Integrated Index for Postal Development (2IPD)

The UPU's Integrated Index for Postal Development (2IPD) is a composite index providing an overview of postal development around the world, with 168 countries covered in 2021. The basic input into this measurement consists of UPU data, including postal big data (with billions of records captured since 2013), official UPU statistics (more than 100 indicators), and key UPU surveys. 

The richness of the data consolidation process that underpins the 2IPD’s production makes it the most comprehensive measurement of postal services on a global scale. Since it was first published in 2017, the 2IPD has rapidly become the UPU’s flagship index, also providing input into well-known and respected indices produced by peer intergovernmental organizations, including UNCTAD’s B2C E-Commerce Index.

The 2IPD offers a benchmark performance score (from 0 to 100) along four dimensions of postal development: reliability, reach, relevance and resilience. In addition to revealing the relative performance of postal operators around the world, the index sheds light on how to foster postal development and maximize the efficiency of postal infrastructure. This makes the 2IPD a unique tool for policymakers, regulators, postal operators and other sector stakeholders eager to understand the role that postal services can play in the era of e-commerce.

The latest edition of the Postal Development Report examines the state of postal development around the world in 2021, building on the 2IPD, which currently ranks 168 countries across four dimensions: reliability, reach, relevance and resilience. 

Switzerland, Germany and Austria top the ranking, followed by Japan and France. Belarus, Brazil, Ghana, Singapore and Tunisia have also obtained encouraging results and currently lead their respective regional groups. However, as shown by the increased volatility within the ranking, many postal operators around the world are still adjusting to the new normality brought by the pandemic. 

As part of the yearly thematic focus, the 2021 edition of the Postal Development Report exploits the information embedded in the 2IPD’s reliability pillar, which measures the delivery times of mail items, to quantify the operational disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The main finding is that the logistical bottlenecks experienced in 2020 have severely affected the reliability of postal operations, with average domestic delivery times increasing by 13% in 2020 compared to 2019, before returning to pre-crisis levels in 2021.

The results of the report also suggest that, even if disruptions in global supply chains are eventually absorbed, gaps in postal development are likely to remain a considerable challenge for the sector in the coming years.