A total of 162,629 "phantom' staff members on government payrolls have been removed since a national campaign targeting corruption and bureaucracy was launched last year.

Hebei province saw the largest number of instances, with 55,793 people found to be getting paid even though they never worked, People's Daily reported on Monday.

Sichuan province removed 28,466 such ghost staffers, and another 15,022 were exposed in Henan.