This list shows an overview of postal code notation schemes for all countries that have postal or ZIP Code systems.
| Country | In use since / from ... to | ISO | Area format | Street level format | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | 2011-03-21 | AF | NNNN | The first two digits (ranging from 10 to 43) correspond to the province, while the last two digits correspond either to the city/delivery zone (range 01–50) or to the district/delivery zone (range 51–99).[citation needed] | |
| Åland | AX | NNNNN, CC-NNNNN | With Finland, first two numbers are 22. CC-NNNNN used from abroad. | ||
| Albania | 2006-10-11 | AL | NNNN | Introduced in 2006, gradually implemented throughout 2007. | |
| Algeria | DZ | NNNNN | First two as in ISO 3166-2:DZ | ||
| American Samoa | 1963-07-01 | AS | NNNNN, NNNNN-NNNN | U.S. ZIP codes (range 96799) | |
| Andorra | 2004-07-31 | AD | CCNNN | Each parish now has its own post code. | |
| Angola | AO | – no codes - | |||
| Anguilla | 2007-10-09 | AI | AI-2640 | Single code used for all addresses. | |
| Antigua and Barbuda | AG | – no codes - | |||
| Argentina | 1974, modified 1999 | AR | NNNN | NNNN, ANNNNAAA | 1974–1998 NNNN, and from 1999 ANNNNAAA. Codigo Postal Argentino (CPA), where the first A is the province code as in ISO 3166-2:AR, the four numbers are the old postal codes, the three last letters indicate a side of the block. Previously NNNN which is the minimum requirement as of 2006, but ANNNNAAA is not mandatory. |
| Armenia | 2006-04-01 | AM | NNNN | Previously used NNNNNN system inherited from former Soviet Union. | |
| Aruba | AW | – no codes - | |||
| Australia | 1967-07-01 | AU | NNNN | In general, the first digit identifies the state or territory. | |
| Austria | 1966-01-01 | AT | NNNN | The first digit denotes regions, which are partly identical to one of the nine provinces—called Bundesländer; the last the nearest post office in the area. | |
| Azerbaijan | AZ | CC NNNN | Previously used NNNNNN system inherited from former Soviet Union. | ||
| Bahamas | BS | – no codes - | Bahamas used Post Office system instead of Postal Code [1] | ||
| Bahrain | BH | NNN, NNNN | Valid post code numbers are 101 to 1216 with gaps in the range. Known as block number (Arabic: رقم المجمع) formally. The first digit in NNN format and the first two digits in NNNN format refer to one of the 12 municipalities of the country. PO Box address does not need a block number or city name, just the PO Box number followed by the name of the country, Bahrain. | ||
| Bangladesh | 1972-12-16 | BD | NNNN | ||
| Barbados | BB | CCNNNNN | 5 digit postal code preceded by BB [2] | ||
| Belarus | BY | NNNNNN | Retained system inherited from former Soviet Union. | ||
| Belgium | BE | NNNN | In general, the first digit gives the province. | ||
| Belize | BZ | – no codes - | |||
| Benin | BJ | – no codes - | |||
| Bermuda | BM | – no codes - | AA NN, AA AA | AA NN for street addresses, AA AA for P.O. Box addresses. The second half of the postcode identifies the street delivery walk (e.g.: Hamilton HM 12) or the PO Box number range (e.g.: Hamilton HM BX). See Postal codes in Bermuda. | |
| Bhutan | 2010-02-21 | BT | NNNNN | Written Behind the village name. Digits: postal region (Dzongdey), district (Dzongkhag), sub district (Dungkhag), delivery area (two digits). | |
| Bolivia | BO | – no codes - | |||
| Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba | BQ | – no codes - | |||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | BA | NNNNN | |||
| Botswana | BW | – no codes - | |||
| Brazil | 1971-05-31 | BR | NNNNN, NNNNN-NNN | NNNNN-NNN | NNNNN only from 1971 to 1992. Código de Endereçamento Postal (CEP): -000 to -899 are used for streets, roads, avenues, boulevards; -900 to -959 are used for buildings with a high postal use; -960 to -969 are for promotional use; -970 to -989 are post offices and regular P.O. boxes; and -990 to -998 are used for community P.O. boxes. -999 is used for special services. |
| British Antarctic Territory | AQ | BIQQ 1ZZ | One code for all addresses (AAAA NAA). UK territory, but not UK postcode. | ||
| British Indian Ocean Territory | IO | BBND 1ZZ | One code for all addresses (AAAA NAA). UK territory, but not UK postcode. | ||
| British Virgin Islands | VG | CCNNNN | Specifically, VG1110 through VG1160[3] | ||
| Brunei | BN | AANNNN | |||
| Bulgaria | 1975-08-01 | BG | NNNN | ||
| Burkina Faso | BF | – no codes - | |||
| Burundi | BI | – no codes - | |||
| Cambodia | Update 2017 | KH | 120000 | Cambodia Post [EMS] | |
| Cameroon | CM | – no codes - | |||
| Canada | 1971–1975 | CA | ANA NAN | The system was gradually introduced starting in April 1971 in Ottawa. The letters D, F, I, O, Q, and U are not used to avoid confusion with other letters or numbers. | |
| Cape Verde | CV | NNNN | The first digit indicates the island. | ||
| Cayman Islands | KY | CCN-NNNN | |||
| Central African Republic | CF | – no codes - | |||
| Chad | TD | – no codes - | |||
| Chile | CL | NNNNNNN, NNN-NNNN | May only be required for bulk mail. | ||
| China | CN | NNNNNN | A postal code or yóu biān (邮编) in a subordinate division will have the same first two digits as its governing one (see Political divisions of China. The postal services in Macau or Hong Kong Special Administrative Regions remain separate from Mainland China, with no post code system currently used. | ||
| Christmas Island | CX | NNNN | Part of the Australian postal code system. | ||
| Cocos (Keeling) Island | CC | NNNN | Part of the Australian postal code system. | ||
| Colombia | CO | NNNNNN | First NN = 32 departments | ||
| Comoros | KM | – no codes - | |||
| Congo (Brazzaville) | CG | – no codes - | |||
| Congo, Democratic Republic | CD | – no codes - | |||
| Cook Islands | CK | – no codes - | |||
| Costa Rica | 2007-03-31 | CR | NNNNN | NNNNN-NNNN | Was NNNN until 2007. First codes the provinces, next two the canton, last two the district. |
| Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) | CI | – no codes - | |||
| Croatia | HR | NNNNN | |||
| Cuba | CU | NNNNN | May only be required for bulk mail. The letters CP are frequently used before the postal code. This is not a country code, but an abbreviation for "codigo postal" or postal code. | ||
| Curaçao | CW | – no codes - | |||
| Cyprus | 1994-10-01 | CY | NNNN | The postal code system covers the whole island, but is not used on mail to Northern Cyprus. Northern Cyprus uses a 5-digit code commencing 99, introduced in 2013. For mail sent there from abroad, the line "Mersin 10" is written on the line above that containing the postal code, and the country name used is "Turkey". | |
| Czech Republic | 1973-12-31 | CZ | NNN NN | With Slovak Republic, Poštovní směrovací číslo (PSČ) – postal routing number. The first digit is from the range 1–7. | |
| Denmark | 1967-09-20 | DK | NNNN | Numbering follows the dispatch of postal trains from Copenhagen.[4] Also used by Greenland, e.g.: DK-3900 Nuuk. | |
| Djibouti | DJ | – no codes - | |||
| Dominica | DM | – no codes - | |||
| Dominican Republic | DO | NNNNN | |||
| East Timor | TL | – no codes - | No postal code system in use since Indonesian withdrawal in 1999. | ||
| Ecuador | 2013-12-31 | EC | NNNNNN | ||
| El Salvador | SV | NNNN | |||
| Egypt | EG | NNNNN | |||
| Equatorial Guinea | GQ | – no codes - | |||
| Eritrea | ER | – no codes - | |||
| Estonia | EE | NNNNN | |||
| Eswatini | SZ | ANNN | The letter identifies one of the country's four districts, either H, M, S or L. The four district regions are Hhohho region (H), Manzini region (M), Shiselweni region (S), and Lumombo region (L).[5] | ||
| Ethiopia | ET | NNNN | The code is only used on a trial basis for Addis Ababa addresses. | ||
| Falkland Islands | FK | FIQQ 1ZZ | Single code (AAAA NAA). UK territory, but not UK postcode | ||
| Faroe Islands | FO | CC-NNN | 3-digit postal code preceded by FO. Self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, but does not use Danish postal codes, and is addressed internationally as Faroe Islands, not Denmark.[6] | ||
| Fiji | FJ | – no codes - | |||
| Finland | 1971-12-31 | FI | NNNNN | A lower first digit indicates a place in south (for example 00100 Helsinki), a higher indicates a place further to north (99800 in Ivalo). The last digit is usually 0, except for postal codes for PO Box number ranges, in which case it is 1. Country code for Finland: "FI". In Åland, the postal code is prefixed with "AX", not "FI". Some postal codes for rural settlements may end with 5, and there are some unique postal codes for large companies and institutions, e.g. 00014 HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO (university), 00102 EDUSKUNTA (parliament), 00020 NORDEA (a major Scandinavian bank). | |
| France | 1972-06-03 | FR | NNNNN | The first two digits give the département number, while in Paris, Lyon and Marseille, the last two digits of the postal code indicate the arrondissement. Both of the 2 Corsican départements use "20" as the first two digits. Also used by French overseas departments and territories. Monaco is also part of the French postal code system, but the country code MC- is used for Monegasque addresses. | |
| French Guiana | GF | 973NN | Overseas Department of France. French codes used. Range 97300 – 97390. | ||
| French Polynesia | PF | 987NN | Overseas Collectivity of France. French codes used. Range 98700–98790. | ||
| French Southern and Antarctic Territories | TF | – no codes - | French codes in the 98400 range have been reserved. | ||
| Gabon | GA | – no codes - | |||
| Gambia | GM | – no codes - | |||
| Georgia | GE | NNNN | |||
| Germany | 1941-07-25 – 1962 resp. 1965 | DE | NN | Postleitzahl (PLZ) | |
| Germany | 1962 resp. 1965–1993 | DE | NNNN | Postleitzahl (PLZ) – Two separate systems in Western Germany (Federal Republic) and East Germany (German Democratic Republic). Between German reunification in 1990 and 1993 the old separate 4-digit postal codes of former West- and East-Germany were distinguished by preceding "W-" ('West') or "O-" ('Ost' for East). | |
| Germany | 1993-07-01 | DE | NNNNN | Postleitzahl (PLZ) – Totally new system introduced about 4 years after the German reunification. | |
| Ghana | 2017-10-18 | GH | A?NNN,
A?NNNN, A?NNNNN |
Ghana uses a digital address system. A digital address is made up of two main components: a postcode (e.g. EN-200) and a unique address (e.g. 1987). The first letter in the postcode represents a region (E for Eastern Region in this case), the second letter/digit (N) represents the district (N for New Juaben). The next batch of numbers (200) represent the area code. The regional, district and area codes come together to form the postcode. The last batch of numbers (1987) represent the unique address of the location. A combination of the postcode and the unique address make up the digital address.[7] | |
| Gibraltar | GI | GX11 1AA | Single code used for all addresses. | ||
| Greece | 1983-12-31 | GR | NNN NN | ||
| Greenland | GL | NNNN | Part of the Danish postal code system. | ||
| Grenada | GD | – no codes - | |||
| Guadeloupe | GP | 971NN | Overseas Department of France. French codes used. Range 97100 – 97190, which still includes the distinctive postal codes for Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy. | ||
| Guam | 1963-07-01 | GU | NNNNN, NNNNN-NNNN | U.S. ZIP codes. Range 96910–96932. | |
| Guatemala | GT | NNNNN | The first two numbers identify the department, the third number the route and the last two the office. | ||
| Guernsey | 1993-06-30 | GG | AAN NAA, AANN NAA | UK-format postcode (first two letters are always GY) | |
| Guinea | GN | NNN | |||
| Guinea Bissau | GW | NNNN | |||
| Guyana | GY | – no codes - | |||
| Haiti | HT | NNNN | |||
| Heard and McDonald Islands | HM | – no codes - | |||
| Honduras | HN | AANNNN, NNNNN | NNNNN is still being used [8] | ||
| Hong Kong | HK | – no codes - | [1] The dummy postal code of Hong Kong is 999077.
However, if you provide this dummy code where your address label will be electronically created, the system may change the destination country to "Hong Kong S.A.R, CHINA". The addition of "CHINA" can significantly delay delivery. Use an alternate dummy instead (e.g. 00000).[citation needed] | ||
| Hungary | 1973-12-31 | HU | NNNN | The code defines an area, usually one code per settlement except the six largest towns. One code can identify more (usually) small settlements as well. | |
| Iceland | IS | NNN | |||
| India | 1972-08-15 | IN | NNNNNN, NNN NNN |
Postal Index Number (PIN) consists of six digits: first digit for region, second digit for subregion, third digit for revenue/sorting office and last three digits representing the post office of the area. | |
| Indonesia | ID | NNNNN | For Indonesia postal code information visit, check Indonesian Post Office website | ||
| Iran | IR | NNNNN-NNNNN | (Persian: کد پستی) | ||
| Iraq | 2004-12-31 | IQ | NNNNN | ||
| Ireland | 2015-07-13 | IE | ANN
(Routing key, which is never used on its own) |
[D6W/ANN] [A/N][A/N][A/N][A/N]
(Single exception where its D6W ????) [9] |
Note: A valid postcode never contains the letters: B, G, I, J, L, M, O, Q, S, U, Z.[10]
Ireland's postcode system (called Eircode) refers to individual properties – not to streets/areas. It is presented in the format A12 A1BC The first 3 characters are a routing key referring to a postal district, and the second 4 characters are a unique, pseudorandom identifier for individual properties. The codes are only used in full 7-character format. See: www.eircode.ie for more information. See also Republic of Ireland postal addresses. |
| Isle of Man | 1993-12-31 | IM | CCN NAA, CCNN NAA | UK-format postcode. The first two letters are always IM. | |
| Israel | 2013-02-01 | IL | NNNNNNN | In 2013, after the introduction of the 7 digit codes, 5 digit codes were still being used widely. | |
| Italy | 1967-07-01 | IT | NNNNN | Codice di avviamento postale (CAP). Also used by San Marino (prefix SM) and Vatican City (prefix VA). First two digits identify province with some exceptions, because there are more than 100 provinces. | |
| Jamaica | 2007-02-12 | JM | NN | Before suspension: CCAAANN. Jamaica currently has no national postal code system, except for Kingston and Lower St. Andrew, which are divided into postal districts numbered 1-20[11]
Before the 2007 suspension, the first two letters of a national post code were always 'JM' (for Jamaica) while the third was for one of the four zones (A-D) into which the island was divided. The last two letters were for the parish, while the two digits were for the local post office.[12] | |
| Japan | 1968-07-01 | JP | NNN-NNNN | See also Japanese addressing system. | |
| Jersey | 1994-12-31 | JE | CCN NAA, CCNN NAA | UK-format postcode. The first two letters are always JE. | |
| Jordan | JO | NNNNN | Deliveries to PO Boxes only. | ||
| Kazakhstan | KZ | NNNNNN | [13] | ||
| Kenya | KE | NNNNN | Deliveries to PO Boxes only. The postal code refers to the post office at which the receiver's P. O. Box is located. | ||
| Kiribati | KI | – no codes - | |||
| Korea, North | KP | – no codes - | |||
| Korea, South | 2015-08-01 | KR | NNNNN | Previously NNN-NNN (1988~2015), NNN-NN (1970~1988) | |
| Kosovo | XK | NNNNN | A separate postal code for Kosovo was introduced by the UNMIK postal administration in 2004. Serbian postcodes are still widely used in the Serbian enclaves. No country code has been assigned. | ||
| Kuwait | KW | NNNNN | The first two digits represent the sector and the last three digits represents the post office. | ||
| Kyrgyzstan | KG | NNNNNN | |||
| Laos | LA | NNNNN | |||
| Latvia | LV | CC-NNNN | |||
| Lebanon | LB | NNNNN, NNNN NNNN | The first four digits represent the region or postal zone, the last four digits represent the building see also.[citation needed] | ||
| Lesotho | LS | NNN | |||
| Liberia | LR | NNNN | Two digit postal zone after city name. | ||
| Libya | LY | – no codes - | |||
| Liechtenstein | 1964-06-26 | LI | NNNN | With Switzerland, ordered from west to east. Range 9485–9498. | |
| Lithuania | LT | CC-NNNNN | References: http://www.post.lt/en/help/postal-code-search. Previously 9999 which was actually the old Soviet 999999 format code with the first 2 digits dropped. | ||
| Luxembourg | LU | NNNN | 4Digit postal code, 1st digit represent the Region[citation needed] | ||
| Macau | MO | – no codes - | [2] 999078 is the dummy code used in China to represent Macau, but it is not used. | ||
| Madagascar | MG | NNN | |||
| Malawi | MW | NNNNNN | Reference: https://www.macra.org.mw/?page_id=10521 | ||
| Malaysia | MY | NNNNN | |||
| Maldives | MV | NNNNN | |||
| Mali | ML | – no codes - | |||
| Malta | MT | AAA NNNN | Kodiċi Postali | ||
| Marshall Islands | 1963-07-01 | MH | NNNNN, NNNNN-NNNN | U.S. ZIP codes. Range 96960–96970. | |
| Mauritania | MR | – no codes - | |||
| Mauritius | MU | NNNNN | |||
| Martinique | MQ | 972NN | Overseas Department of France. French codes used. Range 97200–97290. | ||
| Mayotte | YT | 976NN | Overseas Department of France. French codes used. Range 97600–97690. | ||
| Mexico | MX | NNNNN | The first two digits identify the state (or a part thereof), except for Nos. 00 to 16, which indicate delegaciones (boroughs) of the Federal District (Mexico City). | ||
| Micronesia | 1963-07-01 | FM | NNNNN, NNNNN-NNNN | U.S. ZIP codes. Range 96941–96944. | |
| Moldova | MD | CCNNNN, CC-NNNN | |||
| Monaco | 1972-06-03 | MC | 980NN | Uses the French Postal System, but with an "MC" Prefix for Monaco. Code range 98000-98099 | |
| Mongolia | MN | NNNNN | First digit: region / zone, Second digit: province / district, Last three digits: locality / delivery block[14] | ||
| Montenegro | ME | NNNNN | |||
| Montserrat | MS | MSR NNNN | Range 1110–1350 | ||
| Morocco | 1997-01-01 | MA | NNNNN | ||
| Mozambique | MZ | NNNN | |||
| Myanmar | MM | NNNNN | |||
| Namibia | NA | NNNNN | Formerly used South African postal code ranges from 9000-9299.[15] Withdrawn from use after independence in 1990.[16] Namibia has introduced a 5-digit postal code in 2018.[17] | ||
| Nauru | NR | – no codes - | |||
| Nepal | NP | NNNNN | |||
| Netherlands | 1977-12-31 | NL | – no codes - | NNNN AA | The combination of the postal code and the house number gives a unique identifier of the address. The four numbers indicate an area, the two letters indicate a group of some 25 habitations, offices, factories, or post office boxes. |
| New Caledonia | NC | 988NN | Overseas Collectivity of France. French codes used. Range 98800–98890. | ||
| New Zealand | 2008-06-30 | NZ | NNNN | Postcodes were originally intended for bulk mailing and were not needed for addressing individual items. However, new post codes for general use were phased in from June 2006 and came into force by July 2008. | |
| Nicaragua | NI | NNNNN | |||
| Niger | NE | NNNN | |||
| Nigeria | NG | NNNNNN | |||
| Niue | NU | – no codes - | |||
| Norfolk Island | NF | NNNN | Part of the Australian postal code system. | ||
| North Macedonia | MK | NNNN | |||
| Northern Mariana Islands | 1963-07-01 | MP | NNNNN, NNNNN-NNNN | U.S. ZIP codes. Range 96950–96952. | |
| Norway | 1968-03-18 | NO | NNNN | From south to north | |
| Oman | OM | NNN | Deliveries to P.O. Boxes only. | ||
| Pakistan | 1988-01-01 | PK | NNNNN | ||
| Palau | 1963-07-01 | PW | NNNNN, NNNNN-NNNN | U.S. ZIP codes. All locations 96939 or 96940. | |
| Palestine | PS | NNN | not yet implemented in practice. Codes 100-899 are in the Westbank, 900-999 in the Gaza Strip | ||
| Panama | PA | NNNN | |||
| Papua New Guinea | PG | NNN | |||
| Paraguay | PY | NNNN | |||
| Peru | PE | NNNNN, CC NNNN | |||
| Philippines | PH | NNNN | |||
| Pitcairn Islands | PN | PCRN 1ZZ | Single code used(AAAA NAA). UK territory, but not UK postcode | ||
| Poland | 1973-01-01 | PL | NN-NNN | (PNA) Pocztowy Numer Adresowy | |
| Portugal | 1976-12-31 | PT | NNNN | ||
| Portugal | 1994-12-31 | PT | NNNN-NNN | ||
| Puerto Rico | 1963-07-01 | PR | NNNNN | NNNNN, NNNNN-NNNN | U.S. ZIP codes. ZIP codes 006XX for NW PR, 007XX for SE PR, in which XX designates the town or post office and 009XX for the San Juan Metropolitan Area, in which XX designates the area or borough of San Juan. The last four digits identify an area within the post office. For example, 00716-2604: 00716-for the east section of the city of Ponce and 2604 for Aceitillo St. in the neighborhood of Los Caobos. US Post office is changing the PR address format to the American one: 1234 No Name Avenue, San Juan, PR 00901. |
| Qatar | QA | – no codes - | |||
| Réunion | RE | 974NN | Overseas Department of France. French codes used. Range 97400–97490. | ||
| Romania | 2003-05-01 | RO | NNNNNN | Previously 99999 in Bucharest and 9999 in rest of country. | |
| Rwanda | RW | – no codes - | |||
| Russia | 1971-12-31 | RU | NNNNNN | Placed on a line of its own. | |
| Saint Barthélemy | BL | 97133 | Overseas Collectivity of France. French codes used, still within the same range used for Guadeloupe | ||
| Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha | SH | AAAA 1ZZ | Part of UK system (AAAA NAA). Saint Helena uses one code STHL 1ZZ, Ascension uses one code ASCN 1ZZ, Tristan da Cunha uses one code TDCU 1ZZ. | ||
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | KN | CCNNNN | |||
| Saint Lucia | 2015-12-03 | LC | CCNN NNN | The first two letters are always LC. There are two spaces between the second and third digits. | |
| Saint Martin | MF | 97150 | Overseas Collectivity of France. French codes used, still within the same range used for Guadeloupe | ||
| Saint Pierre and Miquelon | PM | 97500 | Overseas Collectivity of France. French codes used. | ||
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 2010-12-31 | VC | CCNNNN | ||
| Samoa | WS | CCNNNN | |||
| San Marino | SM | 4789N | With Italy, uses a five-digit numeric CAP of Emilia Romagna. Range 47890 and 47899 | ||
| São Tomé and Príncipe | ST | – no codes - | |||
| Saudi Arabia | SA | NNNNN-NNNN, NNNNN | NNNNN for PO Boxes. NNNNN-NNNN for home delivery. A complete 13-digit code has 5-digit number representing region, sector, city, and zone; 4-digit X between 2000 and 5999; 4-digit Y between 6000 and 9999.[18] Digits of 5-digit code may represent postal region, sector, branch, section, and block respectively.[19] | ||
| Senegal | SN | NNNNN | The letters CP or C.P. are often written in front of the postcode. This is not a country code, but simply an abbreviation for "code postal". | ||
| Serbia | 2005-01-01 | RS | NNNNN | Poštanski adresni kod (PAK) | |
| Seychelles | SC | – no codes - | |||
| Sierra Leone | SL | – no codes - | |||
| Sint Maarten | SX | – no codes - | |||
| Singapore | 1950-03-06 | SG | NN | ||
| Singapore | 1979-07-01 | SG | NNNN | ||
| Singapore | 1995-09-01 | SG | NNNNNN | Each building has its own unique postcode. | |
| Slovakia | 1973-01-01 | SK | NNN NN | with Czech Republic from west to east, Poštové smerovacie číslo (PSČ) – postal routing number. The first digit is from 8, 9, 0. | |
| Slovenia | SI | NNNN, CC-NNNN | before 1996 all postcodes were 6NNNN (part of the former Yugoslav system), in 1996 they removed the "6" | ||
| Solomon Islands | SB | – no codes - | |||
| Somalia | SO | AA NNNNN | Two letter postal codes for each of the nation's 18 administrative regions (e.g. AW for Awdal, BN for Banaadir, BR for Bari and SL for Sool).[20] | ||
| South Africa | 1973-10-08 | ZA | NNNN | Postal codes are allocated to individual Post Office branches, some have two codes to differentiate between P.O. Boxes and street delivery addresses. Included Namibia (ranges 9000–9299) until 1992, no longer used. | |
| South Sudan | SS | – no codes - | |||
| South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | GS | SIQQ 1ZZ | One code for all addresses. | ||
| Spain | 1976-03-03 | ES | NNNNN | First two indicate the province, range 01-52 | |
| Sri Lanka | LK | NNNNN | Reference: http://mohanjith.net/ZIPLook/ Incorporates Colombo postal districts, e.g.: Colombo 1 is "00100". You can search for specific postal codes here [3]. | ||
| Sudan | SD | NNNNN | |||
| Suriname | SR | – no codes - | |||
| Sweden | 1968-05-12 | SE | NNN NN | The lowest number is 100 12 and the highest number is 984 99. | |
| Switzerland | 1964-06-26 | CH | NNNN | With Liechtenstein, ordered from west to east. In Geneva and other big cities, like Basel, Bern, Zürich, there may be one or two digits after the name of the city when the generic City code (1211) is used instead of the area-specific code (1201, 1202...), e.g.: 1211 Geneva 13. The digit identifies the post office. This addressing is generally used for P.O. box deliveries. Büsingen (Germany) and Campione (Italy) have also a Swiss postal code. UPU: Switzerland. | |
| Svalbard and Jan Mayen | SJ | NNNN | Norway postal codes | ||
| Syria | SY | – no codes - | A 4-digit system has been announced. Status unknown. | ||
| Taiwan | 1970-03-20 | TW | NNN, NNN-NN, NNN-NNN | The first three digits of the postal code are required; the last two or three digits are optional. Codes are known as yóu dì qū hào (郵遞區號), and are also assigned to Senkaku Islands (Diaoyutai), though Japanese-administered, Pratas Island and the Spratly Islands. NNN-NNN 3+3 digit codes were launched on March 3, 2020. See List of postal codes in Taiwan. | |
| Tajikistan | TJ | NNNNNN | Retained system from former Soviet Union. First two numbers: Republic and Province, Second two numbers: District, last two numbers: Post Office. UPU: Tajikistan. Overview over some numbers. | ||
| Tanzania | TZ | NNNNN | |||
| 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) | |
| Togo | TG | – no codes - | |||
| Tokelau | TK | – no codes - | |||
| Tonga | TO | – no codes - | |||
| Trinidad and Tobago | 2021-12-31 | TT | NNNNNN | First two digits specify a postal district (one of 72), next two digits a carrier route, last two digits a building or zone along that route | |
| Tunisia | TN | NNNN | |||
| Turkey | TR | NNNNN | First two digits are the city numbers.[21] | ||
| Turkmenistan | TM | NNNNNN | Retained system from former Soviet Union. | ||
| Turks and Caicos Islands | TC | TKCA 1ZZ | Single code used for all addresses. | ||
| Tuvalu | TV | – no codes - | |||
| Uganda | UG | – no codes - | |||
| Ukraine | UA | NNNNN | |||
| United Arab Emirates | AE | – no codes - | UAE does not use a postal code system; instead, they use a post office system to send and receive parcels. | ||
| United Kingdom | Phased introduction, from 1966 to 1974. Still in use. | GB | A[A]N[A/N] | A[A]N[A/N] NAA | Known as the postcode. The first letter(s) indicate the postal area, such as the town or part of London. Placed on a separate line below the city (or county, if used). The UK postcode is made up of two parts separated by a space. These are known as the outward postcode and the inward postcode. The outward postcode is always one of the following formats: AN, ANN, AAN, AANN, ANA, AANA, AAA. The inward postcode is always formatted as NAA. A valid inward postcode never contains the letters: C, I, K, M, O or V. The British Forces Post Office has a different system, but as of 2012 has also adopted UK-style postcodes that begin with "BF1" for electronic compatibility. |
| United States | 1963-07-01 | US | NNNNN | NNNNN, NNNNN-NNNN | Known as the ZIP Code with five digits 99999* or the ZIP+4 Code with nine digits 99999-9999* (while the minimum requirement is the first five digits, the U.S. Postal Service encourages everyone to use all nine). Also used by the former US Pacific Territories: Federated States of Micronesia; Palau; and the Marshall Islands, as well as in current US territories American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. An individual delivery point may be represented as an 11-digit number, but these are usually represented by Intelligent Mail barcode or formerly POSTNET bar code.
The first digit is assigned regionally (for example, ZIP codes beginning with 9 are found in the western coastal states, Alaska, Hawaii, and islands in the Pacific), and ZIP codes with the same first three digits are served by the same USPS sorting facility (which sometimes serve multiple such groupings), so will be geographically clustered (for example, all ZIP codes in 919XX, 920XX, and 921XX are found in San Diego County, California). |
| United States Minor Outlying Islands | UM | 96898 | Mostly uninhabited. There is only one postal code in use, 96898 Wake Island. | ||
| Uruguay | UY | NNNNN | |||
| U.S. Virgin Islands | 1963-07-01 | VI | NNNNN, NNNNN-NNNN | U.S. ZIP codes. Range 00801–00851. | |
| Uzbekistan | 2005-05-13 | UZ | NNNNNN | Почтовые индексы Pochtovyye indeksy | |
| Vanuatu | VU | – no codes - | |||
| Vatican | VA | 00120 | Single code used for all addresses. Part of the Italian postal code system. | ||
| Venezuela | VE | NNNN, NNNN-A | |||
| Vietnam | VN | NNNNN | First two indicate a province. | ||
| Wallis and Futuna | WF | 986NN | Overseas Collectivity of France. French codes used. Range 98600 – 98690. | ||
| Yemen | YE | – no codes - | System for Sana'a Governorate using geocoding "عنواني" based on the OpenPostcode algorithm is inaugurated in 2014.[22] | ||
| Zambia | ZM | NNNNN | |||
| Zimbabwe | ZW | – no codes - | System is being planned. |
The use of the country codes in conjunction with postal codes started as a recommendation from CEPT (European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations) in the 1960s. In the original CEPT recommendation the distinguishing signs of motor vehicles in international traffic ("car codes") were placed before the postal code, and separated from it by a "-" (dash). Codes were only used on international mail and were hardly ever used internally in each country.
Since the late 1980s, however, a number of postal administrations have changed the recommended codes to the two-letter country codes of ISO 3166. This would allow a universal, standardized code set to be used, and bring it in line with country codes used elsewhere in the UPU (Universal Postal Union). Attempts were also made (without success) to make this part of the official address guidelines of the UPU. Recently introduced postal code systems where the UPU has been involved have included the ISO 3166 country code as an integral part of the postal code.
At present there are no universal guidelines as to which code set to use, and recommendations vary from country to country. In some cases, the applied country code will differ according to recommendations of the sender's postal administration. UPU recommends that the country name always be included as the last line of the address.
In the list above, the following principles have been applied: