Asia Postal Directory

Bangladesh Post Office

Bangladesh's first stamps appeared in 1971 during the Liberation War — among the most historically powerful first issues of any nation

Bhutan Post

Bhutan's 1962 stamps include unusual shaped stamps and the famous 1973 steel-embossed gramophone record stamps

Postal Services Department of Brunei

Brunei's 1906 stamps under British protection; post-independence stamps from 1984 feature Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah

Cambodia Post

French Indochina stamps precede Cambodian independence; the Khmer Rouge era saw no stamp issues

China Post

China's 1878 Large Dragon stamps are its first issue; the 1968 Cultural Revolution stamps are among the world's most politically significant

Hongkong Post

Hong Kong's 1862 Queen Victoria stamps are classic British colonial issues; 1997 handover stamps are historically significant

India Post

India's 1854 first issue (lithographed Scinde Dawk 1852 is earlier but a local issue); the Four Annas blue is India's first multi-colour stamp

PT Pos Indonesia

Dutch East Indies stamps (1864–1948) precede Indonesian independence stamps; the 1945 Sukarno issues are historically significant

Post of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Persia's 1868 first issue with the Lion and Sun emblem; Iranian stamps since the 1979 revolution reflect the Islamic Republic's ideology

Israel Post

Israel's 1948 first stamps (the Doar Ivri — Hebrew Post series) appeared days after the state's founding

Japan Post

Japan's 1871 Dragon stamps are its first issue; the Cherry Blossom definitives and Hiroshige woodblock reproductions are iconic

Jordan Post

Transjordan's 1920 first issues; Jordanian stamps feature Petra, Wadi Rum, and Middle Eastern heritage

Qazpost

Kazakhstan's 1992 first issues marked independence from the Soviet Union

Kuwait Post

Kuwait's first stamps in 1923 under British protection; post-independence stamps from 1961

Kyrgyz Pochtasy

Kyrgyzstan's 1992 first issues marked independence from the Soviet Union

LibanPost

Lebanon's stamps under French mandate (1924); independent Lebanese stamps from 1943 feature Phoenician heritage and cedar trees

CTT Macau Post

Macau's Portuguese colonial stamps from 1884; post-handover Chinese SAR stamps from 1999

Pos Malaysia

Malayan stamps have extraordinary complexity — multiple sultanates each issued their own stamps; post-1963 Malaysian stamps continue sultana state issues

Maldives Post

Maldives stamps from 1906 under British protection; post-independence stamps feature marine life and island culture

Mongolian Post

Mongolia's 1924 first issue under communist rule; the Genghis Khan and wildlife commemoratives are widely collected

Myanma Posts and Telecommunications

Burma's British colonial stamps (1937–1948) and independent Burmese stamps document the country's complex history

Nepal Post

Nepal's 1881 first issue is among Asia's earliest stamps from a non-colonial nation

Oman Post

Muscat and Oman stamps from 1944; Sultanate of Oman stamps from 1971 feature frankincense, ancient forts, and Arabian wildlife

Pakistan Post

Pakistan's 1947 first issues were Indian stamps overprinted 'Pakistan' immediately after partition

Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost)

Philippine stamps under Spanish rule, US administration, and independence all form distinct collecting areas

Qatar Post

Qatar's first stamps in 1957 under British protection; post-independence stamps from 1971

Saudi Post (SPL)

Saudi Arabia's first stamps under King Abd al-Aziz (1934); Mecca and Medina themes dominate

SingPost

Singapore's 1948 stamps under British administration; post-independence stamps from 1965 feature the city-state's development

Korea Post

Korea's 1884 first issue under the Joseon Dynasty; post-Korean War South Korean stamps document the country's remarkable development

Sri Lanka Post

Ceylon's 1857 Queen Victoria stamps are classic British colonial issues; post-independence Sri Lanka issues began in 1948

Chunghwa Post

Taiwan (Republic of China) stamps since 1949 feature traditional Chinese art, wildlife, and Taiwanese culture

Thailand Post

Siam's 1883 first issue features King Chulalongkorn; Thailand has never been colonised, giving its stamps unique continuity

Correios Timor-Leste

Timor-Leste's first stamps appeared in 2002 upon independence — some of the world's newest stamps from a new nation

Emirates Post

The Trucial States issued stamps before UAE federation in 1971; Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ajman and Fujeira all had separate stamps

Uzbekiston Pochtasi

Uzbekistan's 1992 first issues depicted Samarkand's Registan; Silk Road heritage dominates the stamp programme

Vietnam Post

Vietnam's French Indochina stamps; post-1954 North and South Vietnamese stamps, and post-1975 unified Vietnamese stamps are three distinct areas