One of the main reasons why letters, parcels and goods are not delivered to their right destinations is that they are tagged with the wrong postal codes.<\/p>\n
Please note that no single postal code works for all areas within Nigeria. (So, if you\u2019ve always thought 23401 or 110001 applies to the whole country, you\u2019re wrong.) In other words, postal codes vary for each city and even locality within Nigeria.<\/p>\n
To get the right postal code for your location, use the Nigerian postal service postcode system (over at NigeriaPostCodes.com), which provides you the correct postal code after requesting for your state, town, area, and locality. This is by far the most reliable online resource for finding the correct postcodes for areas within Nigeria.<\/p>\n
Postal codes are a set of numbers usually six digits that help postal service determine where to send a mail to.<\/p>\n
Usually, the postal codes show the extent of delivery jurisdiction and every delivery point that falls under this jurisdiction is one whole postal code. Also, any point beyond that jurisdiction is usually referred to as another postal code. In this case, the postal codes are tied to geographical location specifically cities.<\/p>\n
The history of postal codes started as a way of preventing postal offices from doing too much work. Due to the increasing complexity of postal deliveries and as a result of the growing population and increased number of buildings, the postal code were used initially in cities.<\/p>\n
Initially, the codes began with postal zone numbers but by the 1930s, the idea of extending this zonal numbering beyond large cities to cover even small town was in the making. The evolution of the zonal numbering can be seen in the system used for postal codes in the US nomenclature. It is called the Zone Improvement Plan (ZIP).<\/p>\n
The current postal code was introduced in 1932 by the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) in 1932. Although this system faced some teething problems, it gradually took off in other countries from 1941 till date.<\/p>\n
Basically, the postal code system is numeric but there are some codes that are alphanumeric using both letters and numbers.<\/p>\n
The alphanumeric system can enlist far more cities than the numeric code. For instance the 2 digit numeric code can represent 100 locations while a 2 character alphanumeric code using ten numbers and twenty letters can represent up to 900 locations.<\/p>\n
In some cases, specific postal codes are usually assigned to individual addresses or to institutions that receive large volumes of mail, e.g. government agencies or large commercial companies.<\/p>\n
As stated earlier, the postal codes make it easy for the postman to locate the closest post office. And this makes it easy to package and deliver letters from one post office to the other. Once, the letter gets to the post office in the locality, it is easy to locate the address of the recipient and make the delivery.<\/p>\n
Overall, postal codes help with\u00a0geolocation,\u00a0address validation (you can solve all issues with postal address with https:\/\/www.change-of-address-online.com\/addresschange\/change-address-cards\/<\/a>), and efficient shipping, to name just a few things. These codes can also ascertain the identity and to ensure that things like credit cards are not being stolen.<\/p>\n You may be wondering if there\u2019s a difference between postal code and Zip code. Well, they are actually the same. Zip code is the nomenclature used in USA while the postal code applies to other countries.<\/p>\n As of February 2005, there are 117 of the 190 member countries of the Universal Postal Union that use the postal code systems of which Nigeria is one of them.<\/p>\n The Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) was established in 1985 as an organization responsible for the system of collection, sorting and delivery of mails nationwide. And really this system can not be efficient without postal codes.<\/p>\n In recent times, there has been the need for the postal system and postal codes especially with the rise of the e-commerce business in the country. The e-commerce market is currently worth over $12 billion and in 2016, about 53612 parcels and packets were handled which is equivalent to 200 parcels per day.<\/p>\n NIPOST divides the country into 9 regions. Usually, the first digit of the code is the region which the city falls into. The second and third digits combined with the first are the dispatch district for outgoing sorting. And the last three digits represent the delivery location. This location refers to the post office, rural or urban area.<\/p>\n The main postal head office of each region has a postal code ending in 0001. For instance the Garki Main Heaf Office in Abuja has the postal code 900001. Other examples include:<\/p>\n Ikeja Head office which has the lowest post code which is 10001 and the highest is 982002<\/p>\n Interestingly, a lot of people don\u2019t know that postal codes are still in use as a result only 5% of posts are properly addressed with the postal code system.<\/p>\n One of the causes of poor postal code matching is the proliferation of the internet and email. Also, the presence of logistics couriers like DHL, ups and FEDEX that offers fast parcel delivery has made the postal system irrelevant.<\/p>\n However, the need to input postal code still comes up from time to time and you should know how find the postal code of you area.<\/p>\n