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A postal code is a series of letters and digits appended to a postal address for the purpose of sorting
mail. Every postal service
(usually having their service area defined by national borders) has a different format
and placement for the postal code. In most English-speaking countries, the postal code goes after the name of the city or town,
whereas in most European countries it goes before it and is often prefixed with a country code. This country code is similar to the one used on car license plates.
Though usually postal codes are assigned to geographical areas, sometimes this is not the case: special codes may be assigned
to institutions with large volumes of post, such as government agencies and large commercial companies. One example is the French
Cedex system.
Before postal codes as described here were used, large cities were often divided into postal zones, usually numbered
from 1 up within each city. Postal code systems often incorporate the old zone numbers, as in London, for example.
Most postal codes, in the countries that have them, are numeric. The few using alphanumeric postal code systems (with letters
and digits) are: Argentina, Bermuda,
Brunei, Canada, Malta, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Venezuela.
Formats
Key
- 9: Digits.
- A: Letters.
- *: Postal code placed to the right of the city, suburb or town.
A-B
- Algeria: 99999
- Andorra: (A9-)999 [1]
- Argentina: A9999AAA
- Armenia: 999999 Retained system inherited from former Soviet Union.
- Australia: known as the "post code": 9999*. In general, the
first digit identifies the state or territory. See List of postal codes in Australia
- Austria: 9999 (the first digit denotes almost one of the nine
provinces -- called Bundesländer -- , the last the nearest post office in the area)
- Azerbaijan: 999999 Retained system inherited from former
Soviet Union.
- Bangladesh: 9999*
- Belarus: 999999 Retained system inherited from former Soviet Union.
- Belgium: 9999 (in general, the first digit gives the province)
List of postal codes in Belgium
- Bermuda: AA 99* for street addresses, AA AA*
for PO Box addresses. The second half of the postcode identifies the street delivery walk (eg: Hamilton HM 12) or the PO Box
number range (eg: Hamilton HM BX).
- Bosnia Hercegovina: 99999
- Brazil: 99999-999
- Brunei: AA9999*
C
- Cambodia: 99999*
- Canada: A9A 9A9* Usually prefixed by a two-letter abbreviation for
the province or territory. List of postal
codes in Canada
- Cape Verde: 9999
- Chile: 9999999 May only be required for bulk mail.
- China, People's Republic of
(Mainland): 999999*. A postal code or youbian (邮编) in a subordinate division will have
the same first two digits as its governing one (see Political divisions of China#Levels).
- The postal services in Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative
Regions remain separate from Mainland China. Plans for separate
post code systems in Hong Kong and Macau are currently under development. See UPU documents on Hong Kong and Macau
- China, Republic of (based on Taiwan):
99999*, known as youdi chyuhao (郵遞區號). Postal codes are also assigned to
Sekaku Islands, though Japanese-governed, the Pratas Islands and the Spratly Islands.
- Costa Rica: 9999
- Croatia: 99999
- Cuba: 99999* Prefixed by "CP" - may only be required for bulk
mail.
- Cyprus: 9999 - post code system covers whole island, but not used
in Northern Cyprus where 'Mersin 10, Turkey' is used instead.
- Czech Republic: 99999 Retained system inherited
from Czechoslovakia.
D-F
- Denmark: 9999 also used by Greenland, eg: DK-3900 Nuuk
- Dominican Republic: 99999-9999 Currently
only used in Santo Domingo.
- Egypt 99999*
- El Salvador: 9999 - Prefixed by "CP".
- Estonia: 99999
- Ethiopia: 9999
- Faroe Islands: 999 Prefixed with "FO", eg: FO-110
Tórshavn
- Finland: 99999. A lower first digit indicates a place in south
(for example 00100 Helsinki, a higher indicates a place in far the north (99800 in
Ivalo). The last digit is always 0, except for
postal codes for PO Box number ranges, in which case it is 1. In the Ĺland
Islands, the postal code is prefixed with "AX", not "FIN".
- Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia: 9999
- France: 99999, the first two digits give the département number, while in Paris,
Lyon and Marseille, the last two digits of
the postal code indicates the arrondissement. Also used by French overseas
departments and territories and Monaco (prefixed "MC"). See List of French postal codes.
G-K
L-M
N-P
R-T
U-Z
See also
External links
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