Postal codes in Sweden

For the purposes of directing mail, Sweden is divided into a number of postcode areas. The Swedish postcode (Swedish: postnummer) system is administered by the Swedish Mail Service (Swedish: Posten AB) on behalf of the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (Swedish: Post- och telestyrelsen).[1]

History

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Until 1968, mail in Sweden was sorted only according to geographic location, which meant that postal workers had to learn all mail centers in Sweden, and what particular mail trains served those places. In 1967, it was decided that postcodes would be introduced in Sweden as of May 12, 1968. Since then, the postcode system has been essentially the same, but a slight reform was carried out during the mid-1990s as all remaining mail terminals were equipped with automatic mail sorting machines. In 2008, Sweden was divided into more than 16,100 postcode areas.[2]

Format

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The Swedish postcode system is based on a five-digit number combination, divided into two groups of three and two digits. The principle of numbering is that the lower the postcode, the further south the place is located. Excluded from the principle are postcodes beginning with number 1, which represent the capital city, Stockholm. Mail delivery centers are divided into two-, three-, and five-digit positioning groups depending on the size of the geographical place. The two-position group has larger varieties, whereas the smallest belongs to the five-digit positioning group.

According to the system, a space shall be inserted between the third and fourth digit. Earlier recommendations said that a double space should be placed between the postcode and the geographic location and that the geographic location should be written in capital letters. A single space is now the norm and capital letters are not required anymore.

A typical address would look like this:

Sven Nilsson (First, and last name)
Roslagsgatan 10 (Street, and number)
113 51 Stockholm (Postcode, and geographic location)

Two-digit positioning

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The two initial digits indicate city. Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö are designated the two-digit series, one for mailbox- and business addresses, and the second series for street addresses.

The post codes are sorted by geographical location. Numbers starting with 10-19 are part of Stockholm; otherwise, the lower numbers are part of the bigger city areas in the south, and increase northwards.

First digit Region Cities with their own second digit
1 Stockholm County with the exception of Norrtälje Municipality Stockholm (10–11 and some smaller isolated ranges)
2 Skåne County and parts of Kronoberg County and Blekinge County Malmö (20–21), Lund (22), Helsingborg (25)
3 Parts of Jönköping County, Kronoberg County, Kalmar County, Blekinge County and Halland County Halmstad (30), Växjö (35), Kalmar (39)
4 Parts of Västra Götaland County and Halland County Gothenburg (40–41)
5 Parts of Östergötland County, Jönköping County, Kalmar County and Västra Götaland County Borås (50), Jönköping (55), Linköping (58)
6 Södermanland County, Gotland County, Värmland County and parts of Östergötland County, Västra Götaland County and Örebro County Norrköping (60), Eskilstuna (63), Karlstad (65)
7 Southern and middle Uppsala County, Västmanland County, Dalarna County and parts of Stockholm County and Örebro County Örebro (70), Västerås (72), Uppsala (75)
8 Northern Uppsala County, Gävleborg County, Västernorrland County and Jämtland County Gävle (80), Sundsvall (85)
9 Västerbotten County and Norrbotten County Umeå (90), Luleå (97)
 
2-digit postcode areas Sweden(defined through the first two postcode digits)
Postcode Geographic location Notes
10x xx Stockholm Mailbox and business addresses
11x xx Stockholm Street addresses
20x xx Malmö Mailbox- and business addresses
21x xx Malmö Street addresses
22x xx Lund  
25x xx Helsingborg  
30x xx Halmstad  
35x xx Växjö  
39x xx Kalmar  
40x xx Gothenburg Mailbox- and business addresses
41x xx Gothenburg Street addresses
50x xx Borås  
55x xx Jönköping  
58x xx Linköping  
60x xx Norrköping  
63x xx Eskilstuna  
65x xx Karlstad  
70x xx Örebro  
72x xx Västerås  
75x xx Uppsala  
80x xx Gävle  
85x xx Sundsvall  
90x xx Umeå  
97x xx Luleå Changed from 951 xx

The third digit in the two-digit positioning indicate type of delivery, in most cases.

Postcode Type of delivery Note
xx0 xx Mail boxes and mail addresses  
xx1 xx Mail boxes and business addresses  
xx2 xx Regular mail delivery  
xx3 xx Regular mail delivery  
xx4 xx Regular mail delivery  
xx5 xx Countryside mail delivery  
xx6 xx Regular mail delivery  
xx7 xx Regular mail delivery  
xx8 xx Regular reply mail  
xx9 xx Temporary Temporary postcodes

The fourth and fifth digit indicate the geographic area. Postcodes with the same first four digits may represent a part of a city or equivalent.

Three-digit positioning

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The first two digits indicate the geographical area in. Previously, these figures indicated the mail terminal that sorted mail for the particular geographic location.

Postal code Approximate geographical area
10x xx - 11x xx Norrmalm, Östermalm, Västermalm, Södermalm
12x xx Skarpnäck, Farsta, Enskede-Årsta-Vantör, Älvsjö, Hägersten-Liljeholmen, Skärholmen
13x xx Nacka, Värmdö, Tyresö, Haninge
14x xx Huddinge, Botkyrka, Salem, Nynäshamn
15x xx Södertälje, Nykvarn
16x xx Bromma, Hässelby-Vällingby, Spånga, Kista
17x xx Ekerö, Järfälla, Sundbyberg, Solna
18x xx Lidingö, Danderyd, Täby, Vallentuna, Österåker, Waxholm
19x xx Sollentuna, Upplands-Väsby, Sigtuna, Upplands-Bro
23x xx South-western Skåne County
24x xx Central Skåne County
26x xx North-western Skåne County
27x xx South-eastern Skåne County
28x xx Northern Skåne County and south-western Kronoberg County
29x xx North-eastern Skåne County and western Blekinge County
31x xx Southern Halland County
33x xx Western Jönköping County
34x xx Western Kronoberg County
36x xx Eastern Kronoberg County
37x xx Middle and eastern Blekinge County
38x xx Southern Kalmar County
42x xx - 47x xx Northern Halland County and western Västra Götaland County
51x xx Southern Västra Götaland County
52x xx - 54x xx Eastern Västra Götaland County
56x xx - 57x xx Northern Jönköping County and middle Kalmar County
59x xx Southern Östergötland County and northern Kalmar County
61x xx Northern Östergötland County and southern Södermanland County
62x xx Gotland County
64x xx Northern Södermanland County
66x xx - 68x xx Värmland County and northern Västra Götaland County
69x xx Southern Örebro County
71x xx Northern Örebro County
73x xx Västmanland County
74x xx Middle and southern Uppsala County
76x xx Norrtälje Municipality
77x xx Southern Dalarna County
78x xx Central and western Dalarna County
79x xx Northern Dalarna County
81x xx Southern Gävleborg County and northern Uppsala County
82x xx Northern Gävleborg County
83x xx Northern Jämtland County
84x xx Southern Jämtland County and south-western Västernorrland County
86x xx South-eastern Västernorrland County
87x xx Middle Västernorrland County
88x xx North-western Västernorrland County
89x xx North-eastern Västernorrland County
91x xx Southern Västerbotten County
92x xx Middle Västerbotten County
93x xx North-eastern Västerbotten County and South-western Norrbotten County
94x xx Southern Norrbotten County
95x xx Middle Norrbotten County
96x xx South-eastern Norrbotten County
98x xx Northern Norrbotten County

The third figure in combination with the first two indicates the mail delivery location. The fourth figure is the type of delivery.

Postcode Type of delivery
xxx 0x Mailboxes- and postal addresses
xxx 1x Mailboxes, business addresses
xxx 2x Regular mail delivery, mailboxes, and reply mail
xxx 3x Regular mail delivery
xxx 4x Regular mail delivery
xxx 5x Regular mail delivery
xxx 6x Regular mail delivery
xxx 7x Regular mail delivery
xxx 8x Reply mail, and business addresses
xxx 9x Countryside mail delivery

Five-digit positioning

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Five-digit positioning is used for locations small enough that only one or a few postal codes are required for routing. Since the reform of the postcode system in the mid-1990s, only a few five-digit positions locations remain. These locations are often so small and remote that it is not practically possible to transfer all mail to a larger three-digit locations. Five-digit position locations are usually in the archipelago and in the mountains.

References

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  • Swedish Postal Act, No. 1684 of December 22, 1993.
  1. ^ Vad används postnumren till?, Post- och telestyrelsen. (Swedish)
  2. ^ Postnummersystemet i Sverige, Post- och telestyrelsen. (Swedish)
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