The civil service, by department

407,415 civil servants across 21 of the 24 ministerial departments, as at December 2025. The five largest employers account for 77% of them.

Source: Office for National Statistics, Public Sector Employment Table 8 (Civil Service employment by department). Refreshed quarterly. Figures are rounded to the nearest five. They count civil servants only — they do not include armed forces personnel (in MoD), NHS staff (in DHSC) or police officers (in the Home Office).

1. 01Ministry of Justice95,800↓ 0.5%
2. 02Department for Work and Pensions95,595↓ 0.1%
3. 03Ministry of Defence56,960↑ 0.2%
4. 04Home Office50,175↑ 0.6%
5. 05Department for Transport16,265↑ 0.9%
6. 06Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs13,140↓ 2.6%
7. 07Attorney General's Office12,020↑ 2.6%
8. 08Department for Business and Trade11,410↑ 2.2%
9. 09Department of Health and Social Care10,570↓ 1.7%
10. 10Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office8,805↓ 4.0%
11. 11Department for Science, Innovation and Technology8,310↑ 0.8%
12. 12Department for Education8,035↓ 0.6%
13. 13Cabinet Office5,535↓ 13.4%
14. 14Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government5,025↑ 0.2%
15. 15Department for Energy Security and Net Zero4,940↑ 0.1%
16. 16HM Treasury2,825↑ 4.8%
17. 17Department for Culture, Media and Sport1,125↓ 1.3%
18. 18UK Export Finance570↑ 0.0%
19. 19Scotland Office135
20. 20Northern Ireland Office130
21. 21Wales Office45