Days Until World Post Day

About World Post Day

October 9 marks the anniversary of the 1874 founding of the Universal Postal Union in Bern, Switzerland, and has been observed since 1969 following a Tokyo Congress recommendation of the UPU.

The day celebrates the role of postal services in social and economic development and is often used by national postal operators to launch new stamps or public awareness campaigns.

The Universal Postal Union remains one of the oldest international organizations still in continuous operation, predating even the League of Nations and United Nations by decades.

The UPU's founding treaty originally established a single postal territory among member countries for the exchange of mail, a genuinely radical simplification at the time compared to the complex bilateral postal treaties it replaced.

National postal operators in many countries mark the day with special commemorative stamp issues, a tradition that has become one of the most visible annual touchpoints of the observance for ordinary consumers.