The purpose of the scientific article is to justify the use of the principle of meritocracy in the public service as part of the improvement and reform of the national management system in Kazakhstan.Methodology. When writing the work were used - methods for studying bibliographic sources, systematization, synthesis, comparison, quantitative and qualitative analysis, drawing up a SWOT matrix.The value of the work is to systematize the foreign experience of civil service development, implement an economic and statistical analysis of the work of state authorities, compile a SWOT analysis on the need for reforming personnel and the structure of the civil service, and develop practical recommendations for improving the work of state officials in Kazakhstan.The main results obtained include: tо review of primary sources on the organization and development of civil service in industrialized countries; tо considered the possibilities of modernization of the public administration system; tо justified the application of the principle of meritocracy in the creation of the Kazakhstani public service; tо determined the effectiveness of the activities of public authorities; economic assessment of the composition and number of state personnel; recommendations and conclusions on improving the development of civil service in Kazakhstan were proposed.