I recently
had some inquiries about addresses in specific countries from WorldVu's
customers and was checking the UPU's most recent changes to their Postal addressing systems in member
countries. The UPU's information is received
directly from or verified by postal or government authorities in the specific
country. I use those sources, too. I also use private businesses, embassies, and
individuals around the world.
I would very
much like to report that everyone in particular countries agrees on how to
write postal address there; I cannot do so.
Ask someone – anyone – from Germany or Japan, the U.S. or the U.K.,
South Korea or Sweden, Canada or China how to write an address and they can
tell you the format. (In Japan they
might well give you 2 or 3 variations that are all equally correct.) These and 50 or so other countries have
postal addressing standards that are very specific.
Then there is
the rest of the world, which also happens to be the majority of the world both
in the number of countries and in population, although not in volume of mail. In the rest of the world, the
"correct" address format may depend on who one asks. The postal code may officially exist but it
may be used rarely. When it is used, its
format may not be standard – does it have an internal space or not, a hyphen or
not? The same goes for whether a
province or province abbreviation is used – and what the abbreviations
are. There are no official addresses or
no official addresses outside of main business and residential districts in
cities and larger towns in many countries.
The problem
for those of us who mail internationally is that the "official"
address standard where they are defined is not used, is not widely known, is
ignored in many countries. In reality,
the address standard from the government or the postal authorities does not
describe the addresses that are in day-to-day use. By WorldVu's count, the province or postal
code is often used in addresses in about 35% of the countries that officially
use a province or a postal code.
Where address
standards exist and are used by residents, using addresses that meet national
standards will insure that your mail or shipment is delivered and delivered
more quickly. The item will create a
better impression on the recipient, looking correct and professional. Where address standards are not used by
residents or don't exist, use the address the resident provides. International mail that does not meet
national (domestic) requirements is usually delivered but the delivery may be
slow – sometimes very slow. If you are
mailing or shipping merchandise, try to get confirmation of delivery or check
with the recipient after a suitable time if possible.
How do you
know what countries have standards and which ones don't? Experience and research or by subscribing to
WorldVu's Guide to
Worldwide Postal-Code and Address Formats.
