Civil Service workforce
Published
1. Main facts and figures
- there were around 519,780 people working for the Civil Service at the end of March 2023, and ethnicity was known for around 423,530 of them (81.5%)
- out of civil servants whose ethnicity was known, 84.6% were white – by comparison, 81.7% of the working age population identified as white in the 2021 Census of England and Wales
- 8.3% of civil servants were Asian, 4.1% were black, 2.3% had mixed ethnicity, and 0.7% were from the 'other' ethnic group
- out of all regions, London had the highest percentage of staff from ethnic minority groups (not including white minorities), at 36.5%
- 85.3% of men and 84.1% of women working in the Civil Service were white
- 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.
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 who were ‘in post’ on 31 March each year.
Total staff numbers are rounded to the nearest 10 people for 2015 to 2022, and to the nearest 5 for 2023. 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. These values are shown as '!' in the data file.
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.
The total headcounts (‘All’ in the table) 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 in a separate Chinese ethnic group. Since 2022, they have been grouped under the ‘Asian’ ethnic group – this 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:
- the headcount and percentages of civil servants by gender, age group, area and grade
- leavers and joiners
- 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 |
| 2023 | 100.0 | 423,530 | 8.3 | 35,355 | 4.1 | 17,290 | N/A* | N/A* | 2.3 | 9,720 | 84.6 | 358,340 | 0.7 | 2,825 | N/A* | 96,250 |
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 2023
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.
Secondary source
Civil Service Statistics: 2023
Type of data
Administrative data
Type of statistic
National Statistics
Publisher
Cabinet Office
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
Civil Service Statistics presents detailed information on the UK Civil Service workforce as at 31 March 2023, including on pay, diversity and location.
5. Download the data
This file contains the following: measure, employment status, time, time_type, age, ethnicity, ethnicity_type, geography, geography_type, gender, grade, headcount, denominator, value (%), value_type