T able 132. Postal Service. Revenue and Expenditure.
■— ■ —
Annually
Thousands of kilom e te rs covered by
tb e mails
Revenue an d expenditure
kro n o r
On hig h roads
By r a ilway
By water Tota l Revenue . E x p en d itu re Surplus
187 1—75 . .
187 6—80 . .
1881—85 . .
1886—9 0 . .
1891—95 . .
1 8 9 6 - 0 0 . .
1901—05 . .
1 9 0 6 - 1 0 . .
6 286
6 858
6 131
6 764
7 1 8 4
7 831
9 847
11 928
3 973
7 710
10 221
13 206
16 045
1 9 5 4 3
2 4 1 3 6
27 688
4 319
5 364
6 444
7 2 4 3
6 859
6 5 6 1
6 930
18 887
21716
26414
30 472
34233
40544
46 546
3 222 687
4 725 803
5 8 2 5 1 7 4
6 656 773
8 013 648
10 4 1 1 1 6 4
15 336 962
19 965 403
3 2 5 6 257
4 737 061
5 1 6 7 060
6 427 723
7 457 183
9 470 849
13 855 343
18 3 0 1 5 5 5
( - ) 33.570'
( - ) 11-258
6 5 8 1 1 4
229 050
5 5 6 4 6 5
940 315
1 481 619
1 663 848
1912 . . . .
1913 . . . .
13 117
13 269
28 765
29 190
"6 877
7 U00
48 759
49459
24 664 894
25 707 141
1 £0 917 042
1 £ l 474 095
3 747 852
4 233:046
1 This dots not include the costs of eapital-increase.
this addition, the total length of postal lines amounted, in the year named,
to 58 188 km, a figure which, by the way, very nearly coincides with the
total length of all the roads of the kingdom. Since the above date,
the calculated length of the postal lines has probably been doubled. In
1913 it amounted to 108 810 km of which 46 155 km are on country-
roads, 14 316 km on the railways, and 48 339 km on the waterways. It
must be noticed, however, that the apparent considerable increase by the
last-named figures depends, almost exclusively, on the foreign lines with
their very limited postal-traffic (see below). ■—■ The number of kilometers
covered by the mails is shown by Table 132. As is shown there, nowadays
not less than 59 % of the total number of postal carriage kilometers falls
to the railways; 27 % to the eountry-road postal service; and 14 % to the
water postal transport.
The fixed post offices, which, as late as 1815, numberedÀènly ¿09, and
in 1861, 248, increased exceedingly in number during the years 1874 and
1875 (cf. the historical review above), as in these two years they rose
from 576 to 1 844. Apart from a temporary fall at the close of the “seventies”,
the result of a considerable number of post offices being then
closed in consequence of their functions being performed by postal distribution
by means of the rural- postal distribution established in 1877, the
number of the fixed post offices has been growing steadily in number. At
the close of 1913, there were in the country 3 381 fixed post-officésRof
which 245 were head post-offices and 3 136 postal stations. In 1877 there
were, besides, in activity on the railway lines 329 travelling post-offices
(post coupés), of which 47 (corresponding to the old “postal-coupé offices”)
were managed by postal clerks and not less than 282 (corresponding to the
old “postillion coupés”) by subordinate officials. In 1899, the number
of ambulatory post offices of the former kind amounted to 107, and of the
latter kind 121. The modified proportion has its explanation in the endeavour
to diminish more and more the number of over-qualified officials
employed in the work of the post office. — On the steamer postal lines the
public were served, during the sailing season of 1913, by 155 steamboat
post-offices, intended, as a rule, only for the transmission of ordinary letters,
post-cards and book-post packets, besides which, on the steam ferryboat
that run between Tralleborg and Sassnitz, there were opened special
sea post-offices.
Of the 3 381 fixed post-offices existing in 1913, there were 702 in the five
northern Ians, 321 in the Ians of Kopparberg and Vàrmland, 554 in the remaining
districts of Svealand, 1 400 in Gotaland, Skâne excluded, this last-named
province having 404. Thus, per thousand square km, there existed in these five
divisions of the country, 2'7, 6’6, 15‘4, 17’2, and 35‘8 fixed postal establishments
respectively. These relative figures are, of course, highest for the Lan of
Malmohus (48), and lowest for those of Norrbotten and Vàsterbotten (1*7).
The. average for the whole Kingdom was 7'6.
The considerable increase of late years in the number of fixed post-offices
within the Kingdom has, naturally, brought about successive reductions of the
size! of the district which on an average is served by each such post-office and
also of the number of inhabitants per fixed post-office. For example, while, for
the quinquennial period 1866-—70, it was calculated that the average district of
each post-office, measured in square kilometers, was 961‘34 and, in number of
persons, 9 140; these figures in 1913 have fallen to 129'83 and 1 668. These
figures cléarly illustrate to some extent the increased demands made by the
public on the Post, Office. At the close of 1913, of the 2 376 country communes
of Sweden, 1 797, or 75"6 %, had one or more fixed post-offices within their limits.
The development of postal traffic, with regard to the total number of
letters and parcels, etc., dealt with, is shown by Table 133. ITor the
quinquennial periods 1876—1910, the average number of postal communications
■ per head of the average population amounted on an ave-
T able 133. Number of Letters, etc. sent by the Post. In millions.
Sen t by le tte r-p o st
P a rcels*
Moneyorders
Newsp
ap ers and
magazines
(number
copies)
To ta l
n um b er of
letters ,
etc ., sent
Annually Uninsured, liable to p ostal
charges Uninsured
po st-free2
In su red
le tte r s 8
L e tte r s 1 P o stc
a rd s1
Bookp
o s t1
1876-80 . . 31-00 0-71 2-40 0-37 0*51 0-34 0*18 22-83 58-34
1881—85 . . 41-28 2-98 4-44 0.61 0-78 0-39 0-41 31-03 81-87
1886 - 9 0 . . 51-79 5-11 5-41 1-11 1-04 0-51 0 62 4809 113 68
1891—95 . . 60-8 o’ 6-60 8-53 2-06 1-42 0-60 1-19 70-05 15125
1896-00 . . 77-07 9-77 13-17 3-85 1-70 0-98 2-35 126-02 234-91
1901—05 . . 101-21 41.07 20-78 5-67 2-12 1-65 8-91 170-60 34701
1906-10 . . 127-71 40-78 37-03 6-41 343 3-80 664 174-35 400-15
1912. . . . 15316 41-21 56-29 5"40 3-92 5-89 1002 203-89 479-78
1913 . . . . 155-52 41-11 58-38 5-43 4-01 6-26 10-84 208-46 490-01
Rem. As regards the uninsured letter-post communications and numbered copies of
newspapers and magazines, the numbers given are the result of a calculation, made in
accordance with a certain method, while, on the other hand, insured letters, parcels, and
money orders are given in their actual numbers.
1 Inclusive of registered communications with C. O. D. charges. — a Chiefly official postal
communications. — 8 Incl. C. 0. D. p§ * Inclusive of uninsured and insured parcels C. O. D.