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1. Main facts and figures
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there were around 510,080 people working for the UK civil service at the end of March 2022
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ethnicity was known for around 417,380 of all civil servants (81.8%)
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85.0% of civil servants with known ethnicity were from the white ethnic group, compared with 80.7% of the working age population in the 2021 Census
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8.1% of civil servants were Asian, 4.1% were black, 2.2% had mixed ethnicity, and 0.6% were from the 'other' ethnic group
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out of all regions in the UK, London had the highest percentage of staff from each of the ethnic minority groups (36.1%)
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85.8% of men and 84.3% of women working in the Civil Service were white
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in general, the younger staff were, the more likely they were to be from ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities)
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
The data shows the number and percentage of civil servants, by ethnicity.
Unless otherwise stated, all figures reflect values for civil servants whose employment status was ‘In Post’ as at 31 March each year.
The data includes everyone with a Civil Service employment contract. Employees can be permanent, on a fixed-term contract or employed on a casual basis. It shows the total number of full and part-time civil servants.
Total staff numbers are rounded to the nearest 10. This means some figures may not add up to the totals shown.
Not included in the data
The data does not include people working for:
- the NHS
- non-departmental public bodies
- the Northern Ireland Civil Service
- central government in security posts
It also does not include people who were:
- not on the payroll, such as contractors
- not paid during the period covered, such as staff taking unpaid leave
Percentages based on fewer than 5 people are not shown. This is to protect people’s confidentiality, and because the numbers are too small to make reliable generalisations.
The ethnic groups used in the data
Figures are shown for the following 5 ethnic groups:
- Asian
- black
- mixed
- white
- 'other'
This is because the number of people surveyed was too small to make any reliable conclusions about any of the 19 ethnic groups used in the 2021 Census.
Ethnicity was not known or refused for 18.2% of civil servants in 2022.
The total headcounts only include civil servants whose ethnicity was known. The percentages are also based only on staff whose ethnicity was known.
Before 2022, civil servants who identified as Chinese were grouped under a separate Chinese ethnic group. As of 2022, they are now grouped under the Asian ethnic group, which may affect comparisons with previous years.
Methodology
Read the detailed methodology document for the data on this page.
Comparisons to the working-age population (people aged 16 to 64 years) in England and Wales are from the 2021 Census. This is a different geographic area to the data on civil servants (UK and abroad), so these comparisons are indicative only.
In the data file
See Download the data for:
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the headcount and percentages for civil servants by gender, age group, area and grade
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leavers and joiners
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data on those with unknown ethnicity, and for those that refused to provide their ethnicity
3. By ethnicity over time
| All | Asian | Black | Chinese | Mixed | White | Other | Unknown | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | All % | All Headcount | Asian % | Asian Headcount | Black % | Black Headcount | Chinese % | Chinese Headcount | Mixed % | Mixed Headcount | White % | White Headcount | Other % | Other Headcount | Unknown % | Unknown Headcount |
| 2015 | 100.0 | 341,660 | 5.4 | 18,560 | 3.0 | 10,210 | 0.3 | 890 | 1.3 | 4,410 | 89.4 | 305,550 | 0.6 | 2,040 | N/A* | 97,670 |
| 2016 | 100.0 | 319,830 | 5.8 | 18,690 | 3.1 | 9,950 | 0.3 | 880 | 1.4 | 4,460 | 88.8 | 284,140 | 0.5 | 1,710 | N/A* | 98,510 |
| 2017 | 100.0 | 321,150 | 6.2 | 19,780 | 3.2 | 10,230 | 0.3 | 910 | 1.5 | 4,740 | 88.4 | 283,740 | 0.5 | 1,750 | N/A* | 98,250 |
| 2018 | 100.0 | 321,770 | 6.4 | 20,470 | 3.2 | 10,350 | 0.3 | 960 | 1.5 | 4,950 | 88.0 | 283,300 | 0.5 | 1,740 | N/A* | 108,310 |
| 2019 | 100.0 | 349,230 | 6.6 | 23,190 | 3.4 | 11,990 | 0.3 | 1,080 | 1.8 | 6,140 | 87.3 | 304,850 | 0.6 | 1,980 | N/A* | 96,260 |
| 2020 | 100.0 | 369,390 | 7.0 | 25,870 | 3.5 | 12,800 | 0.3 | 1,110 | 1.8 | 6,800 | 86.8 | 320,580 | 0.6 | 2,230 | N/A* | 87,020 |
| 2021 | 100.0 | 397,260 | 7.3 | 29,160 | 3.9 | 15,600 | 0.3 | 1,250 | 2.1 | 8,260 | 85.7 | 340,400 | 0.7 | 2,590 | N/A* | 87,630 |
| 2022 | 100.0 | 417,380 | 8.1 | 33,650 | 4.1 | 17,080 | N/A* | N/A* | 2.2 | 9,170 | 85.0 | 354,830 | 0.6 | 2,650 | N/A* | 92,700 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity over time’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity over time’ (CSV)
4. Data sources
Source
Annual Civil Service Employment Survey 2022
Type of data
Administrative data
Type of statistic
National Statistics
Publisher
Cabinet Office
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES) measures the number of civil servants and diversity across the workforce.
5. Download the data
This file contains the following: measure, year, ethnicity, geography, gender, grade, age group, value (%), headcount, denominator