Copenhagen is set to become the first European nation to fully discontinue standard letter delivery, ending a practice with roots stretching back over 400 years. The state-owned postal service, PostNord, will halt these services on December 30, a move attributed to a 90% decline in letter volume over the past quarter-century and a 30% drop in 2024 alone. This decision reflects a global trend as digital communication rises and postal services worldwide grapple with evolving demands and financial pressures.
Copenhagen – Denmark is set to become the first European nation to completely end the collection and delivery of standard letters, marking a significant shift in postal services as digital communication continues to rise. The state-owned postal service, PostNord, will cease these services on December 30, bringing to a close a tradition spanning over 400 years.
The decision, driven by a steep decline in letter volume, reflects a broader trend impacting postal services worldwide. Over the past 25 years, the volume of letters sent in Denmark has plummeted by 90 percent. In 2024 alone, it fell by 30 percent following the end of the country’s universal service obligation, which required postal companies to provide affordable access for all, and the opening of the market to competitors.
The removal of a value-added tax exemption on postal services also contributed to the decline. The cost of sending a standard domestic letter rose to 29 Danish kroner (approximately $3.60 USD), with next-day delivery costing 39 kroner. These increased costs effectively sealed the fate of traditional letter post.
Fewer and Fewer Letters Sent
Postal services globally have experienced a dramatic decline in letter volume over the past two decades as email, text messaging, and social media replace traditional paper correspondence. The COVID-19 pandemic further accelerated this trend, with people relying more heavily on online communication during lockdowns. Simultaneously, e-commerce has boomed, leading to a rapid increase in parcel deliveries. Worldwide, 161 billion packages were shipped in 2022, a number projected to reach 256 billion by 2027.
Some postal services have successfully adapted. Privatized services, such as those in Malta and Portugal, generally fare better than state-run ones. Italy’s partially privatized Poste Italiane has seen positive development under Matteo Del Fante, a former banker. The profitable company now offers banking and insurance services alongside letter and parcel delivery. Its prepaid debit cards, Postepay, launched in 2003, have been a major success, with around 7.2 million currently in circulation.
Germany’s Deutsche-Post-DHL-Gruppe, a publicly traded company with a majority stake held by the German state development bank, is also profitable and was named the best postal service in the world alongside Switzerland in 2024. Following privatization in 1995, Deutsche Post reinvented itself as a logistics company offering freight and supply chain management services, including warehousing and distribution. Great Britain’s Royal Mail, while partially privatized – with Czech entrepreneur Daniel Kretinsky as its majority shareholder – has struggled more. In August, it reported an operating profit for the first time in three years, but still recorded a loss when accounting for the costs of voluntary redundancies.
Crisis for State-Run Postal Services
Many state-run postal services are currently facing difficulties. On November 3, the loss-making Greek Post closed 204 of its 456 branches, sparking outrage across the country, with opposition politicians arguing that it is vital for social cohesion and accessibility for elderly people in remote regions. Employees of Canada Post, the state-owned Canadian postal service, have been repeatedly striking since September over disputes regarding wages, benefits, and job security.
“The speed at which letter volume declines varies depending on a country’s level of digitalization.”
The United States Postal Service (USPS) serves the world’s largest single market: North America accounts for 37 percent of global postal revenue. On November 14, it reported an annual loss of $9 billion, with cumulative losses since 2007 exceeding $100 billion. Former President Donald Trump reportedly considered integrating its 635,000 employees into the Department of Commerce, calling the service “a joke.”
But Letters Aren’t Disappearing Everywhere
Letters still have a role to play. “The speed at which letter volume declines varies depending on a country’s level of digitalization,” says Armen Ghalumyan of research firm Cullen International. They continue to account for a significant portion of postal revenue. Until recently, India and Brazil saw increasing letter volumes, driven by their growing middle classes, according to the Universal Postal Union (UPU).
However, Denmark is among the most digitized countries. In 2024, the United Nations ranked its public sector digitalization as the best in the world for the fourth consecutive year. “The letter market is no longer profitable,” says Kim Pedersen, CEO of PostNord. The fewer letters sent, the higher the per-unit cost of processing them.
Other countries will follow Denmark, predicts Henrik Ballebye Okholm of the consultancy Copenhagen Economics – not immediately, but perhaps within a decade. Danes will still be able to send – or receive – letters from abroad via DAO, a private company, but they will have to go to a DAO branch. The bright red mailboxes bearing the post horn and Danish crown have adorned the country’s streets since the mid-19th century. From next year, they will grace its museums.
From Economist.com, translated by 20 Minuten, published under license. The original article in English is available at www.economist.com.
