DATA VAN DE DAG - The postal services are being privatised in Europa. And at the same time people send less letters. The postal services react with raising the price for stamps.

In Denmark the price for a stamp rose 168% since 2002

Recently it was announced that the price for sending a single letter within the Netherlands would be raised to €0,73 in 2016. It caused some public discussion.

But how does the development of the price of a Dutch stamp compare to trends in other countries? After gathering the data it soon became clear that most European countries saw significant upward movement in the last couple of years. Denmark tops the list of EU countries with €1,34 right now. A growth of 168% since 2002.

But the biggest rise in this period was in Finland. Going from € 0,35 to € 1,10 it grew 214%.

In most countries, exept Germany, the price rose faster than inflation.

Sources:

Free and Fair Post Initiative (search for 'survey' in newsletters)

Deutsche Post DHL Group

The European Commission & Eurostat

Post and Parcel

The Guardian

Noot:

Not all countries have euro as their currency. So prices are subject to exchange rate fluctuations in specific years. Average rate per a year is used. Some countries have different prices for fast or normal delivery. The weight limit for a letter differs per country. Half of the countries use 20 grams as limit. A third uses 50 grams. Chart will be update when we receive more 2016 data.