Denmark's national postal service, PostNord, will deliver its last letter on 30 December, ending a tradition dating back to 1624. The decision, announced earlier this year, comes amid a more than 90% decline in letter volumes over the past 25 years, driven by the increasing digitalisation of Danish society.
PostNord, formed in 2009 from a merger of Swedish and Danish postal services, will cut 1,500 jobs in Denmark and remove 1,500 red postboxes. The company cited a drastic fall in demand for letters and a rise in online shopping, prompting a shift to focus on parcels. Denmark is described as 'one of the most digitalised countries in the world'.
From 1 January, the delivery company Dao will take over letter services, expanding from 30 million letters in 2025 to 80 million next year. Danes will need to post letters at Dao shops or pay extra for home collection, with postage paid online or via an app. PostNord will refund unused Danish stamps for a limited time.
Despite the decline, research suggests a resurgence in letter-writing among younger people. Dao found that 18- to 34-year-olds send two to three times as many letters as other age groups, with trend researcher Mads Arlien-Søborg attributing this to a 'counterbalance to digital oversaturation'.
Under Danish law, the option to send a letter must exist. A source close to the transport ministry said there would be no 'practical difference' in the new year, as people can still send and receive letters through Dao. However, Magnus Restofte, director of the Enigma postal museum, noted the irreversible finality, saying 'we can't go back to what it was'.
With 97% of Danes aged 15 and over enrolled in the national digital ID system MitID, and only 5% opting out of digital post, physical letters have become rare. Restofte observed that receiving a physical letter now carries high value, as it signifies time and money spent by the sender.
