Number of Candidates in Civil Services Exam
Civil Services Exam (also known as IAS exam because of popularity for IAS among other services) is conducted by UPSC every year for recruiting officers in the top level civil services of the government of India - IAS, IFS, IPS, IRS and others. This exam is one of the most competitive exam in India because of the number of candidates who appears for this exam compared to the number of posts available.
Approximately 50% of those candidates who apply, appear in civil services prelims exam. Of these, only 5% qualifies and appear in the mains. Around 20% of those who appear in mains qualify and appear in interview. 40% of those who appear in the interview finally qualify.
Candidates Applied, Appeared and Qualified
| Year | Applications | CSAT Appeared | Qualified |
| 2006 | 3,83,983 | 1,95,803 | 7,692 |
| 2007 | 3,33,680 | 1,61,469 | 9,158 |
| 2008 | 3,25,433 | 1,67,035 | 11,669 |
| 2009 | 4,09,110 | 1,93,091 | 11,894 |
| 2010 | 5,47,698 | 2,69,036 | 12,271 |
| 2011 | 4,99,120 | 2,43,236 | 11,837 |
| 2012 | 5,50,080 | 2,71,442 | 12,795 |
| 2013* | 7,76,604 | 3,24,279 | |
| 2014 | 9,47,428 | 4,46,623 | |
| 2015 | 9,39,763 | 4,63,418 | |
| 2016 | 11,28,262 | 4,59,659 | |
| 2017 | 9,69,065 | 4,62,848 |
*From 2013 onwards, Indian Forest Services candidates are also required to appear for Civil Services (Preliminary) exam.
Civil Services Mains
| Year | Prelims Qualified | Mains Appeared | Interviewed | Posts |
| 2006 | 7692 | 7496 | 1408 | 553 |
| 2007 | 9158 | 8886 | 1883 | 734 |
| 2008 | 11669 | 11330 | 2136 | 881 |
| 2009 | 11894 | 11516 | 2431 | 989 |
| 2010 | 12271 | 11865 | 2589 | 965 |
| 2011 | 11837 | 11237 | 2415 | 999 |
| 2012 | 12795 | 12190 | ||
| 2013 | 14800 | 14178 | 3001 | 1122 |
| 2014 | 16706 | 16286 | ||
| 2015 | 14626 | |||
| 2016 | 15149 | |||
| 2017 | 13060 |