Largest postal service (by nation)

As of 31 March 2011, India had the largest national postal service of any country, with a total of 154,866 post offices – 139,040 of which are located in rural areas. Taken on average, each post office serves an area of 21.23 square kilometres and a population of 7,814 people. This represents dramatic growth since the time of the country’s independence on 15 August 1947, when there were just 23,344 post offices in India – less than a sixth of the number in existence today. The Indian Postal Service now employs more than 466,000 people.