Structured Lists Directory

Overview

Postal Codes by Country

Postal codes are numbering systems used for regional identification of addresses, facilitating efficient mail delivery and address verification. Different formats are adopted worldwide, ranging from numeric-only to alphanumeric combinations. This data comprehensively summarizes postal code formats, digit lengths, introduction years, and characteristics for major countries around the world.

postal code ZIP code address international mail regional identification logistics delivery
code slug name description digits example format introducedYear note
JP japan Japan 7-digit numeric format (3+4 digits). 7 100-0001 NNN-NNNN 1968 7-digit unified in 1998
US united-states United States 5-digit basic format. 9 digits for ZIP+4. 5 or 9 10001 or 10001-1234 NNNNN or NNNNN-NNNN 1963 ZIP+4 introduced in 1983
GB united-kingdom United Kingdom 5-7 character alphanumeric format. Divided into outward and inward codes. 5-7 SW1A 1AA AANA NAA 1857 First modern postal code system
CA canada Canada Alternating alphanumeric 3+3 character format. 6 M5V 2T6 ANA NAN 1971 Alternating letters and numbers
DE germany Germany 5-digit numeric format. Called Postleitzahlen (PLZ). 5 10115 NNNNN 1941 5-digit format from 1993
FR france France 5-digit numeric format. Called Code Postal. 5 75001 NNNNN 1964 First 2 digits indicate department
IT italy Italy 5-digit numeric format. Called CAP (Codice di Avviamento Postale). 5 00118 NNNNN 1967 Called CAP
AU australia Australia 4-digit numeric format. 4 2000 NNNN 1967 First digit indicates state
CN china China 6-digit numeric format. 6 200000 NNNNNN 1974 First 2 digits indicate province
IN india India 6-digit numeric format. Called PIN code. 6 110001 NNNNNN 1972 Called PIN code
KR south-korea South Korea 5-digit numeric format. Changed from 6 digits in 2015. 5 01000 NNNNN 1970 Changed to 5 digits in 2015
SG singapore Singapore 6-digit numeric format. Changed from 4 digits in 1979. 6 546080 NNNNNN 1950 6 digits from 1979
NL netherlands Netherlands 4-digit numeric + 2-letter format. 4 digits + 2 letters 1071 DJ NNNN AA 1978 Digits indicate region, letters indicate streets
BE belgium Belgium 4-digit numeric format. 4 1050 NNNN 1969 First digit indicates province
CH switzerland Switzerland 4-digit numeric format. 4 3000 NNNN 1964 Liechtenstein uses same system
ES spain Spain 5-digit numeric format. 5 28021 NNNNN 1987 First 2 digits indicate autonomous community
SE sweden Sweden 3+2 digit format. With SE prefix. 5 SE-111 81 SE-NNN NN 1968 SE prefix for international mail
IE ireland Ireland 7-character alphanumeric format. Called Eircode. 7 alphanumeric T37 F8HK AAA NNNN 2015 Last EU country to introduce postal codes
AT austria Austria 4-digit numeric format. 4 1120 NNNN 1966 First digit indicates state
BR brazil Brazil 5-digit + 3-digit format. Called CEP. 8 70040-020 NNNNN-NNN 1972 Called CEP
MX mexico Mexico 5-digit numeric format. 5 01000 NNNNN 1981 First 2 digits indicate state
RU russia Russia 6-digit numeric format. 6 101000 NNNNNN 1977 Introduced in Soviet era
PL poland Poland 2+3 digit format. 5 02-502 NN-NNN 1973 Hyphen between 2nd and 3rd digit
PT portugal Portugal 4+3 digit format. 7 1300-016 NNNN-NNN 1978 Hyphen between 4th and 5th digit
FI finland Finland 5-digit numeric format. With FI prefix. 5 FI-00100 FI-NNNNN 1971 FI prefix for international mail
NO norway Norway 4-digit numeric format. 4 0352 NNNN 1968 First 2 digits indicate region
DK denmark Denmark 4-digit numeric format. 4 2300 NNNN 1967 Includes Greenland and Faroe Islands
CZ czech-republic Czech Republic 3+2 digit format. 5 160 00 NNN NN 1973 Space between 3rd and 4th digit
HU hungary Hungary 4-digit numeric format. 4 1011 NNNN 1973 First digit indicates region
RO romania Romania 6-digit numeric format. 6 013696 NNNNNN 1975 First 2 digits indicate county
GR greece Greece 3+2 digit format. 5 104 32 NNN NN 1983 Space between 3rd and 4th digit
TR turkey Turkey 5-digit numeric format. 5 06050 NNNNN 1985 First 2 digits indicate province
ZA south-africa South Africa 4-digit numeric format. 4 0001 NNNN 1975 Assigned per post office
EG egypt Egypt 5-digit numeric format. 5 11511 NNNNN 1983
SA saudi-arabia Saudi Arabia 5-digit numeric format. 5 11564 NNNNN 1985 First digit indicates region
AE united-arab-emirates United Arab Emirates 5-digit numeric format. 5 00000 NNNNN 0 Relatively new system
TH thailand Thailand 5-digit numeric format. 5 10100 NNNNN 1982 First 2 digits indicate province
ID indonesia Indonesia 5-digit numeric format. 5 10110 NNNNN 1984 First digit indicates broad region
MY malaysia Malaysia 5-digit numeric format. 5 50000 NNNNN 1976 Changed from 4 to 5 digits
PH philippines Philippines 4-digit numeric format. Called ZIP code. 4 1000 NNNN 1970 Called ZIP code
NZ new-zealand New Zealand 4-digit numeric format. 4 6011 NNNN 1977 First digit indicates island
AR argentina Argentina 4-digit + letter format. Called CPA. 4 digits + 1 letter 1601A NNNN A 1998 Called CPA
CL chile Chile 7-digit numeric format. 7 8320000 NNNNNNN 1984
CO colombia Colombia 6-digit numeric format. 6 110111 NNNNNN 0 Recently introduced
PE peru Peru 5-digit numeric format. 5 15001 NNNNN 0 Recently introduced
IL israel Israel 5 or 7 digit numeric format. 5 or 7 61000 NNNNN or NNNNNNN 0 Assigned per post office
UA ukraine Ukraine 5-digit numeric format. 5 01001 NNNNN 1932 World's first nationwide system (1932)

A list of postal code systems and formats used by countries around the world.