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In Odisha, India, 8,000 people took a civil service exam on a runway to compete for just 187 spots. Apparently, they even used drones to monitor for cheating.

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Civil service exams in India and China are notorious for their insane competition and difficulty. Local positions like the one above are actually considered 'less competitive.' Last year, 1.1 million people in India applied for high-level civil service posts, but only about 1,000—roughly 0.2% of those who took the first round—actually passed.

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In China last year, 3.4 million people sat for high-level civil service exams, but only 39,700 (1.5%) managed to snag a spot.

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Many applicants go years without a job just to study, and even those with jobs study from early morning until late at night. Cram schools even provide full-time boarding programs. This obsession with civil service is a national loss; university grads delay entering the workforce, which drags down long-term consumption. Plus, the subjects they study so hard aren't even that useful for getting jobs in the private sector.

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On top of that, the cycle of repeatedly failing the exam causes massive mental trauma. In both countries, it's not uncommon for exam failure to lead to the tragic extreme of suicide.