Candidates exit the exam venue after the national civil service examination on November 30, 2025. Photo: CNS Photo

Saturday marked the final day to apply for China's 2027 national civil service examination, with competition for the most sought-after positions exceeding 6,000 applicants per post, chinanews.com reported on Sunday.

As of 5 pm on Saturday, more than 6,000 applicants had passed the initial review for a first-level police inspector position or below with the Yanbian border management detachment of the Jilin immigration inspection general station. The position had only one vacancy, putting the competition ratio at more than 6,000 to 1, according to the report.

Yanbian, located in Northeast China's Jilin Province, is the only autonomous prefecture of China's Korean ethnic group, according to the Xinhua News Agency. 

In addition, several other positions have attracted thousands of applicants for a single vacancy. For example, a position at the Gongyi survey team under the Henan survey team of the National Bureau of Statistics had 5,534 applicants who passed the review for just one opening, with six applications still pending review. 

According to thepaper.cn, citing statistics from Huatu Education, as of 4 pm on Saturday, 3.025 million applicants had passed the qualification review, bringing the overall average competition ratio to 85 applicants per position. In addition, 83 positions had received no applications by the time registration closed. 

These "zero-application" positions are concentrated in several types of government agencies, particularly maritime safety administrations, railway police bureaus, and immigration inspection stations under border management authorities, according to thepaper.cn.

Some positions at meteorological bureaus, National Bureau of Statistics survey teams, and customs authorities have also received no applications. Such positions typically have strict professional or academic requirements and involve demanding working conditions, such as working on the water, serving in grassroots roles in remote areas, or working shifts. 

Positions in remote and less accessible regions may also attract fewer applicants, as the pool of who meet the requirements is relatively small.

Global Times