A
postal code (known in various countries as a
post code,
postcode, or
ZIP code) is a series of
letters and/or
digit appended to a
postal address for the purpose
of sorting
mail. Once postal codes were
introduced, other applications became possible.
In
February 2005, 117 of the 190 member countries of the Universal Postal
Union
had postal code systems. Countries that do not
have national systems include Ireland
and Panama
.
Although
Hong
Kong
and Macau
are now
Special
Administrative Region of China
, it maintained their own long-established postal
system, and still does not use any postal codes for domestic mail
within Hong Kong. Postal codes of
Chinese postal system are
assigned to Hong Kong (999077) and Macau (999078).
Although postal codes are usually assigned to geographical areas,
special codes are sometimes assigned to individual addresses or to
institutions that receive large volumes of mail, such as government
agencies and large commercial companies. One example is the French
Cedex system.
Terms
Many English-speaking countries call the codes,
postcode. The term
ZIP code
is used in the United States and the Philippines. ZIP is a
backronym for
Zone Improvement Plan. Canada uses
"postal code".
Postal codes in
India are called Postal Index Number.
History
Postal codes were first introduced in the
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist
Republic in December 1932
[8248], but
the system was abandoned in 1939. The next country to introduce
postal codes was Germany in 1941, followed by Argentina in 1958,
United Kingdom in 1959 and United States in 1963.
In
February 2005, 117 of the 190 member countries of the Universal Postal
Union had postal code systems.
Presentation
Character sets
Characters used in postal codes exclusively are
The space and the hyphen could be omitted in all systems with all
information being retained.
In the UK postcode system, when reading from left to right the
space contains some information.
ANN could come from AN N(AA) or ANN (NAA). AANN could come from AAN
N(AA), AANN (NAA). AN could come from AN(A NAA) or any source of
ANN, and AAN could come from AAN(A NAA) or any source of
AANN.
If the space is present, all "ANN " must refer to ANN NAA and "AN "
to "AN NAA" etc.
Reserved characters
Postal codes in the
Netherlands originally did not use the letters 'F', 'I', 'O',
'Q', 'U' and 'Y' for technical reasons. But as almost all existing
combinations are now used these letters were allowed for new
locations starting 2005. The letter combinations SS, SD and SA are
not used for historical reasons.
Postal codes in Canada do not
include the letters D, F, I, O, Q, or U, as the OCR equipment used
in automated sorting could easily confuse them with other letters.
The letters W and Z are used, but are not currently used as the
first letter.
Alphanumeric postal codes
Most postal code systems are numeric, only few are alphanumeric
(i.e. use both letters and digits). Alphanumeric systems can, given
the same number of digits, encode more locations. They are often
more precise, as is the case in the United Kingdom or in the
Netherlands, where a postal code corresponds to a street or even a
building, meaning the post code and the number of the home/business
is all that is needed for accurate delivery. The independent
nations using alphanumeric postal code systems are:
Country code prefixes
Usage of
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes
was recommended to be used starting in
1994,
but did not become widely used. The
European Committee for
Standardization recommends use of ISO Alpha-2 codes for
international postcodes and a UPU guide on international addressing
states that "administrations may recommend" the use of ISO Alpha-2
codes.
Andorra, Ecuador, Latvia, Moldova, Slovenia use the
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 as prefix in their
postal codes.
In some countries (such as those of
continental Europe, where a postcode
format of four or five numeric digits is commonly used) the numeric
postal code is sometimes prefixed with a
country code to avoid confusion when sending
international mail to or from that country. Recommendations by
official bodies responsible for postal communications are confusing
regarding this practice.
For many years, licence plate
codes — for instance "D-" for Germany or "F-" for France — were
used, although this was not accepted by the Universal
Postal Union (UPU).
Placement of the code
Postal services have their own formats and placement rules for
postal codes. In most English-speaking countries, the postal code
forms the last item of the address, following the city or town
name, whereas in most continental European countries it precedes
the name of the city or town.
When it follows the city it may be on the same line or on a new
line.
In Japan, China, Korea and the Russian Federation, it is written
more to the beginning of an address.
Geographic coverage
Postal codes are usually assigned to geographical areas. Sometimes
codes are assigned to individual addresses or to institutions that
receive large volumes of mail, e.g. government agencies or large
commercial companies. One example is the French
Cedex system.
Postal zone numbers
Before postal codes as described here were used, large cities were
often divided into
postal zones or
postal
districts, usually numbered from 1 upwards within each city.
The newer postal code systems often incorporate the old zone
numbers, as with
London postal
district numbers, for example.
Ireland still uses postal district numbers in Dublin
.
In
New
Zealand
, Auckland
, Wellington
and Christchurch
were divided into postal zones, but these fell into
disuse, and have now become redundant as a result of a new postcode
system being introduced.
Codes defined along administrative borders
Some
postal code system, like the one of Ecuador
and Costa
Rica
show an exact agreement with the hierarchy of the
administrative country
subdivisions.
Format of 6 digit numeric (8 digit alphanumeric)
postal codes in Ecuador, introduced
in December 2007: ECAABBCC
- EC - ISO 3166-1 alpha-2
country code
- AA - one of the 24 provinces of
Ecuador (24 of 100 possible codes used = 20%)
- BB - one of the 226 cantons of
Ecuador (for AABB 226 of 10000 codes used , i.e. 2.26%. Note to
cantons: three are not in any province)
- CC - one of the parishes of
Ecuador
Format of 5 digit numeric
Postal codes in Costa Rica,
introduced in 2007: ABBCC
- A - one of the 7 provinces
of Costa Rica (7 of 10 used, i.e. 70%)
- BB - one of the 81 cantons of
Costa Rica (81 of 1000 used, i.e. 8.1%)
- CC - one of the districts of
Costa Rica
In Costa Rica these codes are also used by the National Institute
for Statistics and Census (INSEC).
The first two digits of the
postal codes in Turkey correspond to
the
provinces and each province
has assigned only one number. They are the same for them as in
ISO 3166-2:TR.
The first two digits of the
postal codes in Vietnam indicate a
province. Some provinces have
one, other have several two digit numbers assigned. The numbers
differ from the number used in
ISO
3166-2:VN.
Codes defined close to administrative borders
In France
the numeric code for the departments is used in the first digits of
the postal code, except for the two departments in Corsica
that have codes 2A and 2B and use 20 as postal
code. Furthermore the codes are only the codes for the
department in charge of delivery of the post, so it can be that is
location in one department has the postal code starting with a
number of a neighboring department.
Codes defined distantly to administrative borders
The first digit of the
postal codes in the United
States defines an area including several states. From the first
three digits under exclusion of some exceptions, one can derive the
state.
Codes defined independently from administrative borders
The first two digits of the
postal codes in Germany define areas
independent from administrative regions. The coding space of the
first digit is fully used (0-9) that of the first two combined is
used to 89%, i.e. there are 89 postal zones defined. The zone 11 is
none geographic.
The UK post designed the
postal codes in the United
Kingdom mostly for efficient distribution. Nevertheless with
the time people begun to associate codes with certain areas,
leading to certain people wanting to have or to not have a certain
code. See:
postcode lottery.
Precision
Postal codes in the
Netherlands are alphanumeric, consisting of four digits
followed by a space and two letters (NNNN AA). Adding the house
number to the postcode will identify the address, making the street
name and town name redundant. For example: 2597 GV 75 will direct a
postal delivery to the International School of The Hague.
States and overseas territories sharing a postal code
system
Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man are part of the UK postcode
system. They use the scheme AAN NAA, in which the first two letters
are the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code.
Seven British overseas territories use nine postal codes, three for
Saint
Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha and one for each of the
other. Note, that the former has two
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes, and the
British Antarctic Territory has none, so the number of ISO codes is
seven.
Two other British areas have their own systems, and use the ISO
3166-1 alpha-2 prefix:
French overseas territories use five digit
French postal code system, each
code starting with the three letter department identifier. Monaco
uses the French system.
Italy, San Marino and Vatican City use one codes one system.
Liechtenstein and Switzerland use one system. Slovakia and the
Czech Republic base their systems on the codes of Czechoslovakia,
the ranges are not overlapping.
Non-geographic codes
In
Finland the special postal code 99999 is for Korvatunturi
, the place where Santa Claus (or Joulupukki in
Finnish) is said to live.
In Canada the amount of mail sent to Santa Claus increased every
Christmas, up to the point that Canada
Post decided to start an official Santa Claus letter-response
program in 1983. Approximately one million letters come in to Santa
Claus each Christmas, including from outside of Canada, and all of
them are answered, in the same languages in which they are written.
Canada Post introduced a special address for mail to Santa Claus,
complete with its own postal code:
- SANTA CLAUS
- NORTH POLE H0H 0H0
Formats of postal codes by country and time
See
list of postal codes for
non tabular information on more countries.
| Country |
Introduced |
ISO |
Format |
Note |
| Afghanistan |
|
AF |
- no codes - |
|
| Åland
Islands |
|
AX |
NNNNN |
With Finland. |
| Albania |
|
AL |
NNNN |
|
| Algeria |
|
DZ |
NNNNN |
First two as in ISO 3166-2:DZ |
| Andorra |
2004 |
AD |
CCNNN |
|
| Angola |
|
AO |
- no codes - |
|
| Argentina |
1999 |
AR |
ANNNN |
Codigo Postal Argentino (CPA), where A is the province code as
in ISO 3166-2:AR |
| Armenia |
2006-04-01 |
AM |
NNNN |
|
| Ascension island |
|
AC |
AAAANAA one code: ASCN 1ZZ |
UK territory, but not UK postcode |
| Australia |
1967 |
AU |
NNNN |
|
| Austria |
1966 |
AT |
NNNN |
|
| Azerbaijan |
|
AZ |
CCNNNN |
|
| Bangladesh |
|
BD |
NNNN |
|
| Barbados |
|
BB |
CCNNNNN |
|
| Belgium |
|
BE |
NNNN |
First number indicates the province. |
| Belize |
|
BZ |
- no codes - |
|
| Benin |
|
BJ |
- no codes - |
|
| Brazil |
1972 |
BR |
NNNNN |
Código de Endereçamento Postal (CEP) |
| Brazil |
1992 |
BR |
NNNNNNNN (NNNNN-NNN) |
|
| British Indian Ocean Territory |
|
IO |
AAAANAA one code: BIQQ 1ZZ |
UK territory, but not UK postcode |
| British
Virgin Islands |
|
VG |
CCNNNN |
|
| Brunei |
|
BN |
AANNNN |
|
| Bulgaria |
|
BG |
NNNN |
|
| Cambodia |
|
KH |
NNNNN |
|
| Canada |
1971-04-01—1975 |
CA |
ANANAN (ANA NAN) |
The system was gradually introduced starting in April 1971 in
Ottawa |
| Cape Verde |
|
CV |
NNNN |
The first digit indicates the island. |
| Chile |
|
CL |
NNNNNNN (NNN-NNNN) |
|
| China |
|
CN |
NNNNNN |
|
| Colombia |
|
CO |
NNNNNN |
First NN = 32 departments [8250] |
| Costa Rica |
2007-03 |
CR |
NNNNN |
First codes the provinces, next two the canton, last two the
district. |
| Croatia |
|
HR |
NNNNN |
|
| Cyprus |
1994-10-01 |
CY |
NNNN |
|
| Czech
Republic |
1973 |
CZ |
NNNNN (NN NNN) |
|
| Denmark |
1967-09-20 |
DK |
NNNN |
|
| Ecuador |
2007-12 |
EC |
CCNNNNNN |
|
| Estonia |
|
EE |
NNNNN |
|
| Falkland Islands |
|
FK |
AAAANAA one code: FIQQ 1ZZ |
UK territory, but not UK postcode |
| Finland |
1971 |
FI |
NNNNN |
|
| France |
1972 |
FR |
NNNNN |
First mostly as in ISO
3166-2:FR. |
| Germany |
1941-07-25 |
-- |
NN |
Postleitzahl (PLZ) |
| Germany |
1993 |
DE |
NNNNN |
Postleitzahl (PLZ) |
| Greece |
1983 |
GR |
NNNNN |
|
| Hong Kong |
|
HK |
- no codes - |
|
| Guernsey |
|
GY |
CCNNAA (CCN NAA) |
UK postcode |
| Hungary |
|
HU |
NNNN |
|
| Iceland |
|
IS |
NNN |
|
| India |
1972-08-15 |
IN |
NNNN |
Postal Index Number (PIN) |
| Iraq |
2004 |
IQ |
NNNNN |
|
| Ireland |
|
IE |
alphanumeric system planned |
|
| Isle of Man |
|
IM |
CCNNAA (CCN NAA) |
UK postcode |
| Israel |
|
IL |
NNNNN |
|
| Italy |
1967 |
IT |
NNNNN |
Codice di Avviamento Postale (CAP) |
| Japan |
|
JP |
NNNNNNN (NNN-NNNN) |
|
| Jersey |
|
JE |
CCNNAA (CCN NAA) |
UK postcode |
| Kazakhstan |
|
KZ |
NNNNNN |
Reference: |
| Latvia |
|
LV |
CCNNNN (CC-NNNN) |
|
| Liechtenstein |
|
LI |
NNNN |
With Switzerland, ordered from west to east |
| Lithuania |
|
LT |
NNNNN |
References: http://www.post.lt/en/?id=421
http://www.post.lt/en/?id=271 |
| Luxembourg |
|
LU |
NNNN |
References:
http://www.upu.int/post_code/en/countries/LUX.pdf |
| Macau |
|
MO |
- no codes - |
|
| Malaysia |
|
MY |
NNNNN |
|
| Malta |
|
MT |
AAANNNN (AAA NNNN) |
|
| Mexico |
|
MX |
NNNNN |
|
| Moldova |
|
MD |
CCNNNN (CC-NNNN) |
|
| Montenegro |
|
ME |
NNNNN |
|
| Morocco |
1997-01-01 |
MA |
NNNNN |
|
| Netherlands |
|
NL |
NNNNAA (NNNN AA) |
|
| New Zealand |
2008-06 |
NZ |
NNNN |
Postcode |
| Nigeria |
|
NI |
NNNNNN |
|
| Norway |
1968-03-18 |
NO |
NNNN |
From south to north |
| Philippines |
|
PH |
NNNN |
|
| Pitcairn Islands |
|
PN |
AAAANAA one code: PCRN 1ZZ |
UK territory, but not UK postcode |
| Poland |
1973 |
PL |
NNNNN (NN-NNN) |
|
| Portugal |
1976 |
|
NNNN |
|
| Portugal |
1994 |
PT |
NNNNNNN (NNNN NNN) |
|
| Puerto Rico |
|
PR |
NNNNN |
US ZIP codes |
| Romania |
2003-05-01 |
RO |
NNNNNN |
|
| Russia |
|
RU |
NNNNNN |
|
| San Marino |
|
SM |
NNNNN |
With Italy, uses a five-digit numeric CAP of Emilia
Romagna |
| Serbia |
2005-01-01 |
RS |
NNNNNN |
Poshtanski adresni kod (PAK) |
| Singapore |
1950 |
|
NN |
|
| Singapore |
1979 |
|
NNNN |
|
| Singapore |
1995 |
SG |
NNNNNN |
|
| Slovakia |
1973 |
SK |
NNNNN (NN NNN) |
with Czech Republic from west to east, Poštové smerovacie číslo
(PSČ) - postal routing number |
| Slovenia |
|
SI |
CCNNNN (CC-NNNN) |
|
| South Africa |
1975 |
ZA |
NNNN |
|
| South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands |
|
GS |
AAAANAA one code: SIQQ 1ZZ |
UK territory, but not UK postcode |
| South Korea |
|
KR |
NNNNNN (NNN-NNN) |
|
| Spain |
1976 |
ES |
NNNNN |
First two indicate the province, range 01-52 |
| Sri Lanka |
|
LK |
NNNNN |
Reference: http://mohanjith.net/ZIPLook/ |
| Sweden |
1968-05-12 |
SE |
NNNNN (NNN NN) |
|
| Switzerland |
|
CH |
NNNN |
With Liechtenstein, ordered from west to east |
| Taiwan |
|
TW |
NNNNN |
includes some territories administrated by Japan |
| Thailand |
1982-02-25 |
TH |
NNNNN |
The first two specify the province, numbers as in ISO 3166-2:TH, the third and fourth digits
specify a district (amphoe) |
| Turks and Caicos Islands |
|
TC |
AAAANAA one code: TKCA 1ZZ |
UK territory, but not UK postcode |
| Turkey |
|
TR |
NNNNN |
The first two specify the province as in ISO 3166-2:TR |
| Ukraine |
|
UA |
NNNNN |
|
| United
Kingdom |
1959—1974 |
GB |
A(A)N(A/N)NAA (A[A]N[A/N] NAA) |
Postcode, letters before the first number identify a town or
district. AN NAA, ANN NAA, ANA NAA, AAN NAA, AANN NAA, AANA NAA.
Complex as incorporates early non-systematic postal districts. |
| United
States |
1963-07-01 |
US |
NNNNN |
ZIP code |
| Vatican |
|
VA |
NNNNN |
with Italy, uses a five-digit numeric CAP of Rome |
| Vietnam |
|
VN |
NNNNNN |
First two indicate a province |
|
Non-postal uses and economic aspects
While postal codes were introduced to expedite the delivery of
mail, they are very useful tools for several other purposes,
particularly in countries where codes are very fine-grained and
identify just a few addresses. Among uses are:
- Finding the nearest branch of an organisation to a given
address. A computer program uses the postal codes of the target
address and the branches to list the closest branches in order of
distance as the crow flies (or, if used in conjunction with
streetmap software, road distance). This can be used by companies
to inform potential customers where to go, by job centres to find jobs for job-seekers, to
alert people of town planning
applications in their area, and a great many other
applications.
- Fine-grained postal codes can be used with satellite navigation systems to
navigate to an address by street number and postcode.
Availability
The availability of postal code information has significant
economic advantages. In some countries, such as Great Britain, the
postal authorities charge for access to the code database.
See also
References
- http://www.cpi.com.cn/cpi-eng/code/HangKong.asp
- http://www.cpi.com.cn/cpi-eng/code/Macao.asp
- Kazakhstan's postal codes
- Guardian newspaper article on postcodes
External links
(see table)
(see
table)
(see
table)
(suspended
in 2007 [8249])
(see
table)
(see table)
(see table)
(look up at
http://www.ipostel.gob.ve/nlinea/codigo_postal.php)
: ASCN 1ZZ, ISO code: AC
: BBND 1ZZ, ISO code: IO
: FIQQ 1ZZ, ISO code: FK
: PCRN 1ZZ, ISO code: PN
: SIQQ 1ZZ, ISO code: GS
: TDCU 1ZZ, ISO code: included under SH
: KYN-NNNN*
: VGNNNN
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