Individuals who’re annoyed with the ever rising value of postage could also be stunned to be taught that mailing a first-class letter prices considerably much less within the U.S. than in different elements of the world.

The U.S. Postal Service — which has already raised the value of stamps twice this yr, bringing the price of sending first-class mail to 73 cents — tried to cushion phrase of the newest improve by noting that postage prices at residence “stay among the many most inexpensive on the planet.” 

It is a protected assumption that the Postal Regulatory Fee will approve the sixth worth hike since January 2021, with the five-cent improve then schedule to take impact on July 14. Nonetheless, of us could not understand what a relative discount postage within the U.S. is, at the least when in comparison with mailing prices world wide. 

The U.S. ranks No. 5 in an inventory of postage prices in an inventory of 30 international locations, based on the USPS’ Workplace of Inspector Normal. The company discovered that the price of a stamp within the U.S. had risen a complete of 26% — from 36 cents to 50 cents — over a five-year interval from June 2018 to June 2023 — far much less, on common, than within the different international locations it checked out.

U.S. stamps additionally value the least of the 31 postal providers when the numbers have been adjusted for buying energy parity, a metric incorporating a rustic’s productiveness, financial progress and value of residing. That adjusted-cost evaluation had Italians paying $4.48 for a single first-class stamp as of June 2023, making 63 cents for a First Class Endlessly stamp seem fairly the discount certainly. The nominal worth of an Italian stamp got here to $2.96 — the priciest of the 31 nations listed.

The USPS’ newest postage hike comes because the company, which in November reported a $6.5 billion loss for fiscal 2023, tries to streamline. Postmaster Normal Louis DeJoy is scheduled to look earlier than a Senate listening to on Tuesday to speak in regards to the company’s operations.