Bangladesh postal service surges fifty one spots in global rankings

On December 17th, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) released the 2024 Postal Development Index (2IPD). The report reveals that Bangladesh Post has achieved a 2IPD score of 54, ranking 68th among 174 countries.

In 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020, Bangladesh Post's scores and rankings were 18.30 (119th/172), 13.90 (133rd/172), 10.02 (143rd/168), and 15.80 (128th/170), respectively. In 2024, Bangladesh Post has been upgraded to Level 6 among the 10 development levels. In 2023 and 2022, it was at Levels 3 and 2, respectively. Bangladesh Post has taken a significant leap in both development level and ranking. The report determines the score and ranking of each country based on four indicators: reliability, reach, relevance, and resilience. Bangladesh has scored 72 in reliability, 54.8 in reach, 4.8 in significance, and 91.8 in resilience, along with three bonus points.

Among other South Asian countries, India is ranked 42nd (score 73), Pakistan 80th (score 46.4), Sri Lanka 67th (score 54.3), Nepal 114th (score 27.3), Bhutan 126th (score 22.2), and Maldives 103rd (score 32.3). In the report, the top three positions are held by Germany (score 108.6), Switzerland (score 108.6), and Japan (score 105.9), respectively.

The report specifically mentions Bangladesh: Bangladesh's score of 91.8 in the resilience index is exceptionally high among LDCs. This means that Bangladesh has made significant progress in adapting its postal system to economic and technological realities.

The report further states that, with few exceptions, most LDCs have relatively low scores in the reach index. However, as exceptions, Bangladesh and Ethiopia have achieved high scores - 54.8 and 52, respectively, which indicates good geographic coverage and international connectivity.

Factors such as consistently ranking 1-20 in the monthly data compliance report, increased mail volume, winning customer service awards, UPU validated exports, continuous improvement in transport and delivery standards, increased tracking data capture at various stages, nearly 100% online submission of custom declarations (ITMATT), timely ITMATT referral responses, increased tracking data capture in the domestic mail monitoring system, etc., have been instrumental in achieving this ranking. This has been possible due to the sincere efforts of the postal department and the field level.

Bangladesh Postal Department is the sole provider of postal services in Bangladesh, from urban to remote areas. As a traditional government department, the organization has provided affordable postal services.

While the number of personal letters has decreased, the number of official letters, parcels, and e-commerce articles has been increasing continuously. In addition to traditional postal services, Bangladesh Postal Department provides several specialized government services such as driving licenses, postal land services, passport transportation at district-level offices, national ID card transportation, transportation of various public examinations and national university examination papers, etc.

 Along with domestic postal services, the postal department provides reliable and affordable registered letter, parcel, and EMS services worldwide. Currently, customers can track almost 100% of domestic and international postal articles. In addition to postal services, Bangladesh Postal Department provides several financial services such as savings certificates, savings bank schemes, EMTAS, Nogod, various schemes of postal life insurance. Additionally, the postal department has been transporting stamps to 64 districts for a long time.