- Majority of Civil Services candidates from 2019-2023 held bachelors degrees (75%)
- In 2023, 65% of selected candidates were male and 35% female showing improved gender balance
- Engineering graduates accounted for 49% of 2023 selections, leading all educational streams
A majority of candidates selected for the Civil Services Examination (CSE) still hold bachelor's degrees, according to government data. In 2023, 75% of the recommended candidates were bachelor's degree holders, while the remaining 25% had higher qualifications such as a master's degree. This trend has remained steady over the past five years.
Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Jitendra Singh, informed the Lok Sabha that between 2019 and 2023, a total of 4,655 candidates were selected through the civil services examinations. Of these, 3,520 candidates (75.6%) had bachelor's degrees, while 1,135 candidates possessed postgraduate or higher qualifications.
Year-wise data further highlights this pattern
2022: Out of 1,020 selected candidates, 765 were bachelor's degree holders, and 255 had higher degrees.
2021: Among 748 candidates, 585 held bachelor's degrees, while 163 were postgraduates.
2020: Out of 833, 650 candidates had bachelor's degrees.
2019: Of 922 candidates, 672 held bachelor's degrees, and 250 had postgraduate degrees.
Gender-wise Selection Trends
The government also shared gender-wise selection data for recent examinations. In 2023, 65% of the selected candidates were male, while 35% were female; the same distribution was seen in 2022.
In earlier years, the gender gap was wider:
2021: 73% male, 27% female
2020: 72% male, 28% female
2019: 76% male, 24% female
The data shows that female representation in CSE selections has increased notably since 2022, narrowing the gender gap.
Stream-wise Selection: Engineering Dominates
A common question among aspirants is which educational stream fares best in civil services selections. Parliamentary data shows that engineering graduates consistently lead, followed by candidates from humanities, science, and medical backgrounds.
In 2023, the stream-wise distribution was: Engineering 49%, Humanities 32%, Science 12%, and Medical Science 6%.
A similar trend was observed in earlier years. In 2020, for example, 53% of selected candidates were from engineering, followed by 29% from humanities, 11% from science, and 7% from medical science.
Looking at the five-year aggregate (2019-2023):
Engineering: 57% (2,671 candidates)
Humanities: 27% (1,268 candidates)
Science: 10% (442 candidates)
Medical Science: 6% (274 candidates)
These figures confirm that engineering remains the dominant stream among successful UPSC aspirants.