Secretary for the Civil Service Joseph Wong has rejected a report alleging Hong Kong's administration is too large when compared to the UK government.

Mr Wong said figures reported for the latter excluded the disciplined services and staff employed by local governments.

It was reported that the UK has a civil service of fewer than 500,000, three times Hong Kong's 180,000, while the country's population is eight times that of ours.

But Mr Wong said police, firemen and staff employed by London city are not included in the 500,000 figure.

He said if we compare the number of employees paid from the public purse, whether they work in the central or local governments or in the various public bodies in the UK, it would amount to about 5.2 million, or about 18% of the total workforce.

However, Hong Kong's civil service accounts for about 5% of the workforce while staff in the subvented sector accounts for another 5%.

Mr Wong said the Government has always been conscious of the need to maintain a lean and efficient civil service.

"This is one of the main objectives of the Civil Service Reform launched in 1999. Since then, we have reduced the size of the civil service by 10%, from about 200,000 in early 2000, to 175,000 at present," he said.

"We aim to further reduce the establishment to 160,000 by 2006-07."

He added that according to many reputable international surveys, Hong Kong's civil service ranks among the best of its kind in the world in terms of integrity and efficiency.