Some years ago, we published a different ranking for postcrossers, one that focused on the concentration of postcrossers per 100,000 habitants in the different countries. Essentially, this ranking answers the question: where are you more likely to find a postcrosser in the street?
Things have changed since the last time we’ve compiled these statistics over five years ago, so we thought it was time for an updated ranking. Paulo ran the numbers and here it is:
| Ranking (current) | Country | Postcrossers (per 100,000 inhabitants) | Previous ranking (in Feb. 2013) | Previous ranking (in Dec. 2010) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇫🇮 Finland | 382 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | 371 | 6 | 6 |
| 3 | 🇧🇾 Belarus | 304 | 3 | 8 |
| 4 | 🇱🇹 Lithuania | 294 | 2 | 3 |
| 5 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 230 | 4 | 4 |
| 6 | 🇨🇿 Czechia | 194 | 11 | 15 |
| 7 | 🇪🇪 Estonia | 187 | 5 | 2 |
| 8 | 🇱🇻 Latvia | 163 | 7 | 7 |
| 9 | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong | 134 | 9 | 19 |
| 10 | 🇦🇽 Åland Islands | 120 | 10 | >50 |
| 11 | 🇲🇴 Macao | 119 | 8 | 5 |
| 12 | 🇬🇬 Guernsey | 106 | 19 | 12 |
| 13 | 🇵🇱 Poland | 84 | 12 | 16 |
| 14 | 🇮🇸 Iceland | 70 | 13 | 9 |
| 15 | 🇵🇹 Portugal | 66 | 15 | 10 |
| 16 | 🇷🇺 Russia | 64 | 21 | 29 |
| 17 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 62 | 17 | 17 |
| 18 | 🇸🇬 Singapore | 59 | 14 | 11 |
| 19 | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | 58 | 18 | 13 |
| 20 | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | 57 | 16 | 35 |
| 21 | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 45 | 22 | 20 |
| 22 | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | 44 | 20 | 14 |
| 23 | 🇧🇪 Belgium | 42 | 23 | 26 |
| 24 | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | 41 | 36 | 38 |
| 25 | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 38 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 🇦🇹 Austria | 34 | 25 | 28 |
| 27 | 🇮🇲 Isle of Man | 31 | >50 | >50 |
| 28 | 🇯🇪 Jersey | 31 | 29 | 27 |
| 29 | 🇦🇺 Australia | 29 | 26 | 18 |
| 30 | 🇨🇦 Canada | 27 | 27 | 24 |
| 31 | 🇲🇹 Malta | 26 | 30 | 21 |
| 32 | 🇮🇪 Ireland | 25 | 31 | 33 |
| 33 | 🇳🇴 Norway | 25 | 28 | 23 |
| 34 | 🇬🇺 Guam | 23 | 41 | >50 |
| 35 | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 23 | 33 | 32 |
| 36 | 🇧🇲 Bermuda | 23 | >50 | >50 |
| 37 | 🇫🇴 Faroe Islands | 22 | >50 | >50 |
| 38 | 🇭🇺 Hungary | 22 | 34 | 34 |
| 39 | 🇫🇷 France | 22 | 44 | 42 |
| 40 | 🇺🇸 USA | 21 | 32 | 31 |
| 41 | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | 19 | 47 | 48 |
| 42 | 🇲🇩 Moldova | 18 | 42 | 49 |
| 43 | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | 18 | 37 | 40 |
| 44 | 🇭🇷 Croatia | 17 | 35 | 30 |
| 45 | 🇦🇩 Andorra | 17 | >50 | >50 |
| 46 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 16 | 40 | 36 |
| 47 | 🇧🇳 Brunei | 16 | 38 | 37 |
| 48 | 🇪🇸 Spain | 15 | 39 | 44 |
| 49 | 🇹🇷 Turkey | 13 | 48 | 47 |
| 50 | 🇲🇪 Montenegro | 11 | 45 | 43 |
But first, some disclaimers: some countries or territories on this list don’t have 100,000 habitants (eg. islands), so the number of postcrossers per capita there can be a bit misleading. And as with the last time, to calculate the data above we took into account only countries with more than 10 members and excluded countries for which we did not have reliable population data.
As expected, some things have stayed the same, and some have changed. Finland is still the place with more postcrossers per capita, although Taiwan is slowly making its way up to the top of the chart. Czech Republic is the only new country in the top-10, with a very impressive jump to 6th place.
Some newcomers to this ranking include the Isle of Man, Andorra, Bermuda and the Faroe Islands, all of which now have more than 10 members. Hurray!
From those countries which were already on this ranking, Slovakia climbed an impressive 12 places (from 36 to 24) and Guernsey and Guam both went up 7 places (from 19 to 12 for the former and 41 to 34 for the latter). Other countries that moved up significantly include Russia, France and Bulgaria.
The biggest slides down the ranking happened in Brunei (38 to 47), Spain (39 to 48), Croatia (35 to 44), the USA (from 32 to 40) and Malaysia (from 37 to 43).
And apart from Finland, Germany is the only other country that has maintained the exact same position over the past 8 years, with a firm grasp on 17th place in the ranking. 😊
Curious for more data? Check out the Explore countries page for all the numbers!
46 comments so far
I wish India would get listed here soon....
Glad to see Ireland on this list 🙋. Number of Postcrossers definitely increased since we featured on TV in 2016 and the issue of our Postcrossing Stamp in 2017.
there are 3 postcrossers in my class! ^-^
@sidwidkid Looking at the data on the Explore Countries' page, India's per (100,000) capita ranking would be 0.7... There's A LOT of people there, so it inevitably dilutes the number of postcrossers. 😅
How about data about countries like Brazil, USA, China or India? I'm curious...
I always love this kind of numbers, thanks for sharing. I love the PT numbers, never imagined! :)
Cool! Love this, so interesting to see. Have you ever done a poll on how people found out about Postcrossing?
I love the stats. I have been amazed with the increase in Postcrossers in Taiwan and Russia since I joined in January, 2014. Hurray to Finland for its #1 status.. Do you think Inge Look has influenced this?:) Her cards are awesome! I like the idea of the survey on how people became Postcrossers. Keep up the great work.
@lilacs-and-figs Oooops — that was my mistake. I've fixed the flag. 😅
Can't believe there are really lots of Postcrossers in Taiwan! Proud of us!
@ceoramalho it's not hard to calculate this ranking for any country — the numbers you need are on the Explore Countries page: https://www.postcrossing.com/explore/countries
Thanks for crunching the numbers! Interesting to see how the countries stack up. Makes me want to take a trip to Finland just so I could stop people on the street and ask if they belong to Postcrossing!
Thank you Meladeleite, that you post this, very interesting.
Very nice ranking. Italy is missing at all I'm so sad maby you can update it to the list thank you ciao!
Ah, but how many of those listed members are actually active? :-) Still, fascinating stuff.
These stats are very interesting! I think @Heepy may have a point.....how many of these Postcrossers are active? Some Postcrossers haven’t been active for years!
It's too bad that there isn't a discounted rate for sending postcards internationally - or for sending Postcrossing postcards! We're helping keep postal workers in business, right? :D Fun to see these stats. I get many cards from just a few countries but seeing those in relation to per capita adds some perspective.
Wow, this is interesting! And for once I am glad to be from the Czech Republic. :)
Thank you! 😃
thank you
I'm very happy that Lithuania is so active <3 I remember people starting to talk about Postcrossing project, then me joining it around 10 years ago and to this day I feel that it was so much worth trying it. Thanks to my friend Vida who got me into this amazing community years back :)
Oh, how I wish for a postcard from such beautiful lands. If you so desire:
Doug Vail
750 PR 5525
Point, TX, USA
75472
Happy Maltese Postcrosser for 10 years here, though I was inactive most of the times.
It would be interesting to see these figures without ghostcrossers, so only active members.
It's a pity this number of China is only 5,I wish China will get listed here soon.Go,China!
how about Indonesia???
Italy has about 6 members for every 100.000 habitants...
It is not that is missing, it's that it is not in the first 50 countries on this ranking.
Good to know grazie " leahleen " ciao
@KoJep Indonesia's number would be about 2.8 — again, lots and lots of inhabitants, which dilutes the number of postcrossers. :)
Suprised by Russia being so far from the top... Perharps we have too many people without internet at all XD
None of my friends are postcrossers. But they have internet.
It's nice that the numbers of poscrossers in Russia is gradually growing :-) Compared to 21 and 29(results for 2013 and 2010), the current 64 is a lot.
Great to see the Czech Republic on the beautiful 6th place!
Wonderful statistics!
I'm surprised that Sweden is on the list at all (on a meagre 46th place), but not surprised at all that it is sliding down. Next time, I guess, it will not be among the top 50.
Fascinating stuff. As the topic said it, we are looking at the per capita perspective. It would also be good to look at how the two variables contributing to the per capita progress or digress over the years. I would assume both number of postcrossers as well as population in a country would be on the increasing trend. It is good to understand how these two dynamics fare
This is really interesting! ...although I wonder how many of these members are actually active. I've just looked at Guam as an example - there are 3 users who have logged in in the last 24 hours, the next on the list was last seen 20 days ago, the rest have last been seen months or years ago.
I am really sorry that USA went down so much. I can only speak for myself, but we have a lot going on right now. As to when I used to be able to pump out a couple of postcards as I watched the morning news, I find myself having to pay full attention to what is happening in my country right now. Having a racist as a leader can impact in so many ways.
Hello, everyone. It;s interesting rank. Let me know how wonderful postcsosser in Taiwan. Le's come to the top~:D
People, please take a look here too :) https://forum.postcrossing.com/viewthread.php?tid=120092#pid8890822
Statistics are an interesting thing! I completely agree about the Czech Republic and Malaysia, the postcrossers' addresses from these countries fall out more often than before, it's on sensations.
Interesting statistics! I suppose our keenness for postcard sending might have something to do with prefering "delayed communication" (not being very talkative in person :)) and the fact that in a way Finland is located at quite the periferia, so it's nice to have this great opportunity to make friends with rest of the world ♥♥♥♥ Yay for Postcrossing! :)
I do not have such huge and a lot of things which I would love to do. But there are 3 of them: First, I would like to cope with my mental illnesses, for example depression, every single day in a good way. Second, I would like to visit the country Nepal one day. And the third one is, to have my own little family with a baby at least when I will turn 40 years old, or maybe a bit earlier ( I am 32 years old now). Since I am a teenager, I had the big dream to visit the country Sri-Lanka one day, and in the end of 2013 this big dream became true - and that's a very very unbelievable and amazing point in my life that I could realise it! Dreams can become true! Wow! :)
I wish for you all that one day you can realise your buckit list! :)
Oh sorry, I am wrong with the theme! ;)
Bermuda on the list. Wow!
Good to see the Isle of Man here.
I had a German penpal when I was 17 years and visited her and her family in 1958. Gradually we lost touch but for my 60th birthday my daughter, who lives in Germany and has heard me speak of Roswitha many times, found her and we have been writing to each other again ever since. (who-ray)
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