Even without adjustment for purchasing power, Switzerland ranks well in both the parcel and letter post index. Swiss Post ranks sixth in the parcel post index and third in the letter post index. In parcel post, Swiss Post’s PostPac Priority service with next-day delivery stands out in particular as a high-quality and extremely reasonably priced service by international standards. In Scandinavian countries, for example, where the cost of living is comparable to ours, prices are more than twice what we pay in Switzerland.

When purchasing power is taken into account, Switzerland ranks first in the letter post index. This means that in relation to other goods, letters are less expensive in Switzerland than in any other country in the comparison. For parcels, Swiss Post takes fifth place. This means that measured against purchasing power, there is nowhere else with postal services as inexpensive as those in Switzerland.

Both letter post indices serve to compare international price levels for letter post. They are based on a basket of goods that includes A Mail and B Mail letters up to 1 kg. Both parcel post indices are based on parcels in the “Priority” and “Economy” categories with weight classes of 1 to 20 kg. The index value for a country indicates the number of percentage points that country’s overall parcel prices are above or below those in Switzerland (index value = 100).

• In Switzerland, the financing of the universal service and earnings before tax are coming under increasing pressure due to declining letter volumes and the tight pricing regulations.
• This means Swiss Post must in future retain the ability to continuously adapt its services and prices to changing customer requirements and developments in the economic situation.
• Price comparison using letter and parcel post indices is scientifically recognized and takes all main consignment categories into account, weighted according to the sending frequency of Swiss consumers. The indices adjusted for purchasing power show the real prices of letters and parcels and are more robust because they do not react to exchange rate fluctuations.
• The quality of service provision by contrast is not taken into consideration by the indices. The delivery times, however, clearly show that Swiss Post renders its postal services at a very high quality level.
• Both indices clearly show that Swiss Post’s prices are very good value for money on an international scale.