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The electronic "revolution" is not yet over in the Greek public administration, as shown by the data of the updated register of employees in state agencies and enterprises presented by the Greek newspaper "Ta Nea".

The data indicate that for most of the civil servants the computers are only decor on their desks. 60% are not even able to write a text on a computer and the same percentage are not aware of the opportunities offered by the Internet. Under these conditions, the fact that 64% of the civil servants do not use e-mail seems completely logical and explains why the annual paper costs in the public sector are still very high and amount to 500 million euro.

The situation seems even more paradoxical, taking into account the fact that half of the civil servants are college or university graduates and supposedly they should know at least how to write a text on the computer. Moreover, according to the data in the register, 11% of the positions are classified as "special" and are held by secretaries, special advisers, scientific and ordinary associates of various departments. At least in theory, they must present a certificate of computer literacy to be appointed.

However, this is only one of the problems. It turns out that few of the Greek civil servants speak foreign languages. In particular, only one in four speaks English. The statistic becomes even more daunting when it comes to the knowledge of other foreign languages ​​-5.3% of the civil servants have diplomas for French proficiency and 3.3% for German.

At the same time, the percentage of servants who continue to study after graduation is minimal. Only one in ten civil servants has obtained a magistrate degree and only 3.5% have a doctoral degree.

According to the article in "Ta Nea" this is why Minister of Administrative Reform and e-Governance Kyriakos Mitsotakis has undertaken to seize the opportunity provided by the agreement with the supervisory Troika for the appointment of 15,000 new employees in exchange for a corresponding number of cuts by the end of the year. The aim of the Minister is to appoint young and highly educated staff with proven professional skills.

The listed "skills" of the civil servants are probably justified by their age. Only three out of ten fall in the 20-39 age group whereas the percentage of true "fresh blood", i.e. of those aged between 20 and 29 years, is only 7.

222,857 employees are aged between 40 and 49 years, 150,049 between 50 and 59 and 24, 845 are over 60 years old.

Women are less than men are partly because they retire early. Therefore, the group of over 60 year olds includes 17,557 men and 7,288 women, whereas among the employees aged from 50 to 59 years, the ratio is 79,213 men compared to 70,836 women. The differences are even more dramatic among younger employees. In the 40-49 age group, there are 17,500 more men and in the 20-39 age group, they are 19,000 more.

The vast majority of the civil servants or 488,193 of them are working in ministries and other state institutions. The local and regional governments are a primary "employer" too, employing 83,242 people as well as the decentralized offices with 6,769 employees and the independent bodies with 1,783 employees.

According to the publication, however, the total number of state employees has significantly decreased compared to 2009 when it was 942,625. Four years later, their number has decreased to 675,530.