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By Amanda Greenwood
Associate News Editor
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The Danish postal service—PostNord—will deliver its final letter on December 30, 2025, marking the end of traditional letter delivery for Denmark’s 6 million residents, after almost 400 years.
Residents will still be able to send letters domestically through another courier company.
Why It Matters
PostNord—a company formed in 2009 from a merger of the Swedish and Danish postal services—made the announcement it was ending its letter delivery services earlier this year, citing the increasing digitalisation of Danish society and a dramatic fall in demand for letters as key reasons for the decision. According to its official statement, letter volumes have decreased by over 90 percent since 2000.
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What To Know
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As a result of its decision, 1,500 of the nation's iconic red postboxes will be removed and, according to The Guardian, over 1,500 jobs will be cut.
Residents will still be able to send letters domestically, through the courier company Dao, which is set to increase its letter delivery volume from about 30 million in 2025 to an estimated 80 million next year, according to The Guardian. Under Dao's system, customers must post letters at a Dao shop or pay a premium for home collection, with postage fees to be paid online or via an app.
According to Danish law, a postal option must always exist, meaning that if Dao were to stop its services, the government would have to appoint another provider.
The Guardian cites a source close to the Danish Ministry of Transport, which has said this change wouldn’t bring any “practical difference” to the people in Denmark because they will still be able to send and receive letters. They characterized the change as primarily "sentimental," emphasizing that practical access to letter-sending will remain unaffected.
What People Are Saying
The Guardian reported that Kim Pedersen, deputy chief executive of PostNord, said: "We have been the Danish postal service for 400 years, and therefore it is a difficult decision to tie the knot on that part of our history. The Danes have become more and more digital, and this means there are very few letters left today, and the decline continues so significantly that the letter market is no longer profitable."
Magnus Restofte, director of the Enigma postal, telecommunications, and communications museum in Copenhagen, also told The Guardian: "It’s actually quite difficult to turn back [to physical post]. We can’t go back to what it was. Also, take into consideration we are one of the most digitalised countries in the world.”
What Happens Next
PostNord stated that it will continue to run its parcel service, “in the countries where PostNord operates, and PostNord's activities in the letter market will continue unchanged in Sweden,” as it continues its efforts to become the preferred parcel courier for the Danish market.
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