The "zip code" is a United States Postal Service thing, used to distinguish different localities within the United States. With the current "zip+4" format, there are literally millions of different values.
Many other countries have their own system of postal codes, although not all do. Every country has a different system, and each calls it something different. There is no enormous master list of all postal codes for all countries in the world -- it would be extremely large, in constant flux, and not terribly useful.
Yup. The government here in the Netherlands (through the postal service) tried to publish a book containing all our postal codes when the system was first introduced some 20 years ago and to publish yearly updates. The initial volume was the size of a telephone directory and some 2500 pages of very small print. After the first 2 thousand page yearly updates they gave up trying.
Originally posted by Ernest Friedman-Hill: Many other countries have their own system of postal codes, although not all do. Every country has a different system, and each calls it something different..
Perhaps this would be a good area for some kind of international standard. It would be difficult to achieve in many places, but the EU could have a go at it, even if it is as simple as a country-specific prefix to each code.
OK, so you could argue that there wouldn't be much point, as most international mail mentions the destination country in the address, but it could help when machines are used more often to read addresses - the machine would only have to read one line instead of a two.
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Jeroen T Wenting
Joined: Apr 21, 2006
the machine when handling international mail only has to recognise the country as being a different one from the one it's positioned in and then forward the piece to the correct bag or container for that country.
There is no need for "standardisation" (which would effectively mean one country imposing its will on everyone) if it is even possible at all. Mailing addresses are different enough between countries as it is. In the UK the county is often mentioned, in the US the state and sometimes county, in other countries none of that is done (except when needed to make an address explicit, like when a town with a specific name exists in several provinces). House numbers may be placed in front or behind street names, or they may not exist at all. Postal codes may be placed in different places in the address. When using the postal code part or all of the rest of the address may be omitted. etc. etc.
Originally posted by Ernest Friedman-Hill: The "zip code" is a United States Postal Service thing, used to distinguish different localities within the United States. With the current "zip+4" format, there are literally millions of different values.
Is there like millions of different places in the US to fill em up???
You think you know me .... You will never know me ... You know only what I let you know ... You are just a puppet ... --CMG
In the UK a postcode is far more granullar than a US ZIP code. In many (most?) cases - just addressing something to a NAME and POSTCODE would be sufficient for the postal service to make a delivery to the correct address
My parents postcode: RG23 7DT (modified slightly to protect the innocent ) - lets break it down...
RG = City of Reading postal area (population of entire area =~ 500,000?)
23 = Western edge of the town of Basingstoke (pop =~ 30,000)
7 = Village of Oakley (pop =~ 10,000)
DZ = Southern half of the road with house numbers from 45-90 (pop =~60?)
So in this case the postcode narrows it down to about 60 people - If we assume this is typical for the entire UK and extrapolate (which is a BIG assumption) - then there would indeed be a need for over a million different postcodes to service the population of about 70million....
Jeroen T Wenting
Joined: Apr 21, 2006
pretty similar in the Netherlands then. Postal code and street number (or PO box number) are enough to uniquely identify an address, adding the name is only needed to identify the actual person at that address the mail is meant for.
Joined: Jan 20, 2005
Originally posted by Jeroen T Wenting: There is no need for "standardisation" (which would effectively mean one country imposing its will on everyone) if it is even possible at all. Mailing addresses are different enough between countries as it is.
It needn't be the entire address which is standardised, but just the postal code part of it. Even something as simple as having a country specific prefix. We have one for phone numbers, so it isn't that crazy an idea.
Joined: Jan 20, 2005
Originally posted by Adrian Wallace: just addressing something to a NAME and POSTCODE would be sufficient for the postal service to make a delivery to the correct address
Assuming that the postman/woman making the delivery has memorised all the codes of course
My parents postcode: RG23 7DT
Ah! I used to live in RG41, just down the road, although it used to be something else at some point. RG11 I think.
I am now in London, which has a particularly cool way of doing postcodes (in the inner boroughs only though). I am in SE6, which means I'm in the South East. There are also similar postcodes for South West, West, West Central, East Central, North West, North and East, meaning that if someone tells you their postcode, you can tell which segment of the city a person comes from.
Unfortunately the numbered sections have been chopped and changed a bit, meaning that the numerical ordering is a bit odd. SE6 is next door to SE23 and SE12, for example, and SE1 and SE2 are a few miles away from each other.