Number of public paid employees in United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Number of public paid employees was 3,710 in 2017. ▲ Rising

Latest (2017)
3,710
Change on year
up 31.8%
World rank
26th
of 80 countries
All-time high
3,710
in 2017
All-time low
2,372
in 2010
Years of data
13
2005–2017

Number of public paid employees in United Kingdom, 2005–2017

01.0k2.0k3.0k4.0k2005201120172005: 2.9k2006: 2.8k2007: 2.7k2008: 2.6k2009: 2.6k2010: 2.4k2011: 2.4k2012: 3.0k2013: 3.0k2014: 2.8k2015: 2.6k2016: 2.8k2017: 3.7k

Source: World Bank.

Analysis

In 2017, number of public paid employees in United Kingdom stood at 3,710. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.

The figure is up 31.8% on the previous year and up 37.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of public paid employees in United Kingdom peaked at 3,710 in 2017 and was at its lowest, 2,372, in 2010.

That places United Kingdom 26th out of 80 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.

Number of public paid employees in United Kingdom, year by year

Annual values for Number of public paid employees in United Kingdom, 2005 to 2017.
Year Value Change
2005 2,906
2006 2,768 -4.7%
2007 2,696 -2.6%
2008 2,598 -3.6%
2009 2,553 -1.7%
2010 2,372 -7.1%
2011 2,375 +0.1%
2012 3,042 +28.1%
2013 2,981 -2.0%
2014 2,846 -4.5%
2015 2,594 -8.9%
2016 2,814 +8.5%
2017 3,710 +31.8%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 2,704 2,553 2,906 5
2010s 2,842 2,372 3,710 8

Countries ranked near United Kingdom

  1. 23 Maldives 4,060 compare
  2. 24 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 3,926 compare
  3. 25 Spain 3,786 compare
  4. 27 Sri Lanka 3,698 compare
  5. 28 Armenia 3,670 compare
  6. 29 Portugal 3,606 compare

See the full ranking of 80 places →

More reference data data for United Kingdom

All data for United Kingdom →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of public paid employees in United Kingdom?
Number of public paid employees in United Kingdom was 3,710 in 2017, according to the World Bank.
What is the highest number of public paid employees recorded in United Kingdom?
The highest recorded value was 3,710 in 2017.
What is the lowest number of public paid employees recorded in United Kingdom?
The lowest recorded value was 2,372 in 2010.
How does United Kingdom rank for number of public paid employees?
United Kingdom ranks 26th out of 80 countries with data for 2017.
Is number of public paid employees rising or falling in United Kingdom?
Over the last ten years it is up 37.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this United Kingdom data come from?
The figures come from the World Bank, published as part of Number of public paid employees. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Number of public paid employees in United Kingdom. Statizoid. Retrieved 23 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/number-of-public-paid-employees/united-kingdom/

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About this data

Indicator
Number of public paid employees
Source
World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
80 places, 1,013 data points, 2000–2022
Last refreshed