A "ghost" worker is somebody who receives government wages but either does not exist or is not employed in the position for which the payment is made.
Identifying and eliminating "ghost" workers often requires a civil service census that matches payroll data with budgeted and actual employment. Efforts to eliminate "ghosts" in the Central African Republic and Guinea identified "ghost" workers at approximately 7% of civil service employment. Once "ghosts" are eliminated, payroll mechanisms need to be established so as to prevent them from materializing again.