List of entities that have issued postage stamps (A–E)

This is a list of entities that have issued postage stamps at some point since stamps were introduced in 1840. The list includes any kind of governmental entity or officially approved organisation that has issued distinctive types of stamp. These include post offices in foreign countries and postal services organised by military occupations, international organisations, colonies, provinces, city-states and some revolutionary movements. The list includes members of the Universal Postal Union that are also listed at postal organisations.

Many of these entities are historic and some were very short-lived indeed. Philatelists and stamp collectors often refer to the entities that no longer issue stamps as dead countries.

The dates are the generally agreed-upon dates of first and last stamp issues. "Date of issue" is taken to mean the date when a particular type or variation was issued but its usage would often continue for many years. For example, although an entity may have issued its last stamp in 1951, actual usage may have continued until 1960: in that case, 1951 is the last stamp issue date.

Besides the period of which stamps were issued in the name of a particular entity, the list under that entity also bears any other name in which stamps had been issued for territory, name of any other entity which had had its stamps used in that territory, or new names which had subsequently replaced the name of that entity, together with their respective periods.

List
The list has been comprehensively revised to include extra entities and to direct the links away from the country articles to the (proposed) philatelic articles.

Afghanistan

 * Afghanistan	1870 –

Aitutaki

 * Aitutaki	1972 –
 * Aitutaki (New Zealand Administration)	1903 – 1932

Albania

 * Albania	1913 –
 * Ottoman Empire issues 1870 – 1913
 * Foreign Post offices in Albania
 * Occupation issues

Algeria

 * Algeria	1962 –

Andorra

 * Andorra (French Post Offices)	1931 –
 * Andorra (Spanish Post Offices)	1928 –

Angola

 * Angola	1870 –

Antarctic Territories

 * Australian Antarctic Territory	1957 –
 * British Antarctic Territory	1963 –
 * King Edward VII Land	1908 only
 * Ross Dependency	1957 –
 * Victoria Land	1911 – 1912

Argentina

 * Argentina	1858 –

Argentine Territories

 * Buenos Aires	1858 – 1862
 * Córdoba	1858 only
 * Corrientes	1856 – 1878

Armenia

 * Armenia (pre–Soviet)	1919 – 1923
 * Armenia	1992 –

Ascension

 * Ascension	1922 –

Australia

 * Australia	1913 –
 * New South Wales	1850 – 1913
 * Queensland	1860 – 1913
 * South Australia	1855 – 1912
 * Tasmania	1853 – 1912
 * Van Diemen's Land	1853 – 1860
 * Victoria	1850 – 1912
 * Western Australia	1854 – 1912

Austria

 * Austria	1850 –

Austrian Post Abroad

 * Austrian post offices abroad
 * Austro–Hungarian Military Post	1915 – 1918
 * Austro–Hungarian Post in the Turkish Empire	1867 – 1915
 * Crete (Austro–Hungarian Post)	1903 – 1914
 * Italy (Austrian Occupation)	1918 only
 * Lombardy and Venetia	1850 – 1866
 * Montenegro (Austrian Occupation)	1917 only
 * Romania (Austrian Occupation)	1917 – 1918
 * Serbia (Austrian Occupation)	1916 only

Azerbaijan

 * Azerbaijan	1992 –
 * Azerbaijan (pre–Soviet)	1919 – 1921
 * Nakhichevan	1993 only

Azores

 * Azores (Acores)	1980 –
 * Azores (Portuguese Colonial Issues)	1868 – 1931
 * Angra 1892 - 1905
 * Horta 1892 - 1905
 * Ponta Delgada 1892 - 1905

Bahamas

 * Bahamas	1859 –

Bahrain

 * Bahrain	1960 –
 * British postal agencies in Eastern Arabia	1948 - 1960

Bangladesh

 * Bangladesh	1971 –

Barbados

 * Barbados (Historic: Barbadoes)        1852 –

Belarus

 * People's Republic of Belarus 1923
 * Belarus	1992 –

Belgian Post Abroad

 * Eupen and Malmedy (Belgian Occupation)	1920 only
 * German East Africa (Belgian Occupation)	1916 – 1918
 * Germany (Belgian Occupation)	1919 – 1920

Belgium

 * Belgium	1849 –

Belize

 * Belize	1973 –
 * Cayes of Belize 1984 only
 * British Honduras	1866 – 1973

Benin

 * Benin	1976 –

Bermuda

 * Bermuda	1865 –

Bhutan

 * Bhutan	1962 –

Bohemia and Moravia
See Czech Republic

Bolivia

 * Bolivia	1867 –

Bosnia and Herzegovina

 * Bosnia & Herzegovina	1993 –
 * Bosnia and Herzegovina (Ottoman Empire) before 1878
 * Bosnia and Herzegovina (Austro–Hungarian Empire)	1878 – 1918
 * Bosnia and Herzegovina (Provincial Issues)	1918 – 1921
 * Bosnia and Herzegovina (Yugoslav Regional Issues)	1945 only
 * Croatian Posts in Bosnia	1992 – 1996

Botswana

 * Bechuanaland	1965 – 1966
 * Bechuanaland Protectorate	1888 – 1965
 * Botswana	1966 –

Brazil

 * Brazil	1843 –

British Antarctic Territory

 * British Antarctic Territory	1963 –

British East Africa

 * British East Africa	1895 – 1903
 * British East Africa Company	1890 – 1895
 * East Africa and Uganda Protectorates	1903 – 1922
 * Kenya and Uganda	1922 – 1935
 * Kenya Uganda and Tanganyika	1935 – 1963
 * Kenya Uganda and Tanzania	1965 – 1975
 * Kenya Uganda Tanganyika and Zanzibar	1964 only
 * Tanganyika	1922 – 1964
 * Uganda Protectorate	1895 – 1902
 * Zanzibar	1895 – 1967

British Guiana

 * British Guiana	1850 – 1966

British Post Abroad

 * British post offices in Africa – various issues
 * Baghdad (British Occupation)	1917 only
 * Bangkok (British Post Office)	1882 – 1885
 * Batum (British Occupation)	1919 – 1920
 * Beirut (British Post Office)	1906 only
 * British Post Offices in the Turkish Empire	1885 – 1923
 * British Postal Agencies in Eastern Arabia	1948 – 1966
 * Bushire (British Occupation) 1915 only
 * Cameroons (British Occupation)	1915 only
 * China (British Post Offices)	1917 – 1930
 * China (British Railway Administration)	1901 only
 * Crete (British Post Offices)	1898 – 1899
 * East Africa Forces	1943 – 1948
 * Egypt (British Forces)	1932 – 1943
 * Eritrea (British Administration)	1950 – 1952
 * Eritrea (British Military Administration)	1948 – 1950
 * German East Africa (British Occupation)	1917 only
 * Iraq (British Occupation)	1918 – 1923
 * Japan (British Commonwealth Occupation)	1946 – 1949
 * Japan (British Post Offices)	1859 – 1879
 * Long Island (British Occupation)	1916 only
 * Madagascar (British Consular Mail)	1884 – 1895
 * Mafia Island (British Occupation)	1915 – 1916
 * Malaya (British Military Administration)	1945 – 1948
 * Middle East Forces (MEF)	1942 – 1947
 * Morocco Agencies	1898 – 1957
 * North Borneo (BMA)	1945 only
 * Salonika (British Field Office)	1916 only
 * Sarawak (BMA)	1945 only
 * Somalia (British Administration)	1950 only
 * Somalia (British Military Administration)	1948 – 1950
 * Tangier	1927 – 1957
 * Tripolitania (British Administration)	1950 – 1952
 * Tripolitania (British Military Administration)	1948 – 1950

British Virgin Islands

 * British Virgin Islands	1866 –

Brunei

 * Brunei	1895 –

Bulgaria

 * Bulgaria	1879 –

Bulgarian Territories

 * Dobruja (Bulgarian Occupation)	1916 only
 * Eastern Rumelia	1880 – 1885
 * South Bulgaria	1885 only

Burkina Faso

 * Burkina Faso	1984 –
 * Upper Volta	1959 – 1984

Burma
see Myanmar

Cambodia

 * Kampuchea

Cameroun

 * Cameroun	1915 –

Canada

 * Canada	1851–

Canadian Provinces

 * British Columbia	1865 – 1868
 * British Columbia and Vancouver Island	1860 only
 * New Brunswick	1851 – 1868
 * New Carlisle, Gaspé	1851 only
 * Newfoundland	1857 – 1949
 * Nova Scotia	1853 – 1868
 * Prince Edward Island	1861 – 1873
 * Vancouver Island	1865 only

Canal Zone

 * Canal Zone	1904 – 1979

Cape of Good Hope

 * British Bechuanaland	1885 – 1897
 * Cape of Good Hope	1853 – 1910
 * Griqualand West	1874 – 1880
 * Mafeking	1900 only
 * Stellaland Republic	1884 – 1885
 * Vryburg	1899 – 1900

Cape Verde Islands

 * Cape Verde Islands	1877 –

Cayman Islands

 * Cayman Islands	1900 –

Central African Republic

 * Central African Empire	1977 – 1979
 * Central African Republic	1959 –

Chad

 * Chad	1959 –

Chile

 * Chile	1853 –
 * Tierra del Fuego	1891 only

China

 * Chinese Empire	1878 – 1912
 * Chinese Nationalist Republic	1949 –
 * Chinese People's Republic	1949 –
 * Chinese Republic	1912 – 1949
 * Treaty ports
 * Amoy 1895 – 1896
 * Chefoo 1893 – 1894
 * Chinkiang 1895
 * Chunking 1894
 * Foochow 1895
 * Hankow 1893 – 1896
 * Ichang 1894
 * Kiukiang 1894 – 1896
 * Nanking 1896 – 1897
 * Shanghai	1865 – 1898
 * Wei–Hai–Wei date not established
 * Wuhu 1894 – 1897
 * Tientsin: Treaty port stamps from this city are regarded as bogus.

Chinese Provinces

 * Kirin and Heilungkiang	1927 – 1931
 * North Eastern Provinces	1946 – 1948
 * Sinkiang	1915 – 1949
 * Fukien	1949 only
 * Hunan	1949 only
 * Hupeh	1949 only
 * Kansu	1949 only
 * Kiangsi	1949 only
 * Kwangsi	1949 only
 * Manchuria	1927 – 1928
 * Shensi	1949 only
 * Tsingtau	1949 only
 * Szechwan	1933 only
 * Taiwan	1945 – 1949
 * Yunnan	1926 – 1933

People's Republic of China Regional Issues

 * Central China (People's Post)	1949 – 1950
 * East China (People's Post)	1949 – 1950
 * North China (People's Post)	1948 – 1950
 * North East China (People's Post)	1946 – 1950
 * North West China (People's Post)	1949 only
 * Port Arthur and Dairen	1946 – 1950
 * Shensi–Kansu–Ninghsia	1946 – 1949
 * South China (People's Post)	1949 only
 * South West China (People's Post)	1949 – 1950

Christmas Island

 * Christmas Island, Indian Ocean	1958 – 1993
 * Christmas Island, Australia	1993 -
 * Straits Settlements	1901 - 1942

Cilicia

 * Cilicia (French Occupation) 1919 – 1921

Cocos (Keeling) Islands

 * Cocos (Keeling) Islands	1963 – 1993
 * Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Australia	1994 -

Colombia

 * Colombia	1859 –

Colombian Territories

 * Antioquia	1868 – 1906
 * AVIANCA	1950 – 1951
 * Bolívar	1863 – 1904
 * Boyacá	1899 – 1903
 * Cauca	1886 only
 * Cundinamarca	1870 – 1904
 * Granadine Confederation	1859 – 1861
 * LANSA	1950 – 1951
 * New Granada	1861 only
 * Santander	1884 – 1903
 * Tolima	1870 – 1903

Comoros Islands

 * Comoro Islands	1950 –

Congo, Democratic Republic of the

 * Belgian Congo	1909 – 1960
 * Burundi	1962 –
 * Congo Free State	1886 – 1908
 * Congo Republic	1959 –

Congo, Republic of the

 * Zaire	1960 – 1971
 * Katanga	1960 – 1963
 * Ruanda – Urundi	1924 – 1962
 * Rwanda	1962 –
 * South Kasai	1961 – 1962
 * Zaire	1971 –

Cook Islands

 * Cook Islands	1892 –
 * Penrhyn 1902 – 1928, 1973 –

Costa Rica

 * Costa Rica	1863 –
 * Guanacaste	1885 – 1889

Crete

 * Crete	1900 – 1913
 * Cretan Revolutionary Assembly	1905 only
 * Crete (British Post Offices)
 * Crete (French Post Offices)
 * Crete (Italian Post Offices)
 * Crete (Russian Post Offices)

Croatia

 * Croatia	1991 –
 * Croatia (Provincial Issues)	1918 – 1921
 * Croatia (Semi–Autonomous State)	1941 – 1945
 * Sremsko Baranjska Oblast (Croatia)	1995 – 1997
 * Srpska Krajina (Croatia)	1993 – 1995

Cuba

 * Cuba	1855 –

Cyprus

 * Cyprus	1880 –
 * Northern Cyprus

Czechia

 * Bohemia and Moravia	1939 – 1945
 * Czechoslovakia	1918 – 1939; 1945 – 1992
 * Czech Republic	1993 –

Czechoslovakia
See Czech Republic
 * Czechoslovakia	1918 – 1939; 1945 – 1992

Dahomey
See Benin

Danzig

 * Danzig	1920 – 1939

Denmark

 * Denmark	1851 –

Djibouti

 * Obock (French Colony)	1893–1902
 * Djibouti (French Colony)	1894–1902
 * French Somali Coast	1902-1967
 * French Territory of Afars and Issas	1967–1977
 * Djibouti, Republic of	1977 –

Dominican Republic

 * Dominican Republic	1865 –

Dubai
See United Arab Emirates
 * Dubai	1963 – 1972

Ecuador

 * Ecuador	1865 –
 * Galapagos Islands	1957 – 1959

Egypt

 * Egypt	1866 –
 * Gaza (Egyptian Occupation)	1948 – 1967
 * Palestine (Egyptian Occupation)	1918 – 1920
 * United Arab Republic	1958 – 1961

El Salvador

 * El Salvador	1867 –

Equatorial Guinea

 * Equatorial Guinea	1968 –

Eritrea
1893-1936 (Italian colony)
 * Eritrea

1993 –

Estonia

 * Estonia 1918 – 1940; 1991 -

Eswatini

 * Swaziland

Ethiopia (Abyssinia)

 * Ethiopia	1894 –
 * Etiopia (Italian occupation) 1936