Vietnam to cut civil servants by 5,510 next year

This number would include all civil servants working in state agencies and administrative organizations, as also those working for Vietnam's diplomatic missions overseas, special associations and civil servants reserves.

However, those working for the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of National Defense, public administrative units and commune-level civil servants are excluded from the plan.

Out of the 259,590 civil servants approved for 2019, 258,160 will work for state agencies and administrative bodies, including 105,180 working for agencies and organizations at or directly under ministry level and 151,900 working for provincial and district level units.

At least 1,060 civil servants will work in Vietnam's diplomatic missions overseas, 740 in reserves and 680 in special associations.

The Prime Minister has asked the Minister of Home Affairs to assign specific numbers of civil servants to state agencies, organizations, diplomatic missions and specialized associations in accordance with the approved numbers.

In 2018, the number of civil servants on state payroll was 265,100.

Data from the General Statistics Office showed that at the end of last year there were more than 5.2 million people working in the public sector.

The size of Vietnam’s public sector compared to the population is among the biggest in Southeast Asia, according to the World Bank.

Last year, Prime Minister Phuc ordered government offices to reduce staff numbers by between 1.5 and 2 percent every year over the next five years to save costs.