Postcrossing Blog

Hurray! It’s our birthday! 🥳 Postcrossing celebrates 19 years of joy and connections today, and we’re marking the date with chocolate cookies… and a surprise!

But before that, a big thank you to all postcrossers for being part of this community and for helping make Postcrossing what it is today. It’s been 19 years of stories from around the world, 19 years of learning and sharing… and about one postcard received every 6 seconds — it feels unbelievable, doesn’t it?

Our gratitude goes also to the team and all the volunteers that make Postcrossing run smoothly — and to all of you who have supported the project financially over the years. We wouldn’t have made it this far without your help.

So we hope you can take a moment today to celebrate this anniversary with a little dance, and maybe a cookie or three! And, of course, with postcards too!

Now, about that surprise…

If you were in Postcrossing over a decade ago, you might remember we used to have a small shop… which didn’t see much action, and ended up closing. In recent years though, more and more people have been asking us where they could get Postcrossing merchandising, and we ourselves have long felt that it would be nice to have a platform for the fun stuff we’ve always wanted to make.

Setting up the logistics of a global shop is not an easy feat, but after we found a partner with sustainable production practices and warehouses on a few different continents, the challenge became much simpler. Once we designed the products for our first collection, it still took us quite a while to work through all the (seemingly endless) bureaucracy, but today we’re finally ready to re-launch it.

So, welcome to the new Postcrossing shop!

We’re super excited about the shop relaunch, and we hope you are too — we can’t wait to see all the Postcrossing merch being worn by real postcrossers!! 😍

Now that the shop is in place, every purchase will help support the project and make room for even more postal awesomeness in the future. We have lots of ideas for cool products we want to make and look forward to working with designers to bring them to life. If you have suggestions of things you’d like to see in the shop (other than postcards), let us know in the comments below!

PS: This is a new adventure for us, as we are new to the whole e-commerce thing. Please be patient with us while we iron out all the kinks. 🙏

Over the forum, there’s a fun topic called “You know you’re a postcrosser when…”, started by Jenny (aka Axolotl_) back in 2021. We love seeing what people post there, so we thought we’d share some of the ones which jumped out at us (though it’s very hard to choose!).

One of the earliest posts by Jewell (aka jewelldelis) does seem like a bit of a giveaway, and other members have mentioned similar:

I don’t think I’m quite at that stage myself, but I do wonder sometimes if the person emptying the pillarboxes sees all my postcards pushed in at once and thinks “ah, it’s that one again”! Though it’s rare for me to send as much as Ksenia (aka Xute). She says:

She included a picture, too!

Sometimes it’s not just about us. It’s the way the whole family gets involved. For example, even Shannon (aka MystiqueDeep)'s kids are in on the Postcrossing fun:

It’s not just at home with the neighbours and the local postal workers, either. Kanerva has even been spotted as a postcrosser in a touristy spot:

I’ve been asked about all the postcards I was buying before, but they didn’t know about Postcrossing yet. Don’t worry, I told them all about it!

Quite recently, Sai (aka Boson) shared the fun facts about addresses that he’s learned because of Postcrossing. He says you know you’re a postcrosser when:

Check out his post to see the other things he’s learned!

On another note, Maggie (aka fire_maggie)'s suggestion got me thinking:

Clearly, I need to add this to my travel checklist… Do you know how to ask for stamps in many languages? I think I could manage French, and I always have my wife to ask in Dutch. After that I might be stuck. Better preparation next time!

For those who have a mailbox to open, Nadine (aka Amalaswintha)'s got a suggestion:

I’m kind of relieved I don’t have a mailbox, because I can definitely picture that happening to me. But Kasia (aka kasia_kiwi) has one I definitely relate to:

That was actually my only motivation to go for walks for a while. I used my Postcrossing cards to get me out of the house, because I wouldn’t want to disappoint anyone by not posting their postcards right away!

That was just a selection of all the fun ideas people have shared about what marks them out as postcrossers on the forum. It’s obvious how much time people take over Postcrossing and how much they love this hobby, and it gives us the warm fuzzies. (And as you can see from this post, I’m the same!)

What about you—do you think there’s something very specific that marks you out as a postcrosser?

Did you hear that sound? It was the sound of postcard number 75 million reaching its recipient and being registered!! Woohoo! 🎉 We’re ¾ of the way to 100 million postcards, which feels like a little unreal… but it’ll still take some years to get there, so we have time to get used to that idea. 😅

And since we’re talking about numbers, January is usually a period where we like to stop a moment to reflect and plan, so it’s a good time to go over how Postcrossing did in 2023. Let’s look at numbers!

4,955,460 postcards received

That’s 38,008 postcards less than in 2022… but overall, not that much of a difference, especially considering all the postage increases.

28.24 average travel days and 18.67 median travel days

That’s a little bit higher than last year, with mail taking on average about a day longer to get to its destinations… which may be explained by the next statistic:

26,736,461,421 kms (16,613,266,909 miles) traveled

26.7 billion kilometers (or 16.6 billion miles)! Pretty impressive, right? Even though we sent less postcards overall, our postcards traveled a 5.5% higher total distance than in 2022! There are still quite a few postal routes not working at the moment, which influences where postcards can be sent.

19,960 kms (12,403 miles) was the longest distance traveled

As is becoming tradition, it’s a postcard from Spain to New Zealand that takes the medal for the card that travels the longest distance! Postcard ES-731128 took 50 days to cover the 19,960 kms that separate Úbeda in southeast Spain) to Tauranga, in New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty!

The average distance a postcard traveled in Postcrossing in 2023 was much less than that though — about 5,395 kms (or 3,352 miles).

1,146,458 postcards were sent from Germany

Woohoo! Our German members have once again taken the cake, thanks to their enthusiasm, reasonable postage prices and to Deutsche Post’s Cards for Literacy campaign… but the USA has slowly been closing their distance in the rankings! Could they one day surpass Germany? We’ll have to see!

For the people who are new to this statistic, let me take a moment to explain that this is the number of postcards sent from these countries which were registered in 2023. That means that there are some postcards in there that were sent in 2022 and registered in 2023, and there are also some postcards requested in 2023 that are not counted in this statistic (those are still traveling and will likely be registered over the next few weeks/months). Looking at postcards registered within a certain timeframe and sticking to it makes it easier to compare with previous years though, so that’s what we usually do.

Shelleh sent the most postcards

So here’s a curious fact: this year, the top 5 senders in Postcrossing were all from the USA: Shelleh (2,483 postcards sent), BeckyS (2,391), suegathman (2,357), Djain (2,284) and christelvonderpost (2,145). All of these members have chosen to also exchange postcards with their own country, which, in a big country like the USA, means that they often send postcards domestically, speeding things up. If we remove domestic postcards from the equation, the members who have sent the most postcards internationally in 2023 were CarminaBurana (Canada), ned44440 (Ireland), diams1 (Switzerland), SMatti (Finland) and tiinama (Finland)!

Åland Islands sent the most postcards per capita

And here’s the usual ranking per capita, for countries and territories with more than 10 members. Some shifting up and down the rankings, but not a lot of big changes overall.

October 1, 2023 was the day in which more postcards were sent

No big surprise there! 🙃 World Postcard Day is the day to send postcards, and postcrossers have embraced this cause with relish. Apart from this day (and September 30, which is already World Postcard Day in some countries), the other top 10 days with most postcards sent in Postcrossing are all in the first three months of the year.

January 18, 2023 was the day in which more postcards were received

A lot of postcards from Germany arrive all throughout January, so there are several January days in the ranking of “days with most postcards received”. Other peak days are 11th October (World Postcard Day cards, we assume), 29 of December (post-holidays)… and 31st of May, for some inexplicable reason! 🤔

Postcards were sent from 221 countries and received on 159 countries

So you might be wondering, how can postcards be sent from 221 countries (and territories), when Postcrossing only has members in 201? It’s the magic of Travel Mode! This year, our members really went for those exotic locations, and we saw postcards being sent from places like Cocos Islands, Burkina Faso, Nauru or Turks and Caicos! That said, the number of countries and territories in which our members have received postcards has also increased (from 153 in 2022 to 159 last year), which is good news!

13,015 new forum topics and 805,416 forum posts in 2023

Woohoo! The forum continues to grow, little by little, which is heartwarming. Community is about people coming together, and the forum is the place where that happens for postcrossers.

And speaking of forum, here’s a new statistic for this annual post:

1,826 meetups in 62 countries

Pretty impressive, right? We wish there was a way of quantifying how many friendships have been made in the years the project has been running, but these things are hard to count. Still, it’s nice to know connections are being made and friends are getting together around postcards!

11,731 emails replies

And last (but definitely not least), our support team has replied to an Everest-sized amount of queries by you all, sent to us via the contact form. One of our goals for 2023 was to get some help dealing with these, and we did — Iris (aka scrutiny) is now part of our support team, replying to your requests for help every day… and helping the rest of the team have a bit more time for other tasks.

That’s it for 2023! Time to look ahead, plan 2024 and make exciting things happen! What will YOU be up to this year? And do you have any exciting postcard-related goals you’d like to share?

PS: Some of you might have noticed we didn’t run the usual annual Postcrossing census last December. It’s a lot of work to process all the census data, and since these things don’t tend to change that much in the span of a year, we’ve decided to switch it to a biennial format. It’ll be back in December 2024, but in the meantime, you can send your tips and feedback to the team through the contact form… or on a postcard, for bonus points! 😊

PPS: For those of you who would like to see longer rankings (which are cumbersome to put on a blog post), here they are!

It’s our birthday today! Hurraaaaaaaay!! 🎉🎉🎉

Eighteen years… can you believe it? If Postcrossing were a baby, today would be the day in which it became an adult in most countries. As parents say, “the days are long, but the years are short” — it really feels like it!

For nearly two decades, we’ve been on an incredible journey of connection through postcards. Each postcard carries a story, a glimpse into someone’s world, and a reminder of the diversity that unites us. Together, we’ve ignited wanderlust, sparked curiosity, and learned more about the world and the unique people in it. And in doing so, we’ve built an extraordinary community, spreading joy, forging friendships, and celebrating the beauty of handwritten messages.

It makes me a little teary eyed to think of the over 72 million postcards we’ve exchanged in all these years, each a little piece of art with an heartfelt message. So many surprises and so much kindness! 💙

So thank you, to each and every one of you, for being part of this journey. Let’s grab a slice of cake and raise our pens to toast to 18 years of postcard magic!

Another year, another opportunity to compile some statistics and look at Postcrossing through numbers! This year we added some new data, so let’s dig in, starting by how many postcards arrived in 2022:

4,993,468 postcards received

That’s 5.6% less postcards than last year… which is completely understandable, given the state of the world.

27.53 average travel days and 17.75 median travel days

The average number of days a postcard travels until it reaches its destination is a little higher than before… but the median travel time is not, which is good news! The median is a better statistic than the average, as it is less affected by the extremes (which are usually outliers). This year’s median travel time of 17.75 days is lower’s than last year’s 18.12 days.

25,338,239,130 kms (15,744,451,857 miles) traveled

A number that is just 1.7% lower than last year, despite the 5.6% difference in postcards received… which indicates that, on average, our postcards travelled a little bit further in 2022. Still, a huge distance that our collective postcards have travelled… the equivalent of 632,270 laps around the world or 32,958 return trips to the moon!

20,001 kms (12,428 miles) was the longest distance traveled

For the third year in a row, it was a postcard traveling between Spain and New Zealand that accumulated the longest distance in Postcrossing. This year, we even broke the 20,000km record, with postcard ES-683224, which traveled between Pontevedra (in the region of Galicia, in the north of Spain), and Greymouth, on the west coast of New Zealand’s south island.

The average distance that a postcard traveled was about a fourth of that: 5,074 kms (3,153 miles).

1,197,918 postcards were sent from Germany

No surprise here, our very enthusiastic German members top the chart once more! So, looking at all the postcards that were received in 2022, where were they sent from? Here’s the top 20 countries on this ranking:

The number of “Postcards sent” is a counterintuitive metric, so let me make a little pause here for a quick explanation: this is the number of postcards sent from these countries which were registered in 2022. That means that there are some postcards in there that were sent in 2021 and registered in 2022, and there are also some postcards requested in 2022 that are not counted in this statistic (those are still traveling and will likely be registered over the next few weeks/months). Limiting this number to a certain timeframe and sticking to it makes it easier to compare with previous years though, so that’s what we usually do.

Willi sent the most postcards

A lot of postcards were put on their way by our German postcrossers, with Willi at the top of the rankings with a total of 2,319 postcards sent (that were received in 2022), followed very closely by OlafArens, with 2,311 postcards — that was a tight race! The rest of the top 5 members with most postcards sent is composed of Sidolix (2,265 postcards), elbe (2,236 postcards), and ho-modellfan (2,235 postcards).

Åland Islands sent the most postcards per capita

No surprise here, Åland continues to be the top country in postcards per capita. Here’s the rest of the top 20 list:

(*) This ranking is calculated per 1,000 inhabitants, for countries with at least 10 members.

October 1, 2022 was the day in which more postcards were sent

World Postcard Day continues to be the day in which more postcards are sent, which makes us extra happy! Other days with lots of postcards sent are December 1st (the start of the Postcards for a Good Cause campaign), and also random days in January and February.

January 12, 2022 was the day in which more postcards were received

Looks like maybe a mini avalanche of postcards arrived to their destinations after the holiday period in December! Other good days are a little scattered throughout January and February, and around the middle of October too.

Postcards were sent from 201 countries and received on 153 countries

Can you guess why the big difference in numbers? That’s right — quite a few postcards from exotic locations are sent in Travel Mode every year. Often, there are no active members in those countries or territories, so there is no one there to receive postcards… but they can still be sent from there by traveling postcrossers, to delight some unsuspecting postcrossers!

12,669 new forum topics and 804,060 forum posts in 2022

This is a new statistic, and one we’re quite happy about! The forum is buzzing with activity these days, with games, chats and swaps happening all around the clock. Hurray!

13,127 emails replies

This is the number of replies sent to emails that came to us via the site’s contact form, with requests for help. That’s a lot of emails, and a big chunk of how the team’s time is spent… so this year, we’ll be looking for some help with support tasks. If this is something up your alley, keep an eye on the forum! We’ll post something there soon.

And I think that’s about it for this year’s statistics! What do you think? Does any number stand out to you, or are there perhaps other things you think we should be tracking and comparing, year to year? Let us know in the comments!

PS: We know it’s always frustrating when your country is not featured in a top ranking… so we published the full country list on this forum post, as well as a few more rankings.

PS – Happy Lunar New Year! 🎊