Key Takeaways
- Registrations for Pakistan’s Central Superior Services (CSS) examination fell by nearly 48 percent between 2022 and 2025.
- The number of candidates who appeared in the CSS examination also declined, dropping from 20,262 to 12,792 over the same period.
- Despite a decline in applications, competition remained high with only a small percentage of applicants receiving nominations.
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 from the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC).
In 2022, there were 35,059 CSS registrations, which fell to 18,139 by 2025. Similarly, the number of candidates who appeared in the examination declined from 20,262 to 12,792 over the same period.
The FPSC also noted a decline in general recruitment applications through its process, with registrations peaking at 436,757 in 2023 before dropping to 196,193 in 2025—a decrease of more than 55 percent over two years.
Despite the significant drop in applications, competition remained intense. In 2025, only 0.94 percent of registered CSS candidates and 1.33 percent of those who appeared were nominated by the FPSC. These figures improved slightly from 2022 when nominations stood at 0.68 percent for registrants and 1.18 percent for examination takers.
The data further revealed a gap between registrations and actual participation in the CSS examinations. About 45 percent of registered CSS candidates took the examination in 2023, while this figure increased to about 71 percent in 2025. For general recruitment, the appearance rate rose from approximately 32 percent in 2022 to 41 percent in 2025.
The FPSC’s data also highlighted that even with a decline in applications, the selection process remained highly competitive. In 2025, out of 196,193 registered applicants for general recruitment, only 3,005 candidates were nominated. This was a significant drop from 2023 when 1,436 candidates were selected from over 436,000 registrations.
The trend suggests that while fewer Pakistanis are applying for federal government jobs through the FPSC’s processes, those who do apply face intense competition. The data underscores a growing gap between interest and actual participation in these examinations.
