Ministry of Defence
(asked on 8th July 2025) - View Source
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will provide a list of the total number of civil service personnel employed by the Ministry of Defence in each financial year since 1995.
The following table shows the Ministry of Defence (MOD) civil servant strength by Full Time Equivalent (FTE) and Headcount for periods from 1 April 1995 to 1 April 2025.
Date | FTE (Total) | Headcount (Total) |
01/04/1995 | 121,654 | 123,776 |
01/04/1996 | 116,093 | 118,183 |
01/04/1997 | 115,260 | 117,379 |
01/04/1998 | 108,772 | 110,804 |
01/04/1999 | 108,143 | 110,254 |
01/04/2000 | 106,430 | 108,622 |
01/04/2001 | 104,823 | 107,083 |
01/04/2002 | 95,976 | 98,242 |
01/04/2003 | 93,737 | 96,002 |
01/04/2004 | 93,619 | 95,647 |
01/04/2005 | 92,812 | 94,815 |
01/04/2006 | 88,832 | 91,007 |
01/04/2007 | 83,843 | 86,289 |
01/04/2008 | 78,260 | 80,589 |
01/04/2009 | 76,072 | 78,357 |
01/04/2010 | 75,651 | 77,986 |
01/04/2011 | 72,486 | 74,782 |
01/04/2012 | 61,621 | 63,445 |
01/04/2013 | 57,148 | 58,772 |
01/04/2014 | 55,509 | 57,134 |
01/04/2015 | 53,143 | 54,749 |
01/04/2016 | 51,896 | 53,455 |
01/04/2017 | 52,430 | 54,065 |
01/04/2018 | 52,641 | 54,345 |
01/04/2019 | 53,509 | 55,324 |
01/04/2020 | 54,665 | 56,579 |
01/04/2021 | 56,291 | 58,234 |
01/04/2022 | 56,123 | 58,021 |
01/04/2023 | 56,849 | 58,770 |
01/04/2024 | 57,875 | 59,859 |
01/04/2025 | 55,802 | 57,854 |
These figures show MOD civil servants, including personnel in Executive Agencies and their predecessor organisations, dating back to 1995.
The table includes personnel employed in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) in support of Naval operations. These personnel are classified as civil servants for contractual purposes but exclude locally engaged civilians (LECs), who are employed under alternate terms and conditions. Please note that RFA data was not recorded in personnel numbers until 1 April 1999. RFA personnel are classified as Headcount personnel.