CSS examination registrations have fallen by nearly half over the past four years, according to fresh figures from the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC). The numbers paint a clear picture: fewer young Pakistanis are signing up for the country’s most prestigious government exam than ever before.
In 2022, over 35,000 people applied for the CSS exam. By 2025, that number had dropped to just above 18,000. That’s a decline of almost 48 percent in only four years.
The drop isn’t limited to sign-ups alone. The number of candidates who actually showed up to sit the exam also fell, going from over 20,000 in 2022 to under 13,000 in 2025.
Yet even with fewer people applying, the number of successful candidates barely moved. Only 170 people were nominated in 2025, compared to 239 back in 2022. The competition, in other words, hasn’t gotten any easier — it’s just gotten smaller.
Looking at the numbers closely, the odds remain tough. In 2025, only about 0.94 percent of everyone who registered ended up with a nomination. Of those who actually appeared for the test, just 1.33 percent made it through.
Compare that to 2022, when the success rate was even lower — 0.68 percent of registered candidates and 1.18 percent of those who appeared. So while fewer people are trying their luck, getting selected is still incredibly rare.
General Government Jobs Show the Same Pattern
It’s not just the CSS exam. Applications for general government recruitment tell a similar story. Registrations peaked at over 436,000 in 2023, then dropped by more than half to around 196,000 by 2025.
The number of people who turned up for these general exams also shrank, falling from close to 200,000 in 2023 to just over 80,000 in 2025. Still, only 3,005 candidates were nominated in 2025, and even fewer — 1,436 — made the cut in 2023.
One interesting shift: even though fewer people are registering, more of them are actually turning up to take the test. In 2023, only about 45 percent of CSS applicants appeared for the exam. By 2025, that number rose to around 71 percent.
A similar trend shows up in general recruitment too, where appearance rates climbed from roughly 32 percent to 41 percent over the same years.
Even with smaller applicant pools, Pakistan’s government job market remains extremely competitive. Nearly 18,000 people competed for only 170 CSS spots in 2025. And close to 200,000 general applicants chased just over 3,000 available roles.
The message is simple: fewer people may be applying for government jobs these days, but the ones who do are still facing very long odds.
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