About addressing
Quality addressing and postcode systems are essential to the socio-economic infrastructure and development of a country. They also form the cornerstone of quality postal services, facilitating business transactions and hence the country's economic growth.
Activities of the UPU
- Addressing the world: an address for everyone Initiative and Campaign
- Assistance to countries to develop or improve addressing and postcode systems
- International postal addressing standards
- International address data management
Addressing the world - An address for everyone
This initiative aims to create synergies between United Nations agencies, intergovernmental organizations, academia, NGOs, development banks and the private sector in order to find shared solutions to the issue of addressing.
The UPU helps countries to develop and improve their national addressing and postcode systems. The technical assistance activities comprise physical addresses, national address standard, postcodes or postal databases.
International standards
The UPU develops addressing standards to facilitate interoperability of name and address data, enable address validation and provide guidelines for building and maintaining address infrastructures. This activity is coordinated with other standardization organizations like CEN and ISO.
International address data management
The UPU gathers, analyzes and processes international postal data in order to improve the quality of international addressing. The UPU develops solutions suitable for cleansing, validating and standardizing international addresses, including advice for designated operators regarding addressing products and services.
