BEIJING - China has about 6.89 million civil servants, far below the 10 million alleged in recent media reports, an official from the State Administration of Civil Service (SACS) said Monday.

Media reports have stated that the number of public servants in China has increased to 10 million from 6 million four years ago, with an average of 1 million added every year.

The official, who declined to be identified, said the reports "lack factual basis," citing SACS statistics stating that the number of public servants reached 6.89 million in 2010, well below the 10 million specified in the reports.

On average, about 150,000 civil servants were recruited annually between 2008 and 2010, the official said.

In addition, China has 884,000 staff working in government institutions, putting them under the jurisdiction of the civil service law but not qualifying them as civil servants, the official said.

The official said that the administration of civil servants is operating in accordance with the country's civil service law and ancillary regulations and that the recruitment and transfer of civil servants has always been conducted using a stipulated quota.