Postcrossing Blog

Even the countries where it got less over the years are still extremely over-popular ;-)... I have the feeling that whenever I press the "send a card"-button, no matter at what time of day, I will most likely write a card to Russia, Finland, Netherlands, Germany, USA, Ukraine, Belarus... and yes, Taiwan. Other post boxes seem to run away from my account, hmmm. :)

Very interesting... Also to see there are only four countries that have sent over 1 million postcards (USA, Finland, Germany & Netherlands)... I am not so good with numbers so I really appreciate these kind of statistics :)

Wow! Thanks for using my idea! :D I love graphs and I really like seeing this and how it changed. It's funny to see how in year 2 there was an increase for many countries, and this graph also explains why I get so few cards from Finland anymore, or send so few cards to Finnish members. Incredible that at some point over a quarter of postcrossers were from Finland, while now it's only 1.4%. Thank you for showing this! :)

Most of my cards come from or have to be sent to Russia or China... And they're not even the most popular countries! I'd prefer a little more diversity, so more Europe or USA!

Thanks for this graphic ! I love statistics. I also remember the time when I got many cards from Finland; now there aren't so many anymore.

Thanks for this sharing. No wonder I haven't get a Finnish address to send

Realy nice to see that the category Other Countries is growing! As the top 10 countries are 75% of all users, it is no wonder we sent to and receive from those countries a lot.

It would be fun to have a blog about how we can help promote postcrossing in all those Other Countries.

I have got some Lonely Planet's travel guides at home, but ... haven't used them yet for promotion.

That's really interesting, thanks for this :)
I'd love to see an extra column on the explore countries page: I'm curious about the ratio of population to postcards sent. Just a thought :)

Yes, Finland used to be a major player on Postcrossing. Not so popular over there any more?

This was an interesting column. I have been a member for 6 years and few years back it was VERY depressing to be a Finnish member, everybody was so fed up with us Finns.
It's everybody's advantage that there are very great variety of countries involved.
It feels so refreshing NOT to be a representative of most common countries in Postcrossing anymore.
Time changes Postcrossing and it's features.

Thanks for that, it's really interesting. The graph seems slightly odd though, as the numbers don't always seem to match the graphic. For example, in Year 1, USA looks as if it was about 70%, while it was actually 21%.

The advantage of being a representative of a common country: no one is begging for private swaps ;-)

@Serena: you have to look at the lines relative to the lines below it. USA does seem to be at 70%, but the other countries (Taiwan to Brazil) take up around 50%, which leaves around 20% USA members :)

I've never seen postcrossers from Africa...

What a great question Pebbles84! :)
And wow! I love to see the difference in countries from year to year.
I haven't been a member very long (1.5 years) but I remember one member apologizing to me saying that I must be tired of getting Finnish cards. And here I am thinking "Woo-hoo--- Finland!" It's always a treat to get a card from there.
Great info--- thanks!

Thanks Peggy.

I have seen great changes, and this graph really helps. Now when I press send new card, it's rare if it's not a Russia address. I have not received Finnish card for sometime. I send 26 cards a month, so I am not surprised at the changes. Postcrossing will be like the waves of the ocean - going up and down for all countries, as it is always moving! Glad it's not static.

I was just thinking the other day that I've never received an address to send a card anywhere in Africa, India, Australia or South America. I wonder if there's a way to boost the signal down under.

Yes, very informative. I would like to receive a card from Ireland, Scotland and I have received cards from South Africa and Austrailia.

In my private statistics it hasn´t changed at all :) I love it as much as I did 2555 days ago.

useful overview

"I have the feeling that whenever I press the "send a card"-button, no matter at what time of day, I will most likely write a card to Russia, Finland, Netherlands, Germany, USA, Ukraine, Belarus... and yes, Taiwan."-
Oh yes, I know that too... :-/

I miss the Finns!
Thank you for this information. :)

I would welcome an address from Canada, Central & South America, Japan, the Philippines, USA, the Caribbean, Greenland, Sweden, Ireland, Iceland, Scotland and yes, even Finland now. Have had so many from Russia, Belarus, Netherlands, Germany and Taiwan lately.

Like pretty much everyone I would love to get a postcard from and send a postcard to every participating country in the world and one day [hopefully] I will but if not, I will certainly have had the best fun trying.
Postcrossing is a fantastic project and I love each and every card I get no matter whether is it the first card I get from a country or the 101st card. Each are special in their own way and always important. When I think of the time and effort everyone goes to to pick the 'perfect' card for me I am always thankful I found this site. I hope that those who receive the cards I send feel the same about the cards I send them. Judging from the lovely 'thank you' I receive I believe most do.
Thank you so much for the stats re country to user ratios etc. They are fascinating. Keep up the good work.
Happy Postcrossing to all.

The US decline seems to reflect the postage rates increase. I wonder if other countries had similar factors guiding their stats.

I was expecting this - after all these years at Postcrossing I got an address from Finland less often. But I still love to receive and send from every single country. If you sent or receive from a rare country of course it is always special.

I was expecting this - after all these years at Postcrossing I got an address from Finland less often. But I still love to receive and send from every single country. If you sent or receive from a rare country of course it is always special.

When I first joined, I noticed many cards to and from Finland, which surprised but certainly never bothered me. Even from any one country, there is so much variety! But I have now received and sent to and from many countries and am really enjoying the whole project. I would very much love to receive cards from some of the *rarer* countries and am still excited when I get to send to one of them. Always hopeful! The graphic was great. I also really like the personal summary graph we receive as each month wraps up, tracking our personal cards sent and received.

Thanx for the sharing! I have joined postcrossing for a year,and most of my cards have to be sent to Russia, or Belarus. On the other hand, the cards that I received are mostly from Finland and Belarus. I'd prefer a little more diversity, eg. more Europe, USA, South Africa, New Zealand or Australia!! :)

The secret is out ,I think finlands percentage drop is more to do with the rise in members from other countries.I don't get as many Finnish cards as I used to and I seem to get a lot from Minsk(a very beautiful place).I also see postcrossing and mailart as a way to keep my colleagues in a job world wide.Thankyou to whomever keeps the stats and does the wonderful graphs.

To wildernesscat and florencen: I'm sure the decrease in Finland's percentage is only relative - so many more people in so much bigger countries has joined! Remember, Finland has only 5,4 million people, compared to, for example, 143 million in Russia or 1,3 billion in China! I have not seen the absolute number of Finnish postcrossers decreasing.

I've wondered: why is postcrossing so popular in Finland compared to our western neighbours, Sweden and Norway? Finland has over 13 000 postcrossers, while Sweden has only 770 and Norway 760. Any ideas?

"I have the feeling that whenever I press the "send a card"-button, no matter at what time of day, I will most likely write a card to Russia, Finland, Germany, USA, Ukraine, Belarus... and yes, Taiwan."-
Oh yes, I know that too... :-/

And me! I know that too! :-( I wish I would get a card from the Middle East, or South Afica, or ....somewhere far away at long last! If I, myself, send a card to "Far Away", they will not register it :-(
Still, I love postcrossing. Very interesting these statistics.

I don´t know why, but I can´t see the graphic :-(

Anyway, from my last 20 sent postcard, there were 18 to Russia.... and half of them expired, because they were not delivered :-( it´s quite demotivating, however I know there´s no fault in Postcrossing itself....

Postcrossing *is* still popular in Finland and there are lots of new users as well - but the number of users has grown more rapidly in bigger countries. Still Finland has the most loyal and active Postcrossers of all - look at the rankings, the number of sent postcards and the forum!

I still get a large number of cards from the Netherlands and Finland (not that I mind, they're all from different areas so it's still nice). I don't think popularity in these countries is decreasing, more that it's growing in other countries. I think we in the UK have a lot now :)
I also get a lot from Russia and Germany but again I don't mind - the countries interest me so I can't complain!

I get the idea that the postal sevices in the former East-Block countries are as fast as thick mud. Iam always supprised when a card arrives. If they arrive. But Iam still a postcrossing fan

greetings

It´s very informative - I like all the postcards I found in my mailbox. All countries are interesting for me. All the informations about the users, too.

Please, don't speak about all East-Block countries! I think, Belarusian post does everything or at least so much to deliver any single postcard!
Thanks for sharing this wonderful statistics and...happy postcrossing to everyone! Of course, any countries are welcome! :)

@Olga86, you're absoluty right. Not all countries are the same (for better or for worse). Iam sorry

greeting

Thanks for the statistics. While you are looking at numbers how about correcting the list of participating countries ? As of August 2012, Postcrossers in only 180 countries have actively participated during the past year. Moreover, the lists of participants for each country are outdated and names need to be culled. This is an excellent, well-managed site which deserves updating.

@InP: As far as I know, postage is ridiculously high in Sweden and Norway, discouraging many people from joining postcrossing or continuing once they've realised the costs. This is probably also a problem in many other countries that are underrepresented, together with the fact that the Internet is not available to everyone as freely as it should be, and cards are also harder to come by in some areas of the world. It would be nice to increase the number of active users in these countries, but I don't see how it could be done on a big scale.

I like this graph, it is really very impressive. I for one miss all those lovely cards from Finland, it was always my favourite country to receive from (lots of snowy views which I LOVE) - which isn't to say I don't enjoy cards from everywhere else in the world, too. Each card and user is different and special after all.

@siobhan: You are absolutely right about the costs and difficulty to get postcards, but I think the number one reason why Postcrossing is not popular in certain countries is that people don't know about it! I would have started Postcrossing much earlier if I had ever heard about it! Thus, people in "rare" countries: start advertising, tell your friends and relatives about Postcrossing, contact a journalist to write a story about it in a magazine! You'll see that the popularity will increase, that has been the case in other countries too!

Portugal have now 25% of the users. Wow

Really amazing. I know I have been slow to send any new cards out since not many are coming in. Is this because postage gone up?

Well, when I signed up more than a year ago, I got mostly Finnish addresses, and now definitely 90% Russia and US, and 10% for all the rest..But who cares? Whenever I get bothered with this, I remind myself it doesn't matter for me, because I get from various destinations, and my postcards, wherever they go, will remain Bulgarian and will make someone out there happy :)
By the way, on the question with popularity - I think it's got a lot to do with cultural/local differences. E.g. while Eastern Europe was communist, it was very popular among states to make pen pals from different countries. My mother and aunt sent and received letters and postcards from the USSR A LOT. So for me personally it's no surprise countries like Belarus as well as Russia are very, very keen on Postcrossing.
I would love to see the statistics for this year after it's over. I definitely see differences, even from the humble 22 postcards I've sent and 19 received until now. :)

Agree on the pen-pal thing in/with the Eastern Bloc countries. I had pen-pals in USSR (Russia) and in the GDR (East Germany) back then. Also, another thing on Finland and postcard/letter-writing: Do any of you older people remember the penpal service located in Finland? That may be one reason why Postcrossing is so popular in Finland. "International Youth Service" closed in 2008 after almost 60 years, people weren't interested anymore in their services. I remember sending them International Reply Coupons to get an address from their database (my Russian pen-pal came from them, and a South-African one). http://chatteress.blogspot.de/2008/06/death-of-penfriendships.html (if the link does not show, google "death of penfriendships" for an 'obituary').

I joined Postcrossing in 2006 and nearly quit a year later because I seemed to only send and receive cards for Finland. I thought "Finland is a nice place, but I want to send and receive cards from all over the world, not just one country." I'm glad that I stuck with Postcrossing. The cards that I have been sending and receiving are better today than ever. I learned that if I make an effort to send Postcrossers the cards they want, then I receive better cards in return. Once in a while (rarely) I get a lame card, but most Postcrossers send me great stuff that I can't get enough of.

To the users who seem to be confused by this graphic: it's an area graphic, so the area between the two lines that limit a country is what tells you the importance of that country. For instance, Finland's area in year 2 is very big, but not so in year 7.

When I look at the statistics of the members who complain about the algorithm skewness, I find that many people have the wrong impression over their own numbers. Perhaps because in some countries mail takes longer to arrive, it feels like you're sending more postcards to those, which isn't necessarily true. Yes, the algorithm is still asymmetric, and some countries are more predominant than others - but more often than not, the difference is not as large or remarkable as you think it is. :)

nice graphics! I hope they continue to grow! :)

Interesting graphics, thank you. I'm relieved to hear that people are not anymore fed up with receiving cards from Finland! :)

After looking at this article I checked out my stats: mostly I get a card from Russia, Germany or the Netherlands. These three countries are on the top3 for sent cards also but in different order. About after a year of being an avid postcrosser I almost quit because of this. I got my interest back when I realised the more fun and exciting this is when you get a card from a "rare" country among all the Russian and Dutch ones! (A while ago there was a card from Indonesia and I kept telling my friends for two days "How cool is that?! From Indonesia!") And of course, I've received many beautiful cards from these top3 countries mentioned earlier. Especially from Russia! Plus, I think I enjoy a bit more clicking "send a new card" -button, choosing a good card and writing to other postcrossers than receiving them myself ;)

Statistics looks interesting, but I wonder if it is really correct at least when looking at the current geographic distribution (year 7).

Here is my comparison related to current situation:
Country - My calc.% - % in chart
Other 38,1 41
USA 12,0 9,1
Taiwan 8,3 9,4
Russia 10,9 15,1
Portugal 1,3 0,9
Netherlands 7,1 7,8
Germany 6,8 5,4
Finland 4,2 1,4
China 9,4 8,8
Brazil 1,9 1,5

The chart is not at least telling correctly the percentages of all members in the postcrossing at the moment. We can see in "Countries" that USA has got the most members (38819) and the second is Russia (35260). According to the chart USA would be third after Russia and Taiwan (Taiwan is actually 4th what comes to members). This chart is also in discrepancy with the pie chart in Explore>Statistics>Users.

HOLA!!
I like my postcards sent to Russia, but I would love to send to many countries around the world .. Please correct this! most locations are to russia, in my last shipment of 7 postcards, 4 traveled to Russia. Thank you. Greetings from El Salvador.

Hi, Us Aussies are here & ready!!!! I found out about Postcrossing through a little snipette in a magazine where you could let people know about websites you love & why, and it got me started. I am not a traveller, money's the problem :) but I LOVE to see all the amazing places in the world, I also think USA & England have the most amazing postcards so I hope everyone can keep going. I know it can get a bit expensive at times but my 4 year old LOVES going to the mailbox to see what we can find. Thanks everyone!

Taiwan is amazing, small island, but become a great portion of Postcrossing!