Postal Code

גֵאוֹגרָפִי

2022

We explain what the postal code is, what it is for and what its origin was. Also, some examples of postal codes.

The postal code identifies regions, cities and even parts of the same city.

What is zip code?

Postal codes are a series of digits and letters used to designate a geographic region specific to a country, and thus quickly identify the destination of postal items (that is, traditional mail), or to find addresses in global positioning systems (GPS). Each country has its own system of codes with which it identifies its regions, cities and even parts of the same city.

Postal codes usually correspond to specific places, although some agencies that receive large amounts of postal mail, such as government agencies, large companies or media outlets, may have their own code. In any case, these codes are added to the writing of the destination postal address, and allow a quick classification of the mail.

Some places do not have a postal code, since their territories are not large enough to justify it. Such is the case, for example, of Gibraltar and Hong Kong.

Origin of postal codes

Modern postal codes arose in Soviet Ukraine (part of the USSR) in 1932. This first system used the administrative segments into which large cities were divided, assigning each one a pair of identifying digits. It was published in a 268-page document, in the then Ukrainian capital of Kharkiv, under the name "List of postal establishments, railway stations, cities, towns and rural councils of Ukraine with their designated postal codes."

Although the Ukrainian pioneer system was abandoned in 1939 at the start of World War II, similar versions emerged throughout the 20th century in different nations of the world. Europe Y America, such as Germany , Argentina , the United Kingdom , the United States and Switzerland , pioneers in the postal organization in the world. Nations like Spain had to wait even longer, until the mid-1980s.

Postal codes of Mexico

The first two digits of the Mexican zip code designate each state.

The Mexican postal system was designed during the government of Porfirio Diaz. It currently handles five-digit postal codes, the first two designate each administrative division of the national territory (or each mayor of Mexico City), as follows:

Condition Postal code (first two digits)
Mexico City 01 to 16
Aguascalientes 20
Lower California 21 to 22
Baja California Sur 23
Campeche 24
Coahuila 25 to 27
Colima 28
Chiapas 29 to 30
chihuahua 31 to 33
Durango 34 to 35
Guanajuato 36 to 38
Warrior 39 to 41
Gentleman 42 to 43
Jalisco 44 to 49
Mexico 50 to 57
Michoacan 58 to 61
Morelos 62
Nayarit 63
New Lion 64 to 67
oaxaca 68 to 71
Puebla 72 to 75
Queretaro 76
Quintana Roo 77
San Luis Potosi 78 to 79
Sinaloa 80 to 82
sound 83 to 85
Tabasco 86
Tamaulipas 87 to 89
Tlaxcala 90
Veracruz 91 to 96
Yucatan 97
Zacatecas 98 to 99

Postal codes of Brazil

The postal codes of Brazil were created in 1971, with an initial structure of five digits, which as a result of the sustained growth of the population turned out to be inefficient.It was then reformulated to encompass eight digits, according to a 5-3 structure, that is, five digits in a row, a hyphen, and then three more digits.

The first number of this postal code represents each one of the ten postal zones in which the Brazilian territory was divided, starting in the city of São Paulo and moving towards the rest of the country in a counterclockwise direction. This classification is given as follows:

Brazilian postal region Codes starting with
Greater Sao Paulo 0
Interior and coastal region of São Paulo 1
States of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo 2
State of Minas Gerais 3
State of Bahia and Sergipe 4
States of Pernambuco, Alagoas, Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte 5
States of Ceará, Piauí, Maranhão, Pará, Amapá, Amazonas, Roraima and Acre 6
Federal District and states of Goiás, Tocantins, Rondônia, Mato Grosso, and Mato Grosso do Sul 7
States of Paraná and Santa Catarina 8
State of Rio Grande do Sul 9
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