Denmark’s PostNord Delivers Its Last Letters

Copenhagen, Denmark —(Map)

Denmark’s government-run postal service will stop carrying letters at the end of this year. The move is in response to a huge drop in the number of letters being sent. Many postal services around the world are struggling, and some people think Denmark won’t be the only country to stop delivering letters.

Denmark has had mail delivery since the 1600s. Now, the government-run PostNord says it will no longer carry letters starting in 2026. Instead, the service will focus on delivering packages.

PostNord used to deliver billions of letters every year. But the service says the number of letters it carries has dropped by 90% since 2000. Last year, the service only carried about 110 million letters – a drop of about 30% in just a year.

The rapid drop was partly the result of a new law that greatly raised the price of sending letters. The stamp to send a simple letter in Denmark now costs $4.55. Even so, the letter-carrying part of PostNord was losing money last year.

But the increased cost isn’t the only reason letters are more rare. These days, with emails, texts, and messaging apps, digital communications are far more common. Many people don’t have any need to send paper letters anymore.

Over the last ten years or so, the government of Denmark has made a huge effort to go digital. As a result, almost all government communication is done over the internet.

Still, after 400 years of mail service, it will be a big change. PostNord is letting over 2,000 of its workers go. And the service has been removing the 1,500 red post boxes it had placed around the country.

Some people are worried that the change will mainly hurt older people and those who live in remote areas. People in these groups are less likely to be online, and may rely more heavily on letters for communication.

What Happens Now?

A private company called DAO says it will take over the delivery of letters in Denmark. DAO has a long history of delivering newspapers, magazines, and letters across the country. DAO claims that it is already carrying 25% of the letters in Denmark.

For PostNord, it’s a mixed story. PostNord is partly owned by Denmark and partly by Sweden. In Denmark, PostNord will only deliver packages in the future. But in Sweden, the company will continue to deliver both packages and letters.

Denmark is the first European country to end its government-run letter delivery service. But many people believe other countries may follow. Writing and sending letters is much less common in this digital age. This has left many postal services struggling. Some postal services are losing money, and may face hard choices in the future.

People may not want to send many letters these days, but it turns out that they do want letter boxes. PostNord put its red post boxes up for sale online. There was so much interest that the website almost crashed, and the post boxes sold out very quickly.