[QUOTE=_Agrajag_;11342840]Surely you are not correlating the "highest number of civil servants per capita" as any sort of measure of success for a population, are you? My experience suggests that the reverse should be true, a truly meritocracy should have the LOWEST number of civil servants per capita, as ultimately they are little more than a burden upon taxpayers.
Thank you for those kind words, belittling 41 years of dedicated professional service in the M o D Met.Office, during which I paid a lot of tax.
In that time the staffing was reduced from about 5000 to about 2000, and the output improved, driven by early take-up of main frame computers. Staffing on military stations was always minimal, usually covered 24/7/365, and sick leave was almost unknown. Staff suffered frequent upheaval, being posted every 3 years and undertaking short detachments at very short notice.
Little has changed since I retired except forecasts continue to improve.
The next time you look at a weather forecast remember, it is not magic, it depends on a small nmber of highly skilled but rather inadequately rewarded civil servants.