WASHINGTON, DC – A review of the performance of universal postal service providers by the Oxford Strategic Consulting (OSC) firm ranks the U.S. Postal Service the best postal service within the world’s top 20 largest economies for access to services, resource efficiency and public trust.

“We’re proud to lead the world in postal services and we will continue to deliver superior performance for future generations,” said Postmaster General and CEO Patrick Donahoe. “Our best days are ahead of us. I have no doubt the Postal Service will overcome its current financial challenges and endure as the world’s leading postal service.”

The review ranked USPS, Japan Post, Australia Post, Korea Post and Deutsche Post in its top five.

USPS earned the premier ranking due to its high operating efficiency and public trust in its performance.

The ranking considered such factors as the average number of citizens served by the postal system in a country, the number of letters and parcels delivered by each postal employee and data on service reliability and public trust measured over three years.

The report found that USPS delivers nearly double the number of letters per employee as its closest competitor and more than five times more letters per employee than fifth-place Deutsche Post.

Despite increasing competition from digital communications, postal services continue to perform a key role in societies across the globe.

The expansion of e-commerce means there’s an even greater need for fast, efficient and reliable postal services.

“People tend to think the Internet has made the postman redundant,” said Professor William Scott-Jackson, director, OSC. “But postal services provide the backbone for e-commerce deliveries.”

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.