2013 to 2023 (see table E7)

Figure 8.2: Civil servants by disability status (see table 3)

Statistical Note

Percentages exclude those with an unknown disability status and those that have elected to not declare themselves as either disabled or non-disabled. The working age population figure includes only those who are economically active. See Notes section for more information.

9. Sexual Orientation

Of those with a known sexual orientation, 6.4% of civil servants identify as being lesbian, gay, bisexual or recorded their sexual orientation as ‘other’ (LGBO). This has increased every year since data on sexual orientation has been captured in these statistics, and is up from 6.1% in 2022 and 3.7% in 2015.

LGBO representation has increased at all grades over the last year, except G6/7 level. The grade with the highest percentage of LGBO civil servants is SCS level (7.1%).

Reporting rates for sexual orientation have increased from 38.1% in 2015 (when it was first collected), to 71.8% in 2023.

Figure 9.1: Percentage of civil servants that identify as LGBO by grade, 2015 to 2023 (see table E8)

Figure 9.2: Civil servants by sexual orientation (see table A2)

Statistical Note

Percentages exclude those with an unknown sexual orientation and those that have elected to not declare their sexual orientation. Reporting rates refers to those who have declared, and therefore excludes ‘Undeclared’.

10. Religion and Belief

Reporting rates for religion and belief have increased this year to 70.6%, up from 69.9% in 2022.

The most commonly reported religion or belief is Christianity at 44.3%. The second most commonly reported is Islam (Muslim) at 5.0%. A further 42.4% of civil servants reported having no religion or belief.

Figure 10.1: Civil servants by religion, belief, or non-belief (see table A4)

Figure 10.2: Percentage of civil servants by religion, belief, or non-belief (see table A4)

Statistical Note

The percentages stated here exclude those with an unknown religion or belief and those that have elected to not declare their religion or belief. Reporting rates refers to those who have declared, and therefore excludes ‘Undeclared’

11. Pay

The median salary in the Civil Service rose to £31,920 in 2023 from £30,110 in 2022, an increase of £1,810 (6.0%).

The mean and median salaries (on a full-time equivalent basis) are higher for full-time staff compared to part-time staff.

Figure 11.1: Median and mean salary of full-time, part-time, and all civil servants, 2013 to 2023 (see table E9)

The median salary varies by grade, from £22,520 in the administrative grades to £83,980 at SCS level.

The median salary increased across all grades, ranging from 1.7% at SCS level to 5.4% at AA/AO level.

Figure 11.2: Median salary by grade (see table 25)

Women have a median salary of £30,320, compared to £33,350 for men. Women have a mean salary of £34,880 compared to £37,610 for men. Salary differences between the sexes are partly explained by their relative representations across the grades.

Figures represent the average across all staff, and may not be representative of changes affecting individuals or their salaries.

Figure 11.3: Mean and median pay by sex (see table 31)

The differences in pay shown above do not represent the official measure of the ‘Gender Pay Gap’ (these are shown in the ‘Gender Pay Gap’ section). Government departments separately publish their gender pay gap data on the Government Equalities Office (GEO) portal each year to comply with the legal requirements.

Statistical Note

It is important to note that these figures are not adjusted for inflation. All salaries are on a full-time equivalent basis, i.e. the salary that part-time staff would earn if they worked full-time at the same hourly rate.

12. Working Pattern

One in five (19.6%) of civil servants work part-time. This is down slightly from 20.0% in 2022 and from a peak of around one in four (25.5%) in 2015.

The percentage of civil servants working part-time is lower in senior grades, decreasing from 27.5% of those in the AA/AO grades, to 11.7% at SCS level.

Figure 12.1: Percentage of civil servants working part-time by grade, 2013 to 2023 (see table E10)

DWP has the highest percentage of employees working part-time (34.9%), up from 34.1% in 2022.

Figure 12.2: Percentage of civil servants working part-time by department (see table 46)

Women are more likely to work part-time than men at all age bands.

Overall, older age groups have a higher percentage of both men and women working part-time.

There is a marked increase in women working part-time from age bands 30-39 and above. At the age bands 60-64 and above, both men and women see a large increase in the percentage working part-time.

Figure 12.3: Percentage of civil servants working part-time by sex and age band (see table 44)

The number of civil servants working full-time is 417,680; an increase from 408,110 (+2.3%) in 2022.

The part-time headcount has shown little change, increasing to 102,100 from 101,965 (+0.1%) across the same period.

Figure 12.4: Working patterns of civil servants, 2013 to 2023 (see table E11)

13. Gender Pay Gap

The median gender pay gap for the Civil Service fell from 11.3% in 2022 to 9.6% in 2023. The mean gender pay gap for the Civil Service also fell, from 8.5% in 2022 to 8.1% in 2023.

Figure 13.1: Earnings gender pay gap, 2020 to 2023 (see table C and E12)

The median and mean bonus gender pay gaps for the Civil Service showed a decrease from 37.1% and 27.4% in 2022, to 25.4% and 23.5% in 2023 respectively.

Figure 13.2: Bonus gender pay gap, 2020 to 2023 (see table C and E12)

In line with last year, a higher proportion of women received a bonus compared to men (68.4% and 62.3% respectively).

Figure 13.3: Percentage of men and women receiving a bonus, 2020 to 2023 (see table C and E12)

Women are under-represented in the highest pay quartile (47.3% compared to 52.7% of men) and overrepresented in the lowest pay quartile (61.9% compared to 38.1% of men).

Figure 13.4: Percentage of men and women in each pay quartile (see table C and E12)

Statistical Note

Figures are calculated using a methodology fully aligned to the Government Equalities Office (GEO) statutory reporting requirements. Earnings pay gap calculations are based on employees receiving their normal pay on 31 March 2023. Bonus calculations also include employees who received a bonus but who were on reduced pay or unpaid leave on 31 March 2023.

14. Profession

The majority of civil servants (55.7%) work in the Operational Delivery profession. Operational Delivery staff provide frontline government services directly to citizens or businesses, including paying benefits and pensions, providing employment services, staffing prisons, and issuing driving licences.

The next largest profession is Policy (6.7%), followed by Digital, Data and Technology (4.7%), Project Delivery (3.7%) and Tax (3.6%).

The reporting rate for professions data is 94.2%, up from 93.7% in 2022.

Figure 14.1: Percentage and headcount of civil servants working within each profession (see table 8)

The professions with the highest median salary are Education and Training Inspectors (£72,470), Planning Inspectors (£60,050) and Legal (£52,790).

Those with the lowest median salary are Operational Delivery (£28,120) and Counter Fraud (£28,120).

The Operational Delivery profession accounts for a large proportion of the Civil Service; therefore the overall median will be heavily influenced by the salaries in this profession.

Figure 14.2: Lower quartile, median, and upper quartile of salary by profession (see table 45)

Statistical Note

Scottish Government provided limited information on professions.

15. Function

The majority of civil servants (67.6%) do not work in a function.

The largest function is Digital, Data & Technology (5.4%), followed by Project Delivery (4.6%), then Counter Fraud (3.5%).

The response rate for function information has increased from 84.4% in 2022 to 94.1% in 2023.

Figure 15.1: Headcount and percentage of civil servants working within each function (see table D1)

The functions with the highest median salary are: Legal (£51,270), Internal Audit (£45,250), Commercial (£42,500) and Project Delivery (£42,140). Those with the lowest median salary are Grants Management (£22,150) and Debt (£22,520).

Figure 15.2: Lower quartile, median and upper quartile of salary by function (see table D3)

Statistical Note

Welsh Government and Scottish Government either did not supply any, or provided very limited information on functions.

16. Entrants and Leavers

The number of new entrants fell to 56,760 from 69,400 in 2021/22.

Over the year, 46,080 people left the Civil Service, up from 44,215 in 2021/22. This is the highest number since 2011/12 (46,110).

Figure 16.1: Civil Service entrants and leavers, 2012/13 to 2022/23 (see table E13)

The most common reason for leaving the Civil Service was resignation, accounting for over half (26,425) of leavers. The next most common reason was retirement (9,495).

Figure 16.2: Civil Service leavers by leaving cause (see table 42)

Statistical Note

Entrant and leaver numbers are calculated from entry and leaving dates provided as part of the ACSES data collection. The difference between them does not align precisely with the year-on-year difference between in-post headcounts. For example, there are people who left and rejoined the Civil Service more than once during a year, and people whose last day falls on the reference date (31 March) - these are counted as both leavers and in-post.

17. Notes

See the quality and methodology information document for further detail

How the output is created

The statistics in this release are derived from returns completed as part of the Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES). Its scope covers all Civil Service organisations, including all major Departments. ACSES requests from organisations an individual-level record of all their Civil Service employees ‘in post’ as at the reference date, along with records for leavers and entrants from/to the Civil Service in the preceding 12 months. ACSES collects information via a standard Excel template that includes data fields on pay, contractual hours, grade and location. It also includes personal characteristics, such as age, sex, religion, and sexual orientation. The data collected are anonymous in that no employee names are requested. The data, however, is considered and handled as ‘personal data’ because in certain circumstances individuals may be identifiable. Where departmental figures are quoted these will include the main department and their executive agencies and crown non-departmental public bodies. For Gender Pay Gap, however, different aggregations may apply – see relevant data table. Given the varied nature of the HR/pay systems used by departments, caution should be exercised in comparing statistics across departments.

Further information

The Civil Service Statistics data tables, and the quality and methodology information document are published on gov.uk.

Data up to 2018 are also made available via NOMIS, which is a service provided by the ONS to give users free access to a range of UK labour market statistics from official sources. There may be small differences in NOMIS figures and ACSES time-series data within this online bulletin resulting from ensuring consistency of methodology between this year and previous years.

External Sources

Comparative data for the UK workforce on disability and ethnicity are sourced from the Office for National Statistics Labour market overview UK, published on 13 June 2023. Figures in this publication are based on the Labour Force Survey as at March 2023, and include the UK working age population aged 16-64 who are economically active.

Technical notes

Organisations within the Civil Service have different grading systems. These have been mapped to common responsibility levels in the statistics presented in this bulletin.

There are two measures of the SCS available: the Senior Civil Service and SCS level. ACSES measures SCS level employees that includes a number of health professionals, military personnel, and senior diplomats that are not part of the Senior Civil Service. The Civil Service Statistics release, therefore, does not contain the official headline figures used for monitoring diversity, pay and other key measures of the Senior Civil Service. These are monitored using the Cabinet Office SCS Database that collects more frequent and comprehensive information on those individuals that make up the Senior Civil Service.

18. About

Civil Service Statistics is an annual National Statistics release describing the UK Civil Service workforce in terms of its size, demographic characteristics, salaries, working pattern, grade, and location. The data is drawn from the Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES).

The Civil Service helps the government of the day develop and implement its policies as effectively as possible. It provides services directly to the public, including paying benefits and pensions; running employment services; running prisons and issuing driving licences. Civil servants also work on policy development and implementation, including analysts, project managers, lawyers and economists.

Organisations that make up the Civil Service include central government departments, their agencies, and crown non-departmental government bodies.

These statistics count all home Civil Service employees, including those based in Northern Ireland and Overseas. Not included are the Northern Ireland Civil Service, other Crown servants and employees of the wider public sector, for example, employees of non-crown non-departmental public bodies and the National Health Service (NHS).

Notes on the statistics

Unless otherwise specified, all percentages are calculated on a headcount basis and exclude unknown values for all variables. Figures are rounded to the nearest 5 in the case of headcounts/FTEs, with salaries rounded to the nearest £10. Percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Data in this release is available in the associated Civil Service Statistics data tables. Where time-series are presented, data have been taken from previous Civil Service Statistics publications.

Further analysis and methodology

Summary information on the scope and limitations is available in the Notes section of this release, with further details available in the quality and methodology information document published on the gov.uk website, along with previous versions of these statistics:

National Statistics

Civil Service Statistics are designated National Statistics in accordance with the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. National Statistics status means that official statistics meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality, and public value.

All official statistics should comply with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics^{[footnote 1]}. They are awarded National Statistics status following an assessment by the UK Statistics Authority’s regulatory arm. The Authority considers whether the statistics meet the highest standards of Code compliance, including the value they add to public decisions and debate.

Responsibility for the collection and publication of Civil Service Statistics transferred to Cabinet Office from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on 1 October 2018. The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) — the regulatory arm of the UK Statistics Authority — undertook a compliance check of Civil Service Statistics during December 2019 and January 2020. The OSR confirmed the continuing National Statistics designation for Civil Service Statistics in their letter published 19 February 2020.

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1. Code of Practice for Official Statistics: ↩