Danish post stops letter delivery: Transition to the digital age ends an era

For years, Danish letter carriers' bags have been getting lighter and lighter. Since the early 2000s, the volume of letter traffic has fallen by around 90 percent. Invoices and bank statements account for most of the remaining decline.

The remaining 1,500 red letterboxes on the streets of Denmark are now gradually being removed. In March 2000, PostNord announced for the first time that it intended to discontinue letter delivery after 400 years, and this is now entering the final phase.

The increasing digitalisation of society has meant that hardly anyone writes and sends letters anymore. Communication via messenger services such as WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal has become the norm. Online shopping using apps that enable cashless mobile payments, as well as digital mailboxes, have also driven this change.

Around a third of all PostNord employees — approximately 2,200 people — will lose their jobs. At the same time, around 700 new jobs will be created in the growing parcel service sector. Even though Denmark is one of the most digitised countries, according to the OECD's 2023 Digital Government Index, this trend of declining letter delivery can also be seen in other countries worldwide. According to a report by management consultants McKinsey, the volume of letters sent worldwide has fallen significantly.

In the USA, the decline since its peak has amounted to 46 percent; in many other countries, it has been even greater, at 50 to 70 percent. Germany and Switzerland were the least affected, with a decline of around 40 percent. Hazel King, editor-in-chief of Parcel and Postal Technology International magazine, explains:

Letters across Europe have been declining for years. I think PostNord's decision is a reflection of how the whole market has gone, and the way the consumer is moving.

However, Hazel King does not know if letter mailing is inevitably coming to an end. In Denmark, the private delivery company DAO is set to take over the remaining letter post with its own nationwide service.