Civil service

{{Short description|Government workers that are employed rather than elected or appointed}} {{for|the album|Civil Service (album){{!}}''Civil Service'' (album)}} The '''civil service''' is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A '''civil service official''', also known as a '''civil servant''' or '''public servant''' or '''public employee''', is a person employed in the public sector by a government department or agency for public sector undertakings. Civil servants include workers at any level of government, and in a healthy civil service answer to that government, not a political party.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.civilservant.org.uk/information-definitions.html |title=UK Civil Service – Definitions – What is a Civil Servant? |website=civilservant.org.uk |access-date=5 November 2019 |archive-date=11 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191011202510/https://civilservant.org.uk/information-definitions.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oecd.org/gov/ethics/managingconflictofinterestinthepublicservice.htm|title=Managing Conflict of Interest in the Public Service - OECD|date=2005|website=Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)|access-date=2018-12-09|archive-date=2019-08-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805120240/https://www.oecd.org/gov/ethics/managingconflictofinterestinthepublicservice.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

The extent of civil servants of a state as part of the "civil service" varies from country to country. In the United Kingdom (UK), for instance, only Crown (national government) employees are referred to as "civil servants" whereas employees of local authorities (counties, cities and similar administrations) are generally referred to as "local government officers", who are considered public servants but not civil servants. Thus, in the UK, a civil servant is a public servant but a public servant is not necessarily a civil servant.

The study of the civil service is a part of the field of public service (and in some countries there is no distinction between the two). Staff members in "non-departmental public bodies" (sometimes called "QUANGOs") may also be classed as civil servants for the purpose of statistics and possibly for their terms and conditions. Collectively a state's civil servants form its civil service or public service. The concept arose in China and modern civil service developed in Britain in the 18th century.

An international civil servant or international staff member is a civilian employee who is employed by an intergovernmental organization. These international civil servants do not resort under any national legislation (from which they have immunity of jurisdiction) but are governed by internal staff regulations. All disputes related to international civil service are brought before special tribunals created by these international organizations such as, for instance, the Administrative Tribunal of the ILO. Specific referral can be made to the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) of the United Nations, an independent expert body established by the United Nations General Assembly. Its mandate is to regulate and coordinate the conditions of service of staff in the United Nations common system, while promoting and maintaining high standards in the international civil service.

[[File:Share of employee compensation in public spending, OWID.svg|thumb|upright=2|2017 share of government employee compensation in public spending according to Our World in Data]]

== History ==

===In China=== {{Excerpt|History of civil service in China|History|only=|paragraphs=1-5}}

=== Roman Empire === The Roman empire (27 BC – AD 395) had several types of civil servants who fulfilled diverse functions in Roman society. They were called apparitores.

==== Accensi ==== Accensi were usually professional civil servants, providing assistance to the elected magistrates during their term in office. In the courts, they summoned witnesses, kept track of time, and helped keep order.<ref>{{Cite book |last=(LL.D.) |first=Alexander ADAM |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C4NaAAAAcAAJ&dq=accensi+courts&pg=PA165 |title=Roman Antiquities; or, an Account of the manners and customs of the Romans, etc |date=1825 |publisher=T. Cadell |language=en}}</ref> Outside of the courts, they escorted the magistrate and acted as heralds.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Suetonius • Life of Julius Caesar, 20 |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/suetonius/12caesars/julius*.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120530163202/http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html |archive-date=2012-05-30 |access-date=2018-02-09 |website=penelope.uchicago.edu |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Titus Livius (Livy), The History of Rome, Book 45, chapter 29 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0168:book=45:chapter=29 |access-date=2018-02-09 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref> They also helped in writing edicts and laws.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Plessis |first=Paul J. du |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tDVYDwAAQBAJ&dq=Accensi&pg=PT131 |title=Cicero's Law: Rethinking Roman Law of the Late Republic |date=2016-08-30 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |isbn=978-1-4744-0884-4 |language=en}}</ref> It is also possible they were messengers and orderlies.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Erdkamp |first=Paul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1D612o_X2VYC&dq=Accensi&pg=PA56 |title=A Companion to the Roman Army |date=2011-03-31 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4443-9376-7 |language=en}}</ref> The ''Accensi Velati'' were non military participants of military campaigns.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Cicero |first1=Marcus Tullius |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sqb73m5oskYC&dq=Accensi&pg=PA128 |title=Cicero, Against Verres, 2.1.53-86: Latin Text with Introduction, Study Questions, Commentary and English Translation |last2=Gildenhard |first2=Ingo |date=2011 |publisher=Open Book Publishers |isbn=978-1-906924-53-9 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Nettleship |first=Henry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k4Dcf4d0N7MC&dq=Accensi+Velati&pg=PA14 |title=Contributions to Latin Lexicography |date=2010 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-01272-0 |language=la}}</ref> They probably assisted clerks, accountants, supply officials, and aides.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Delbruck |first1=Hans |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MP2k4rx-Q_UC&dq=Accensi+Velati&pg=PA266 |title=Warfare in antiquity |last2=Delbr_ck |first2=Hans |date=1990-01-01 |publisher=U of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-0-8032-9199-7 |language=en}}</ref> The''y'' also assisted religious affairs especially the Feriae Latinae,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Beck |first1=Hans |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qhC_GqPDcjUC&dq=Accensi+Velati&pg=PA129 |title=Consuls and Res Publica: Holding High Office in the Roman Republic |last2=Duplá |first2=Antonio |last3=Jehne |first3=Martin |last4=Polo |first4=Francisco Pina |date=2011-09-08 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-49719-0 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rüpke (theoloog) |first=Jörg |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xO_8AwAAQBAJ&dq=Accensi+Velati&pg=PA32 |title=From Jupiter to Christ: On the History of Religion in the Roman Imperial Period |date=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-870372-3 |language=en}}</ref> formed a collegium dedicated to managing the streets,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Giroire |first1=Cécile |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DnIbg00BQ14C&dq=Accensi+Velati&pg=PA192 |title=Roman Art from the Louvre |last2=Roger |first2=Daniel |date=2007 |publisher=Hudson Hills |isbn=978-1-55595-283-9 |language=en}}</ref> and had a centuriate assembly dedicated to them.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Botsford |first=George Willis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2SyF2kmJOxYC&dq=Accensi+Velati&pg=PA207 |title=The Roman Assemblies from Their Origin to the End of the Republic |date=2001 |publisher=The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. |isbn=978-1-58477-165-4 |language=en}}</ref>

===== Carnifex ===== The carnifex punished slaves and foreigners, unlike lictores who punished Romans.<ref>{{Cite web |title=LacusCurtius • Public Executioners in Ancient Rome (Smith's Dictionary, 1875) |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Carnifex.html |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref>

===== Coactor ===== They were the tax collectors.<ref>{{Cite web |title=LacusCurtius • The Roman Civil Service (Smith's Dictionary, 1875) |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Apparitores.html#Coactor |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref> The name coactor is derived from its latin meaning: "to compel, to force".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Olivetti |first=Olivetti Media Communication-Enrico |title=ONLINE LATIN DICTIONARY - Latin - English |url=https://www.online-latin-dictionary.com/latin-english-dictionary.php?parola=coactor |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=online-latin-dictionary.com |language=en}}</ref>

==== Lictores ==== Similarly to accensi, lictores were public officers tasked to assist magistrates since the times of the Roman kingdom (753 BC – 509 BC) or even earlier Etruscan times. The number of lictores a magistrate had was proportional to status. Lictores were in charge of punishing Roman citizens.<ref>{{Cite web |title=LacusCurtius • The Roman Lictor (Smith's Dictionary, 1875) |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Lictor.html |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref>

==== Praecones ==== They were generally employed to make announcements in public and crowds.<ref>{{Cite web |title=LacusCurtius • Praeco — The Roman Crier (Smith's Dictionary, 1875) |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Praecones.html |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref>

===== Scriba ===== The scriba were civil servants working as public notaries as well as general bureaucracy.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Jones |first=A. H. M. |date=1949 |title=The Roman Civil Service (Clerical and Sub-Clerical Grades) |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-roman-studies/article/abs/roman-civil-service-clerical-and-subclerical-grades/384B50535ADE1A802DFD73DC6BFA0BC3 |journal=The Journal of Roman Studies |language=en |volume=39 |issue=1–2 |pages=38–55 |doi=10.2307/297706 |jstor=297706 |issn=1753-528X|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=LacusCurtius • Roman Scribes (Smith's Dictionary, 1875) |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Scribae.html |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref> Greek cities had a similar figure, however the job was done by slaves.<ref name=":1" />

===Modern civil service=== In the 18th century, in response to economic changes and the growth of the British Empire, the bureaucracy of institutions such as the Office of Works and the Navy Board greatly expanded. Each had its own system, but in general, staff were appointed through patronage or outright purchase. By the 19th century, it became increasingly clear that these arrangements were falling short. "The origins of the British civil service are better known. During the eighteenth century a number of Englishmen wrote in praise of the Chinese examination system, some of them going so far as to urge the adoption for England of something similar. The first concrete step in this direction was taken by the British East India Company in 1806."<ref name=Bodde/> In that year, the Honourable East India Company established a college, the East India Company College, near London to train and examine administrators of the company's territories in India.<ref name=Bodde/> "The proposal for establishing this college came, significantly, from members of the East India Company's trading post in Canton, China."<ref name=Bodde/> Examinations for the Indian "civil service"—a term coined by the Company—were introduced in 1829.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/highercivilservi0000hudd|url-access=registration|title=The Higher Civil Service in the United States: Quest for Reform|author=Mark W. Huddleston, William W. Boyer|year=1996|publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press|isbn=978-0-8229-7473-4}}</ref>

British efforts at reform were influenced by the imperial examinations system and meritocratic system of China. Thomas Taylor Meadows, Britain's consul in Guangzhou, China argued in his ''Desultory Notes on the Government and People of China'', published in 1847, that "the long duration of the Chinese empire is solely and altogether owing to the good government which consists in the advancement of men of talent and merit only", and that the British must reform their civil service by making the institution meritocratic.<ref name=Bodde>{{cite web|last=Bodde|first=Derke|title=China: A Teaching Workbook|url=http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/song/readings/inventions_ideas.htm|publisher=Columbia University|access-date=2012-08-05|archive-date=2012-01-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104040501/http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/song/readings/inventions_ideas.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> On the other hand, John Browne, in the 1854 debate mentioned above, 'argued that elegant writing had become an end in itself, and the stultifying effect of this on the Chinese civil service had contributed in no small measure to China's failure to develop its early lead over Western civilisations': Coolican, p. 107.

[[File:Charles Edward Trevelyan.jpg|right|thumb|upright|Charles Trevelyan, an architect of Her Majesty's Civil Service, established in 1855 on his recommendations.]] In 1853 the Chancellor of the Exchequer William Gladstone, commissioned Sir Stafford Northcote and Charles Trevelyan to look into the operation and organisation of the Civil Service. Influenced by the Chinese imperial examinations, the Northcote–Trevelyan Report of 1854 made four principal recommendations: that recruitment should be on the basis of merit determined through competitive examination, that candidates should have a solid general education to enable inter-departmental transfers, that recruits should be graded into a hierarchy and that promotion should be through achievement, rather than "preferment, patronage or purchase". It also recommended a clear division between staff responsible for routine ("mechanical") work, and those engaged in policy formulation and implementation in an "administrative" class.<ref name= "APH">{{cite book|editor1-last=Kazin|editor2-last= Edwards|editor3-last= Rothman |date=2010|page= 142|title = The Princeton Encyclopedia of American Political History|publisher= Princeton University Press|isbn = 978-0-691-12971-6}}</ref>

The report was well-timed, because bureaucratic chaos during the Crimean War was causing a clamour for the change. The report's conclusions were immediately implemented, and a permanent, unified and politically neutral civil service was introduced as Her Majesty's Civil Service. A Civil Service Commission was also set up in 1855 to oversee open recruitment and end patronage, and most of the other Northcote–Trevelyan recommendations were implemented over some years.<ref>{{cite news|last=Walker|first=David|title=Fair game|newspaper=The Guardian|date=2003-07-09|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2003/jul/09/publicsector.guardiansocietysupplement|access-date=2003-07-09|location=London|archive-date=2013-12-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228032309/http://www.theguardian.com/society/2003/jul/09/publicsector.guardiansocietysupplement|url-status=live}}</ref>

The same model, the Imperial Civil Service, was implemented in British India from 1858, after the demise of the East India Company's rule in India through the Indian Rebellion of 1857 which came close to toppling British rule in the country.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DmyVKwxmeyUC |title=In quest of Indian folktales: Pandit Ram Gharib Chaube and William Crooke |first=Sadhana |last=Naithani |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=2006 |page=6 |isbn=978-0-253-34544-8 |access-date=2015-10-14 |archive-date=2016-05-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160512113605/https://books.google.com/books?id=DmyVKwxmeyUC |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Northcote–Trevelyan model remained essentially stable for a hundred years. This was a tribute to its success in removing corruption, delivering public services (even under the stress of two world wars), and responding effectively to political change. It also had a great international influence and was adapted by members of the Commonwealth. The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act established a modern civil service in the United States, and by the turn of the 20th century almost all Western governments had implemented similar reforms.

== Independence and accountability== {{See also|Central bank independence|Civil control of the military|Judicial independence|Accountability}}

Autocratic systems of government (such as monarchies) can favour appointments to administrative positions on the basis of nepotism, patronage and favoritism, with close relationships between political and administrative figures. Early Roman emperors, for example, set their household slaves and freedmen much of the task of administering the Empire,<ref>Compare: {{cite book | last1 = Boardman | first1 = John | title = The Cambridge Ancient History: The High Empire, A.D. 70–192 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=2pPxAAAAMAAJ | volume = 11 | edition = 2 | publisher = Cambridge University Press | date = 2000 | page = 195 | isbn = 978-0-521-22804-6 | quote = Members of higher social groups, such as senators or ''equites'', necessarily had more of an opportunity to influence the emperor, yet men of lower social status, for instance freedmen or slaves, could also make their mark on account of their constant proximity to the emperor. | access-date = 2018-05-01 | archive-date = 2020-02-28 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200228172843/https://books.google.com/books?id=2pPxAAAAMAAJ | url-status = live }}</ref> sidelining the elected officials who continued the traditions of the Roman Republic. But the political appointment of bureaucrats can run the risk of tolerating inefficiency and corruption, with officials feeling secure in the protection of their political masters and possibly immune from prosecution for bribe-taking. Song-dynasty China (960–1279) standardised competitive examinations as a basis for civil-service recruitment and promotion, and in the 19th century administrations in France and Britain followed suit. Agitation against the spoils system in the United States resulted in increasing the independence of the civil service—seen as an important principle in modern times.<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Verheijen | first1 = Tony | chapter = Independent Civil Service Systems: a Contested Value? | editor1-last = Grotz | editor1-first = Florian | editor2-last = Toonen | editor2-first = Th. A. J. | title = Crossing Borders: Constitutional Development and Internationalisation: Essays in Honour of Joachim Jens Hesse | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=97ZRNDkH-00C | location = Berlin | publisher = Walter de Gruyter | date = 2008 | page = 249 | isbn = 978-3-89949-587-4 | access-date = 2018-04-30 | quote = The importance of a professional and impartial civil service has been a virtually uncontested notion ever since ''Woodrow Wilson''{{'s}} seminal work on the topic at the end of the 19th century. [...] An additional point highlighted by ''Joachim Jens Hesse'' in his frequent publications on the issue is the need to clearly enshrine the principle of an independent civil service in legislation [...]. | archive-date = 2020-07-29 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200729131843/https://books.google.com/books?id=97ZRNDkH-00C | url-status = live }}</ref>

Some governmental structures include a civil service commission (or equivalent) whose functions include maintaining the work and rights of civil servants at arm's length from potential politicisation or political interference.<ref>Compare: {{cite book | editor1-last = Peters | editor1-first = B. Guy | editor2-last = Pierre | editor2-first = Jon | title = The Politicization of the Civil Service in Comparative Perspective: A Quest for Control | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=KYCTAgAAQBAJ | series = Routledge Studies in Governance and Public Policy | location = London | publisher = Routledge | date = 2004 | isbn = 978-1-135-99626-0 | access-date = 2018-05-01 | archive-date = 2020-07-29 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200729133626/https://books.google.com/books?id=KYCTAgAAQBAJ | url-status = live }}</ref> Compare the governance-administrative integration of Stalin's Orgburo.{{Citation needed|date=March 2026}}

==By country==

=== Americas ===

====Brazil==== {{Main|Brazilian Civil Service}}

Brazil started to move away from a patronage based public service starting in the second half of the 19th century, but written tests and merit only became the norm towards the end of the 1930s, as a result from reforms introduced during Getúlio Vargas first term as the nation's President.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Maia, B. | journal=Revista do Serviço Público | title=A institucionalização do concurso público no Brasil: uma análise sócio-histórica | volume=72 | issue=3 | pages=663–684 | date=30 September 2021 | doi=10.21874/rsp.v72.i3.4639 | s2cid=247648128 | issn=2357-8017| doi-access=free }}</ref>

Civil servants in Brazil ({{langx|pt|servidores públicos}}) are those working in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the Federal, state, Federal District or municipal governments, including congressmen, senators, mayors, ministers, the president of the republic, and workers in government-owned corporations.

Career civil servants (not temporary workers or politicians) are hired only externally on the basis of entrance examinations ({{langx|pt|concurso público}}).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thebrazilbusiness.com/article/concurso-publico-in-brazil|title=Concurso Público In Brazil|website=The Brazil Business|date=24 July 2014 |access-date=2021-09-12|archive-date=2021-09-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210912213039/https://thebrazilbusiness.com/article/concurso-publico-in-brazil|url-status=live}}</ref> It usually consists of a written test; some posts may require physical tests (such as policemen), or oral tests (such as professors, judges, prosecutors and attorneys). The rank according to the examination score is used for filling the vacancies.{{Citation needed|date=March 2026}}

Entrance examinations are conducted by several institutions with a government mandate, such as CESPE (which belongs to the University of Brasília) and the Cesgranrio Foundation (which is part of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro).{{Citation needed|date=March 2026}}

The labor laws and social insurance for civil servants are different from private workers; even between government branches (like different states or cities), the law and insurance differ.{{Citation needed|date=March 2026}}

The posts usually are ranked by titles, the most common are ''technician'' for high school literates and ''analyst'' for undergraduates. There's also higher post ranks like auditor, fiscal, chief of police, prosecutor, judge, attorney, etc.{{Citation needed|date=March 2026}}

The law does not allow servants to upgrade or downgrade posts internally; they need to be selected in separate external entrance examinations.{{Citation needed|date=March 2026}}

====Canada==== {{Main|Public Service of Canada}}

Historians have explored the powerful role of civil service since the 1840s.<ref>R. MacGregor Dawson, ''The Civil Service of Canada'' (1929); Jack Granatstein, ''The Ottawa Men: The Civil Service Mandarins, 1935–1957'' (Oxford UP, 1982); J.E. Hodgetts, ''Pioneer Public Service: An Administrative History of United Canada, 1841–1867. '' (U of Toronto Press, 1955).</ref>

In Canada, the civil service at the federal level is known as the Public Service of Canada, with each of the ten provincial governments as well as the three territorial governments also having their own separate civil services. The federal civil service consists of all employees of the crown. Ministers' exempt staff and members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or Canadian Armed Forces are not civil servants.<ref name="pop">{{cite web | url=http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/psm-fpfm/modernizing-modernisation/stats/ssen-ane-eng.asp | title=Population of the Federal Public Service | publisher=Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada | access-date=25 June 2016 | author=Government of Canada | date=2011-04-18 | archive-date=2016-06-22 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160622062031/http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/psm-fpfm/modernizing-modernisation/stats/ssen-ane-eng.asp | url-status=live }}</ref> There are approximately 357,000 federal civil servants (2023),<ref name="pop" /> and more than 350,000 employees at the provincial and territorial levels.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://etatscanadiens-canadiangovernments.enap.ca/en/nav.aspx?sortcode=2.0.2.1|title=ENAP – Canadian governments compared > Provincial|website=etatscanadiens-canadiangovernments.enap.ca|access-date=2011-07-27|archive-date=2011-09-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110913174916/http://etatscanadiens-canadiangovernments.enap.ca/en/nav.aspx?sortcode=2.0.2.1|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== United States ==== {{Main|Government employees in the United States|United States federal civil service}}

In the United States, the federal civil service was established in 1871. The Civil Service is defined as "all appointive positions in the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of the Government of the United States, except positions in the uniformed services." ({{UnitedStatesCode|5|2101}}). In the early 19th century, government jobs were held at the pleasure of the president—a person could be fired at any time. The spoils system meant that jobs were used to support the political parties. This was changed in slow stages by the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883 and subsequent laws. By 1909, almost two-thirds of the U.S. federal work force was appointed based on merit, that is, qualifications measured by tests. Certain senior civil service positions, including some heads of diplomatic missions and executive agencies, are filled by political appointees. Under the Hatch Act of 1939, civil servants are not allowed to engage in political activities while performing their duties.

The U.S. civil service includes the competitive service and the excepted service. The majority of civil service appointments in the U.S. are made under the competitive service, but the Foreign Service, the FBI, and other National Security positions are made under the excepted service. (U.S. Code Title V)

As of January 2007, the federal government, excluding the Postal Service, employed about 1.8 million civilian workers. The federal government is the nation's single largest employer, although it employs only about 12% of all government employees, compared to 24% at the state level and 63% at the local level.<ref>{{cite web|date=6 March 2014|title=2012 Census of Governments: Employment Summary Report|url=http://www2.census.gov/govs/apes/2012_summary_report.pdf|access-date=8 December 2014|publisher=United States Census Bureau|archive-date=28 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150328123045/http://www2.census.gov/govs/apes/2012_summary_report.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Although most federal agencies are based in the Washington, D.C. region, only about 16% (or about 284,000) of the federal government workforce is employed in this region.<ref>{{cite web|date=March 12, 2008|title=Federal Government, Excluding the Postal Service|url=http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs041.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114201419/http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs041.htm|archive-date=2009-01-14|publisher=Bureau of Labor Statistics}}</ref> As of 2014, there are currently 15 federal executive branch agencies and hundreds of subagencies.<ref>{{cite web|date=2009-09-15|title=Louisiana State University Libraries – Federal Agency Index|url=http://www.lib.lsu.edu/gov/faq.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924110119/http://www.lib.lsu.edu/gov/faq.html|archive-date=2014-09-24|access-date=2014-02-18|publisher=Lib.lsu.edu}}</ref>

In the early 20th century, most cities in the US had a spoils system.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Anzia |first1=Sarah F. |last2=Trounstine |first2=Jessica |date=2024 |title=Civil Service Adoption in America: The Political Influence of City Employees |journal=American Political Science Review |volume=119 |issue=2 |pages=549–565 |language=en |doi=10.1017/S0003055424000431 |issn=0003-0554|doi-access=free }}</ref> Over the next few decades, the spoils system was replaced with a civil service system.<ref name=":0" /> U.S. state and local government entities often have competitive civil service systems that are modeled on the national system, in varying degrees.

=== Asia ===

====Brunei==== The Civil Service ({{langx|ms|Perkhidmatan Awam}}) of Brunei. The role of the civil service is as the government's administrative machinery to uphold the supreme authority of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, uphold the National Philosophy – MIB, Melayu Islam Beraja, ensure the development of the country and ensure the welfare of the people as well as its traditional role as the peacekeeper, law enforcer, regulator and service providers. However, the adjudication system is separate from the civil service to maintain its independence and impartiality.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Yunos |first1=Rozan |title=Origins of Modern Civil Service in Brunei |url=https://www.academia.edu/35609069 |journal=The Brunei Times |date=January 2010 |publisher=Academia |access-date=11 July 2022 |archive-date=1 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001120957/https://www.academia.edu/35609069 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Cambodia==== The Civil Service ({{langx|km|សេវាកម្មស៊ីវិល}}, ''Sevakamm Civil'') of Cambodia is the policy implementing arm of the Royal Government of Cambodia. In executing this important role, each civil servant ({{langx|km|មន្រ្តីរាជការ}}, ''Montrey Reachkar'') is obligated to act according to the law and is guided by public policy pronouncements. The ''Common Statute of Civil Servants'' is the primary legislative framework for the Civil Service in Cambodia.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mcs.gov.kh/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Handbook-For-Civil-Servents_2010-12-03.pdf |title=Handbook For Civil Servants |access-date=2020-02-20 |archive-date=2020-02-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220201129/http://www.mcs.gov.kh/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Handbook-For-Civil-Servents_2010-12-03.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

====China====

===== Historical ===== {{Unreferenced section|date=November 2025}} One of the oldest examples of a civil service based on meritocracy is the Imperial bureaucracy of China, which can be traced as far back as the Qin dynasty (221–207 BC). However, the civil service examinations were practiced on a much smaller scale in comparison to the stronger, centralized bureaucracy of the Song dynasty (960–1279). In response to the regional military rule of jiedushi and the loss of civil authority during the late Tang period and Five Dynasties (907–960), the Song emperors were eager to implement a system where civil officials would owe their social prestige to the central court and gain their salaries strictly from the central government. This ideal was not fully achieved since many scholar officials were affluent landowners and were engaged in many anonymous business affairs in an age of economic revolution in China. Nonetheless, gaining a degree through three levels of examination—prefectural exams, provincial exams, and the prestigious palace exams—was a far more desirable goal in society than becoming a merchant. This was because the mercantile class was traditionally regarded with some disdain by the scholar-official class.

This class of state bureaucrats in the Song period were far less aristocratic than their Tang predecessors. The examinations were carefully structured in order to ensure that people of lesser means than what was available to candidates born into wealthy, landowning families were given a greater chance to pass the exams and obtain an official degree. This included the employment of a bureau of copyists who would rewrite all of the candidates' exams in order to mask their handwriting and thus prevent favoritism by graders of the exams who might otherwise recognize a candidate's handwriting. The advent of widespread printing in the Song period allowed many more examination candidates access to the Confucian texts whose mastery was required for passing the exams.

===== Current ===== {{main|Civil Service of the People%27s Republic of China|}}

Hong Kong and Macau have separate civil service systems: * Hong Kong Civil Service * Secretariat for Administration and Justice is responsible for the civil service in Macau

====India==== {{Main|Civil Services of India}}

In India, civil servants are selected as per the Constitution of India. Civil servants serve at the pleasure of the President of India. The civil services of India can be classified into two types—the All India Services and the Central Civil Services (Group A and B). The recruits are university graduates selected through three phase exams such as the Civil Services Examination (CSE) or the Engineering Services Examination (ESE) among others, conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Additionally, there are also State Civil Services. The state civil servants are selected through an examination conducted by state public service commissions. State civil servants serve at the pleasure of the Governor.

====Indonesia====

[[File:ASN KECAMATAN SURANENGGALA.jpg|thumb|Civil Service in {{ill|Suranenggala, Cirebon|id}}, West Java, Indonesia]]

In Indonesia, Civil Service (Indonesian: ''{{ill|Pegawai negeri sipil di Indonesia|id}}'') is a component of the State Civil Apparatus (Indonesian: ''{{ill|Aparatur Sipil Negara|id}}''). Since the enactment of Law Number 5 of 2014, ASN employees have been divided into two categories: PNS, who are appointed as permanent employees, and Government Employees with Work Agreements (Indonesian: ''{{ill|Pegawai Pemerintah dengan Perjanjian Kerja|id}}''), who are appointed according to the needs of government agencies.

As of June 30, 2021, the number of civil service in Indonesia was 4,081,824, consisting of 2,143,065 women (53%) and 1,938,759 men (47%). Seventy-seven percent of them work in regional government agencies, while the remaining 23% work in central government agencies. Approximately 11% hold structural positions, 51% hold functional positions, and 38% hold executive positions. The number of civil service in Indonesia has continued to decline since 2016<ref>{{Cite book|date=2021|url=https://www.bkn.go.id/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/STATISTIK-PNS-Juni-2021_signed.pdf|title=Buku Statistik PNS Juni 2021|location=Jakarta|language=indonesian|publisher=Badan Kepegawaian Negara|url-status=live|access-date=2021-12-26|archive-date=2022-11-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126090826/https://www.bkn.go.id/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/STATISTIK-PNS-Juni-2021_signed.pdf}}</ref>

==== Japan ==== {{main|Civil service of Japan}}

====Pakistan==== {{Main category|Civil service of Pakistan}} {{Main|Central Superior Services of Pakistan}}

In Pakistan the FPSC (Federal Public Service Commission) conducts a competitive examination for the Central Superior Services of Pakistan and other civil-service posts; Pakistan inherited this system from the British Raj-era Indian Civil Service.

Pakistan has federal civil servants serving in federal government offices, with staff selected through the Federal Public Service Commission. Similarly, Pakistani provinces select their own public servants through provincial Public Service Commissions. The federal services have some quota against provincial posts, while provincial services have some quota in federal services.

====Taiwan==== The ROC constitution specifies that public servant cannot be employed without examination. The employment is usually lifelong (that is, until age about retirement).

=== Oceania ===

==== Australia ==== {{main|Australian Public Service}}

==== New Zealand ==== {{main|New Zealand public service}}

=== Europe ===

====France==== {{Main|French Civil Service}}

The civil service in France (''fonction publique'') is often incorrectly considered to include all government employees including employees of public corporations, such as SNCF.

Public sector employment is classified into three services; State service, Local service and Hospital service. According to government statistics there were 5.5 million public sector employees in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/tableau.asp?reg_id=0&ref_id=NATnon03141|title=Résultats de la recherche|website=www.insee.fr|access-date=2015-04-03|archive-date=2015-04-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426115106/http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/tableau.asp?reg_id=0&ref_id=NATnon03141|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectivites-locales.gouv.fr/files/files/BIS_96.pdf|title=Local Government employment statistics|access-date=2015-04-03|archive-date=2015-09-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923205833/http://www.collectivites-locales.gouv.fr/files/files/BIS_96.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:85%;" |- style="background:#efefef;" ! Category !!Central Government!! Local Government !! Health service !! Total |- | Education||1,360.6||||||1,360.6 |- | Police||284.4||40||||324.4 |- | Defence||280.7||||||280.7 |- | Health & Social||||241||1,153||1,394.0 |- | Other||516.1||1,631||||2,147.1 |- | Total||2,441.8||1,912||1,153||5,506.8 |- | % Civil servants<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/document.asp?ref_id=ip1496|title=L'emploi dans la fonction publique en 2012 – Insee Première – 1496|website=www.insee.fr|access-date=2015-06-20|archive-date=2015-09-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924225514/http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/document.asp?ref_id=ip1496|url-status=live}}</ref>||62%||75%||72%||- |}

====Germany==== The '''Public Service in Germany''' (''Öffentlicher Dienst'') employed 4.6 million persons {{as of | 2011 | lc = on}}.<ref>[http://www.dgb.de/themen/++co++01027f58-f007-11e0-51a9-00188b4dc422 Index Gute Arbeit: Sonderauswertung Öffentlicher Dienst 2011] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206081127/http://www.dgb.de/themen/++co++01027f58-f007-11e0-51a9-00188b4dc422 |date=2017-12-06 }} DGB (PDF, German)</ref> Public servants are organized<ref>{{cite web |title=Beschäftigte im öffentlichen Dienst |url=https://www.bmi.bund.de/DE/themen/oeffentlicher-dienst/zahlen-daten-fakten/zahlen-daten-fakten-node.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190911093250/https://www.bmi.bund.de/DE/themen/oeffentlicher-dienst/zahlen-daten-fakten/zahlen-daten-fakten-node.html |archive-date=11 September 2019 |publisher=Bundesministerium des Innern, für Bau und Heimat |access-date=11 September 2019}}</ref> into hired salaried employees (''Arbeitnehmer''), appointed civil servants (''Beamte''), judges, and soldiers. They are employed by public bodies (''Körperschaften des öffentlichen Rechts''), such as counties (''Kreise''), states, the federal government, etc. In addition to employees directly employed by the state another 1.6 million persons are employed by state owned enterprises<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.destatis.de/DE/ZahlenFakten/GesellschaftStaat/OeffentlicheFinanzenSteuern/OeffentlicherDienst/Personal/Tabellen/Gesamthaushalt.html|title=State employees as of June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221103425/https://www.destatis.de/DE/ZahlenFakten/GesellschaftStaat/OeffentlicheFinanzenSteuern/OeffentlicherDienst/Personal/Tabellen/Gesamthaushalt.html|archive-date=2015-02-21}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:85%;" |- style="background:#efefef;" ! Category !!Federal Government!! Regional Government!!Municipal Government !! Social Security !! Total |- | State employees||458||2,114.4||1,220.7||378.6||4,171.7 |- | government owned enterprises||240.4||387.1||950.2||24.5||1,602.1 |- | Total||698.4||2,501.5||2,170.9||403.1||5,733.8 |}

''Beamte'' has been a title for government employees for several centuries in German states, but became a standardized group in 1794.{{citation needed|date=March 2015}} Soldiers other than conscripted soldiers are not Beamte but have similar rights. Judges are not Beamte but have similar rights too.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beihilferatgeber.de/service/faq/beihilfe-fuer-richter|title=Beihilfe für Richter gilt wie für Beamte – beihilferatgeber.de|website=www.beihilferatgeber.de|access-date=2015-11-21|archive-date=2015-11-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151122085112/http://www.beihilferatgeber.de/service/faq/beihilfe-fuer-richter|url-status=live}}</ref> Public attorneys are all Beamte, whereas most (but not all) professors are Beamte. The group of Beamte have the most secure employment, and the amount they are paid is set by national pay regulations (''Besoldungsordnungen''). Beamte are prohibited from striking.

''Arbeitnehmer'' have work contracts, whereas ''Beamte'' are appointed, employed, and removed in accordance with the Public Sector Service and Loyalty law (''öffentlich-rechtliches Dienst- und Treueverhältnis''). Most tasks can be either done by ''Arbeitnehmer'' or ''Beamte'', however some specific tasks of official nature are supposed to be handled by ''Beamte'' since they are subject to a special loyalty obligation.

''Beamte'' are divided into four levels: * ''Einfacher Dienst'': ordinary civil service, corresponding to enlisted ranks in the military, now largely obsolete * ''Mittlerer Dienst'': medium-level civil service, corresponding to non-commissioned officers in the military * ''Gehobener Dienst'': senior civil service, including civil servant positions such as ''Inspektor'' and above, corresponding to commissioned officers from lieutenant to captain in the military * ''Höherer Dienst'': higher civil service, including civil servant positions such as ''Rat'' (Councillor) and above as well as academic employees such as Professors, corresponding to major and above in the military

''Gehobener Dienst'' and ''Höherer Dienst'' both require a university education or equivalent, at the very least a bachelor's or master's degree, respectively.

====Ireland==== {{Main|Civil Service of the Republic of Ireland}}

The civil service of Ireland includes the employees of the Departments of State (excluded are government ministers and a small number of paid political advisors) as well as a small number of core state agencies such as the Office of the Revenue Commissioners, the Office of Public Works, and the Public Appointments Service. The organisation of the Irish Civil Service is very similar to the traditional organization of the British Home Civil Service, and indeed the grading system in the Irish Civil Service is nearly identical to the traditional grading system of its British counterpart. In Ireland, public sector employees such as teachers or members of the country's police force, the ''Garda Síochána'' are not considered to be civil servants, but are rather described as "public servants" (and form the public service of the Republic of Ireland).

==== Russia ==== {{Main|Civil Service of the Russian Federation}}

==== Spain ==== The civil service in Spain (''función pública'') is usually considered to include all the employees at the different levels of government: central government, autonomous communities, as well as municipalities. There are three main categories of Spanish public positions: temporary political posts ("personal eventual"), which require a simple procedure for hiring and dismissal and is associated to top level executives and advisors, statutory permanent posts ("funcionarios de carrera"), which require a formal procedure for access that usually involves a competition among candidates and whose tenants are subject to a special statutory relationship of work with their employers, and non statutory permanent posts ("personal laboral"), which also require a formal procedure for entry similar to the procedure required for the "funcionarios de carrera", but whose tenants are subject to normal working conditions and laws. Competitions differ notably among the state, the 17 autonomous communities and the city councils, and the "funcionarios de carrera" and "personal laboral" examinations vary in difficulty from one location to another.

As of 2013,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seap.minhap.gob.es/dms/es/publicaciones/centro_de_publicaciones_de_la_sgt/Periodicas/parrafo/Boletin_Estadis_Personal/BE_ENE2013.pdf|title=Portales SEAT y SEFP:: Secretaría de Estado para las Administraciones Territoriales :: Secretaría de Estado de Función Pública|website=www.seap.minhap.gob.es|access-date=2015-06-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150621021442/http://www.seap.minhap.gob.es/dms/es/publicaciones/centro_de_publicaciones_de_la_sgt/Periodicas/parrafo/Boletin_Estadis_Personal/BE_ENE2013.pdf|archive-date=2015-06-21}}</ref> there were 2.6 million public employees in Spain, of which 571,000 were civil servants and 2 million were non-civil servants. {| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:85%;" |- style="background:#efefef;" ! Category !! Employee type!!Central Government!! Regional Government !! Municipal !! University!! Total |- | Police||Civil servants||147||25||||||172 |- | Defence||Civil servants||124||||||||124 |- | Health & Social||Civil servants||||321||||||321 |- | ||other public employees||||170||||||170 |- | Other||Civil servants||180||562||218||74||1034 |- | ||other public employees||119||229||330||75||753 |- | Total||Civil servants||451||908||218||74||1651 |- | ||other public employees||119||399||330||75||923 |- | ||Total||570||1307||548||149||2574 |}

More recent figures can be found at SEAT.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.seat.mpr.gob.es/dam/es/portal/funcionpublica/funcion-publica/ep-pp/empleo_publico/Triptico_2018_CASTELLANO.pdf.pdf |title=El empleo público en España |language=es |date= |website=www.seat.mpr.gob.es |access-date=2020-02-25 |archive-date=2020-02-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200225150446/http://www.seat.mpr.gob.es/dam/es/portal/funcionpublica/funcion-publica/ep-pp/empleo_publico/Triptico_2018_CASTELLANO.pdf.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

In December 2011, the government of Rajoy announced that civil servants have to serve a minimum 37.5 working hours per week regardless of their place or kind of service.<ref name="politica.elpais.com">{{cite news |url=http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2011/12/30/actualidad/1325267082_718015.html |title=Los funcionarios trabajarán 37,5 horas y su sueldo sigue congelado | Política |publisher=Politica.elpais.com |date=2011-12-30 |access-date=2014-02-18 |newspaper=El País |last1=Calvo |first1=Vera Gutiérrez |archive-date=2014-08-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140823190526/http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2011/12/30/actualidad/1325267082_718015.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Switzerland ==== {{Main|Civil servants in Switzerland}} Civil servants in Switzerland work for the Confederation, cantons, or communes. According to the OECD, approximately 595,000 people worked for a public administration in 2022, representing 11.2% of the active population, placing Switzerland in the lower third among OECD member countries.<ref name="swissinfo">{{cite web |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/fre/le-meilleur-du-contenu-ssr/en-comparaison-internationale-y-a-t-il-trop-de-fonctionnaires-en-suisse-le-point-en-chiffres/89377187|title=En comparaison internationale, y a-t-il trop de fonctionnaires en Suisse? Le point en chiffres|date=26 May 2025|publisher=SWI swissinfo.ch|access-date=30 November 2025}}</ref> However, some estimates place the figure at 23% when including employees of semi-public entities such as the Post, the Federal Railways, university hospitals, and subsidized sectors.<ref name="swissinfo" /> The Swiss public service is characterized by extreme fragmentation, with the Confederation, 26 cantons, and approximately 3,000 communes each maintaining their own personnel regulations.<ref name="HDS3">{{HDS|010346}}</ref>

Historically, Swiss civil servants were appointed for fixed terms and often renewed by tacit re-election, a system rooted in republican traditions hostile to career civil service derived from royal courts. Only the cantons of Geneva and Vaud practiced lifelong civil service appointments similar to most European countries. Toward the end of the 20th century, most cantons shifted to engaging personnel under regular employment contracts with indefinite duration. By 2000, the majority of cantons and numerous municipalities had transitioned from a traditional civil service system to an administration composed of regular employees. The Confederation followed with its ''Federal Personnel Act'', which entered into force in 2002, abolishing the fixed-term appointment system and introducing collective bargaining agreements in public services.<ref name="HDS3" />

The median monthly salary in the public sector is 8,094 Swiss francs, compared to 6,510 francs in the private sector, a difference partly explained by higher qualification levels and older age profiles in public employment.<ref name="swissinfo" /> Trade unions in the public sector are characterized by strong dispersion across branches, fields of activity, and ideological orientations. The Swiss Union of Public Service Personnel (SSP/VPOD), created in 1905, operates primarily at cantonal and communal levels, while federal-level unions were historically represented by the ''Federative Association of Public Administration and Enterprise Personnel'' (founded 1903), replaced in 2003 by the ''Federal Staff Negotiating Community''. Strikes have been historically rare, and civil servants of the Confederation and most cantons were long forbidden to strike.<ref name="HDS3" />

====United Kingdom====  {{main|Civil Service (United Kingdom)|His Majesty's Diplomatic Service|Northern Ireland Civil Service}}

The civil service in the United Kingdom only includes Crown (i.e. central government) employees, not parliamentary employees or local government employees. Public sector employees such as those in education and the NHS are not considered to be civil servants. Police officers and staff are also not civil servants. Total employment in the public sector in the UK was 6.04 million in 2012 according to the UK's Office for National Statistics.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/pse/public-sector-employment/q2-2011/stb-public-sector-employment---q2-2011.html#tab-Public-and-private-sector-employment--headcount--Table-5-|title=Public Sector Employment, Q2 2011|first=David |last=Matthews |publisher=Office for National Statistics|website=www.ons.gov.uk|date=2011-09-14|access-date=2015-04-03|archive-date=2015-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150409010728/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/pse/public-sector-employment/q2-2011/stb-public-sector-employment---q2-2011.html#tab-Public-and-private-sector-employment--headcount--Table-5-|url-status=live}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Category !!Central government!! Local government !! Health service !! Total |- | Police||||278,000||||278,000 |- | Defence||193,000||||||193,000 |- | Health & Social||||364,000||1,565,000||1,929,000 |- | Other||1,989,000||42,000||||2,031,000 |- | Total||2,182,000||2,290,000||1,565,000||6,037,000 |}

Civil servants in the devolved government in Northern Ireland are not part of the Home Civil Service, but constitute the separate Northern Ireland Civil Service. Some employees of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are members of HM Diplomatic Service, which is associated with but separate from the Civil Service.

====European Union==== {{Main|European Civil Service}}

The European Civil Service administers the institutions of the European Union, of which the largest employer is the European Commission.

Civil servants are recruited directly into the institutions after being selected by competitions set by EPSO, the official selection office. They are allocated to departments, known as Directorates-General (DGs), each covering one or more related policy areas.

==See also== ===General=== {{div col|colwidth=25em}} * Civic technology * Civil service commission * Civil service examination * Civil service organisation * Community service * Public service {{div col end}}

===By continent or region=== {{div col|colwidth=25em}}  * Civil service reform in developing countries e.g. Nigeria, Congo, etc.

====Africa==== * Nigerian Civil Service ** Civil Service Commission of Nigeria ** Rivers State Civil Service

* Civil Service Commission (Somaliland)

====Asia====  *  Civil Service of the People's Republic of China **Civil Service of Hong Kong * Bangladesh Civil Service * Civil Services of India ** Civil Service in early India ** Civil Services of Tamil Nadu * Civil service of Japan * Civil service in Malaysia * Civil Services of Pakistan * Civil Service Commission (Philippines) * Civil Service of Singapore

====Europe==== * Civil Service of the European Union  * Civil Service of Germany * Civil Service of the Republic of Ireland * Civil Service of the United Kingdom ** Civil Service Commission ** Civil Service Commission (Isle of Man) * Civil Service Restoration Act

====North America====  * Public Service of Canada ** Minister responsible (Manitoba) * Civil service in the United States ** Civil Service Commission * Civil service reform * Civil service reform act * Civil Service Reform Act of 1978

====Oceania==== * Australian Public Service * New Zealand Public Service Departments

====South America==== * Civil service in Brazil {{div col end}}

===Pay and benefits=== {{div col|colwidth=25em}} * Performance-related pay * Pay-for-Performance (Federal Government) ** Pay for performance (healthcare) ** Pay to play * Incentive program

====United States==== * Civil Service Retirement System * Merit pay (Federal Government Merit Pay) * Pay-for-Performance (Federal Government) * Pay for performance (human resources) * 2014 Veterans Health Administration scandal {{div col end}}

== References == {{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Further reading== * Albrow, M., ''Bureaucracy'' (1970) * Armstrong, J. A., ''The European Administrative Elite'' (1973) * Bodde, D., [http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/chinawh/web/s10/ideas.pdf ''Chinese Ideas in the West''] * Brownlow, Louis, Charles E. Merriam, and Luther Gulick, ''Report of the President's Committee on Administrative Management.'' (1937) * Coolican, Michael, No Tradesmen and No Women: The Origins of the British Civil Service (2018) * du Gay, P., ''In Praise of Bureaucracy: Weber, Organisation, Ethics'' (2000) * du Gay, P., ed., ''The Values of Bureaucracy'' (2005) * Hoogenboom, Ari, ''Outlawing the Spoils: A History of the Civil Service Reform Movement, 1865–1883.'' (1961) * Mathur, P.N., ''The Civil Service of India, 1731–1894: a study of the history, evolution and demand for reform'' (1977) * Rao, S. 2013. [http://www.gsdrc.org/docs/open/CSR_TopicGuide_2013.pdf ''Civil service reform: Topic guide'']{{Dead link|date=May 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. Birmingham, UK: GSDRC, University of Birmingham. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/topic-guides/civil-service-reform {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150809095056/http://www.gsdrc.org/go/topic-guides/civil-service-reform |date=2015-08-09 }} * Schiesl, Martin, ''The Politics of Efficiency: Municipal Administration and Reform in America, 1880–1920.'' (1977) * Sullivan, Ceri, ''Literature in the Public Service: Sublime Bureaucracy'' (2013) * Theakston, Kevin, ''The Civil Service Since 1945'' (Institute of Contemporary British History, 1995) * Van Riper, Paul. ''History of the United States Civil Service'' (1958). * White, Leonard D., ''Introduction to the Study of Public Administration.'' (1955) * White, Leonard D., Charles H. Bland, Walter R. Sharp, and Fritz Morstein Marx; ''Civil Service Abroad, Great Britain, Canada, France, Germany'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20050105221433/http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=10192814 (1935) online]

== External links == {{Commons category|Civil services}} {{Wikisource1911Enc|Civil Service}} * {{cite NIE|wstitle=Civil Service |year=1905 |short=x}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Civil Service}} Category:Civil servants Category:Civil services Category:Civil service by country Category:Public administration Category:Bureaucratic organization