I'm trying to plot spend data on zipcodes but only have US domestic zipcodes. Where can I find a shapefile/feature class for international postal codes? Point data is preferred but polygons will work.
[GIS] International postal codes
datapostal-code
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One of the biggest misconceptions GIS users have about ZIP codes is that they are a set of polygons that cover the United States--they are not. ZIP codes are a system used by the Postal Service for sorting mail before delivery, and nothing more. If an address receives enough mail, the USPS will just assign them a ZIP code to improve sorting efficiency. Many post offices also have a separate ZIP code just for their P.O. Boxes.
The ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) are a best-estimate made by the Census Bureau about the spatial delineation of ZIP codes, reverse-engineered from responses to the Bureau's surveys. But it is not exact. I've found significant differences between ZIP codes (from geocoded addresses) and ZCTAs, especially in areas with uneven distribution of postal mail, like dense urban centers, commercial and industrial parks, and very rural areas. Depending on your workflow, this may make ZCTAs inappropriate for further use.
The USPS does make some of their own ZIP code data available, as described in this USPS FAQ. But certainly nothing like a shapefile with national coverage.
Canada Post keeps a tight reign on its claimed copyright of Canadian postal codes. The site 'geocoder.ca' referred to in the update is one of several sites that Canada Post has dragged into the Canadian court system. Basically, Canada Post makes money selling the information. Canada Post has gone so far and trade mark the spelling 'Postal code' (note the 'c' in code is lowercase). They claim exclusive right to this phrase.
Even while Canada Stats has data at the FSA/LDU level, the public data is ONLY available at the FSA level:
The same copyright is true in US that zip codes are copyright property of the US Postal Service. But, in the US the crowd sourced and other reversed engineer compilations NOT derived from the USPS source, the USPS has never (and does not expect to) claimed copyright infringement.
And again, starting with the 2000 census the US Census stopped using actual zip codes and use ZCTAs (sort like zip codes - lol).
I have my own non-USPS derived compilations which I make publicly available (CC0) at: http://www.opengeocode.org/download.php#cityzip
Best Answer
A quick Google search gave me the following results:
Paying datasets:
Free datasets (country by country):
Also, relevant post: Where can I find a global geocoding dataset based on postal code?