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How Many Students Give UPSC Exam Every Year? Total Applications vs. Qualified Candidates

3162.5k+Students Enrolled
Last Updated on April 9, 2025

How Many Students Give the UPSC Exam Every Year?” is a persistent question among UPSC aspirants. Approximately 10 to 13 lakh candidates apply for the prestigious UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) every year, but only about 50-55% of the registered candidates actually appear for the Prelims stage. In 2024, around 13.4 lakh candidates applied for the UPSC Exam, out of which 14.627 had qualified for the Mains and fewer than 3,000 reached the Interview stage. Eventually, only about 800 to 1,000 candidates are selected for final postings. The exact number of candidates who appeared for UPSC CSE 2024 is yet to be announced by the Union Public Service Commission. The UPSC CSE is one of India’s toughest and most prestigious exams, conducted to recruit officers for top administrative positions like IAS, IPS, IFS, and others. The Civil Services Exam is held in three stages – Preliminary, Mains, and Interview. With a success rate of less than 0.1%, qualifying the UPSC demands serious dedication, long-term preparation, and strategic planning. 

In this article, find out how many students give the UPSC Exam every year, number of applicants vs qualified candidates, etc. to get a clear picture of the intense competition and the level of commitment required to succeed in the UPSC journey.

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How Many Students Give UPSC Exam Every Year?

Every year, approximately 10 to 13 lakh students apply for the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE), making it one of the most competitive exams in India. However, the number of candidates who actually appear for the Prelims vs number of UPSC registrations is significantly lesser as per previous year statistics. 

For instance, in 2023, around 13 lakh candidates registered for the exam. However, only about 50–55% of applicants actually appear for the Prelims stage. In 2022, out of over 11.3 lakh applicants, around 5.7 lakh candidates appeared for the Prelims. From those, roughly 10,000 to 15,000 qualify for the Mains exam. The number further narrows down to around 2,500–3,000 for the Interview (Personality Test). Eventually, only 700 to 1,200 candidates make it to the final selection list, depending on the number of vacancies released by UPSC that year. 

The overall success rate in the UPSC Civil Services Exam is less than 0.1%.

Estimate your Prelims score using the UPSC Marks Calculator to analyze your performance!

How Many Candidates Appeared for UPSC CSE 2024-25?

Approximately 13.4 lakh candidates applied for the UPSC Civil Services Prelims Exam 2024 conducted on 16 June, 2024. The exact number of candidates who appeared for the UPSC Prelims 2024 is not officially announced yet by the Union Public Service Commission. Out of these, 14,627 candidates qualified for the Mains examination conducted between September 20 and 29, 2024. Subsequently, 2,845 candidates advanced to the Personality Test (Interview) stage, which commenced on January 7, 2025 and will be conducted till April 17, 2025. The final results are expected to be released in April 2025. 

How Many Candidates Qualified UPSC Prelims 2024?

A total of 14,627 candidates qualified the UPSC Prelims 2024 and advanced to the Mains stage as per the official UPSC Result announced on 1st July, 2024. Approximately 13.4 lakh candidates had appeared for the UPSC Civil Services Prelims on 16 June, 2024. This figure indicates a qualification rate of about 1.09% in the UPSC CSE Prelims 2024. 

How Many Students Appeared for UPSC Mains 2024?

All the 14,627 candidates who had qualified the Prelims 2024 stage had appeared for the UPSC Mains 2024. The UPSC Civil Services Mains Examination was conducted from September 20 to 29, 2024. All 14,627 candidates who qualified the Prelims were eligible to appear for the Mains. Following the Mains, 2,845 candidates advanced to the UPSC Personality Test (Interview) stage. 

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How Many Students Appear for UPSC Every Year? Trend Analysis 2007-2023

Over the years from 2007 to 2023, registrations for UPSC Civil Services Exam have shown an upward trend, with the number of applications increasing with every passing year. The following is a trend analysis of number of candidates who have appeared for the UPSC Prelims and Mains over the past 17 years – 

Year

Students Applied

Appeared for Prelims

Qualified for Mains

Appeared for Interview

Cleared the Exam

2007

333,680

161,469

9,158

1,883

553

2008

325,433

167,035

11,669

2,136

734

2009

409,110

193,091

11,894

2,431

881

2010

547,698

269,036

12,271

2,589

989

2011

499,120

243,236

11,837

2,415

965

2012

550,080

271,442

12,795

2,674

999

2013

776,604

324,279

14,800

3,001

998

2014

947,428

446,623

16,706

3,308

1,122

2015

945,908

465,882

15,008

2,797

1,236

2016

1,128,262

459,659

15,382

2,961

1,078

2017

969,065

462,848

13,300

2,564

1,056

2018

1,065,552

500,484

10,419

1,992

2019

1,135,261

493,972

11,845

2,034

829

2020

1,057,948

482,770

10,564

2,053

796

2021

1,093,948

508,619

10,000

761

2022

1,135,697

573,735

13,090

2,529

933

2023

1,300,000

14,624

2,916

No. of Students Who Give UPSC Exam Every Year vs. Total Vacancy

The following is an year-wise comparison of number of candidates who give the Civil Services Examination every year as compared to the total number of vacancies announced for that particular year –

How Many Students Appeared for UPSC in Past Years vs Total Vacancy

Year

Total Applicants

Total Vacancies

Candidates Qualified for Mains

Candidates Qualified for Interview

2023

13 lakh

1,255

14,624

2,916

2022

11.52 lakh

1,011

13,090

2,529

2021

1,093,948

712

10,000

2020

10,40,060

836

10,564

2,053

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Latest UPSC Civil Services Updates

Last updated: April 9, 2025

-> Candidates can check out the Daily Headlines for 11th June UPSC Current Affairs.

-> The UPSC CSE and IFS result has been released @upsc.gov.in: UPSC Prelims Result 2025, UPSC IFS Result 2025 

-> UPSC Launches New Online Portal upsconline.nic.in. Check OTR Registration Process.

-> Check UPSC Prelims 2025 Exam Analysis and UPSC Prelims 2025 Question Paper for GS Paper 1 & CSAT.

-> UPSC 2024 Prelims Answer Key released on 21st May 2025 at upsc.gov.in for Paper 1, 2.

-> UPSC Exam Calendar 2026. UPSC CSE 2026 Notification will be released on 14 January, 2026. 

-> The UPSC Civil Services Notification 2025 was out on 22nd January, 2025 and the UPSC 2025 Prelims exam date is 25th May, 2025.

-> Calculate your Prelims score using the UPSC Marks Calculator.

-> Go through the UPSC Previous Year Papers and UPSC Civil Services Test Series to enhance your preparation.

->Check Axiom-4 mission: Indian Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla's AX-4 mission Launch Date & Time

-> SBI Clerk Mains Result 2025 Out

-> TS LAWCET Provisional Answer Key 2025 has been released on 11th June 2025.

How Many Students Give UPSC CSE Every Year? FAQs

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