The number of candidates registering for Pakistan’s Central Superior Services (CSS) examination has dropped by nearly 48 percent between 2022 and 2025, according to official data released by the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC).
The data shows CSS registrations declined from 35,059 in 2022 to 18,139 in 2025. The number of candidates who actually appeared in the examination also fell significantly, from 20,262 to 12,792 during the same period.
The number of candidates nominated by the FPSC also decreased, dropping from 239 in 2022 to 170 in 2025.
The FPSC’s recruitment statistics for 2022–2025 further reveal that interest in federal government jobs through the commission’s general recruitment process has also declined. Despite fewer applications, competition for available positions remains extremely high.
In 2025, only 0.94 percent of registered CSS candidates and 1.33 percent of those who appeared in the examination were nominated by the FPSC. In comparison, the nomination rates in 2022 stood at 0.68 percent and 1.18 percent, respectively.
A similar pattern was observed in the FPSC’s general recruitment process. Registrations reached a peak of 436,757 in 2023 before falling sharply to 196,193 in 2025, representing a decline of more than 55 percent in just two years.
The number of candidates appearing in general recruitment examinations also dropped from 199,234 to 80,633 over the same period.
Despite the decline in applications, the selection process remained highly competitive. In 2025, the FPSC nominated 3,005 candidates out of 196,193 registered applicants. By comparison, only 1,436 candidates were nominated from more than 436,000 registrations in 2023.
The data also highlights an improvement in participation rates. Around 45 percent of registered CSS candidates appeared in the examination in 2023, while that figure increased to approximately 71 percent in 2025.
For general recruitment, the appearance rate rose from about 32 percent in 2022 to 41 percent in 2025, although a majority of registered applicants still did not appear for the examinations.
Also read: Government Plans to Abolish CSS Exams
