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A total of 1,277 civil servants were reported to have separated from the civil service in the first six months of 2026.
Of this, 891, representing 69.8 percent, have left via voluntary resignation, with some likely leaving for studies or employment opportunities abroad of the reported separations.
The data shows that voluntary resignations have become the dominant form of separation from the civil service.
The figure represents a 40.6 percent increase compared to the same period last year, when 908 civil servants separated from the civil service, including 634 voluntary resignations. Voluntary resignations have also increased by 40.5 percent.
If the trend continues through the second half of the year, total civil service separations and voluntary resignations in 2026 could significantly exceed last year’s figures.
In 2025, a total of 1,948 civil servants separated from the civil service, of whom 1,180 left through voluntary resignation.
Of the reported 1,277 separations in the first half of 2026, the data lists 165 contract completions, 138 superannuations, 40 contract terminations on regularization, 20 deaths, 15 compulsory retirements and seven terminations as part of administrative discipline, in addition to the 891 voluntary resignations.
The data, however, contains a one-person discrepancy. The individual categories add up to 1,276, while the reported grand total is 1,277.
Of the 891 voluntary resignations, 452 were from the Professional and Management category, accounting for 50.7 percent of all voluntary resignations. Another 362 were from the Supervisory and Support category, while 73 were from the Operational category and four were from the Executive and Specialists category.
By occupational group, Education and Training Services recorded the highest number of voluntary resignations at 262, followed by Administration and Support Services with 129 and Medical and Health Services with 128.
Architectural, Engineering and Land Services recorded 81 voluntary resignations, followed by Finance and Audit Services with 46. Agriculture and Livestock Services and Information Communication and Technology Services each recorded 36.
Sports and Youth Services and Human Resource Services recorded 31 each, while Forestry and Environment Protection Services recorded 28. Laboratory and Technical Services recorded 22, Planning and Research Services 18, and Legal and Legislative Services 16.
Library, Archives and Museum Services recorded nine voluntary resignations, Transportation and Aviation Services eight, Trade, Industry and Tourism Services six, and Executive and Specialist Services four.
Although the 2026 figures show a clear increase from the previous two years, they remain well below the exceptional level recorded in 2023.
In the first six months of 2023, 2,953 civil servants separated from the service, including 2,253 voluntary resignations.
The figure fell sharply in 2024, when around 976 civil servants separated in the first six months, including 804 voluntary resignations.
For the full year, the civil service recorded 5,202 separations in 2023, including 3,728 voluntary resignations. This fell to 2,013 separations in 2024, including 1,400 voluntary resignations, before rising slightly to 1,948 separations in 2025, including 1,180 voluntary resignations.
Historical figures show 2,646 separations in 2022, including 1,686 voluntary resignations; 1,504 in 2021, including 939 voluntary resignations; 1,084 in 2020, including 570 voluntary resignations; and 1,614 in 2019, including 579 voluntary resignations.
There were 925 separations in 2018, 782 in 2017, 656 in 2016, 472 in 2015 and 442 in 2014.
The increase is also reflected in Extraordinary Leave (EOL). A total of 307 civil servants took EOL in the first six months of 2026, compared to 203 during the same period last year. The increase of 104 represents a 51.2 percent rise.
The first-half figures therefore indicate a renewed increase in civil service attrition in 2026, particularly through voluntary resignation, although the current level remains significantly below the unprecedented separation levels recorded in 2023.
