Postal History in Finland

• In 1964, households sent 33% of letters, but at the end of the 1980s this figure had dropped to 10%.
• The 1970s were an era of great changes. The focus was on rationalisation and efficiency.
• The planning process for Pasila distribution centre began in 1965. A decision on its location was made in 1971.
• A five-digit postcode system was introduced in the Helsinki region in 1965 and in other parts of the country in 1971. A countrywide sorting centre system was implemented in stages during the 1970s.
• Bicycles designed for deliveries introduced in 1965.
• Distribution by car started when the first right-hand drive delivery vans arrived in 1970.
• Postal Services vans introduced in 1972 to replace post offices and post office buses.
• Mail distribution trolleys introduced in 1973.
• Deliveries made five days a week throughout the country in 1974.
• A shortage of labour in the Helsinki region in the 1960s and 1970s.
• 1,127 million items delivered in 1965 (51.2 million official items, 668.5 million newspapers).
• The number of international deliveries continued to grow: 79.4 million in 1965 and 95.6 million in 1970.
• 4,647 postal outlets in 1965, 894 of which were post offices. There were 91 mobile post offices (carriages).
• 4,220 postal outlets in 1975, 959 of which were post offices. Mobile post offices: 19 carriages and 30 postal services vans.
• Staff: 37,517 in 1965, 41,569 in 1970 and 46,156 in 1975.

Finland

• The society changed as a result of rural-urban migration.
• The first Lotto draw in 1971.
• Lasse Virén won the 5,000 and 10,000 metres events at the Munich Olympics in 1972, and renewed his victories in Montreal in 1976.
• A bank strike closed all banks except Postipankki for two weeks in 1973.
• The first Uuno Turhapuro film premiered in 1973.
• The first refugees arrived in Finland from Chile in 1973.
• The Finnish government launched an energy conservation campaign in 1974. Particular areas of conservation were heating, use of electricity and transport.
• Automatic telephone communication available between Finland, the Nordic countries and West Germany in 1974.
• The Hurriganes' song "Get on" won the European Pop Jury competition in 1974.
• The Road Traffic Act 1975. Wearing seat belts became compulsory for the front seats of a car (for rear seats in 1987), and wearing helmets became compulsory for motorcyclists and their passengers.
• Miss Finland, Anne Pohtamo, crowned Miss Universe in 1975.
• The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) held in Helsinki in 1975.
• President of Finland: U.K .Kekkonen (Agrarian Party) 1956–82.
• Population 4.7 million in 1975.

Global Events

• The Beatles' first single released in 1962.
• US President John F. Kennedy assassinated in Dallas in 1963.
• Leonid Brezhnev became the Soviet leader in 1964.
• The American company Bowmar launched the first pocket calculator in 1971.
• Elvis Presley performed in a concert in Hawaii, watched live by more than 1.5 billion people in 1973. The first concert in the world that was broadcast around the world via satellite.
• The energy crisis in 1973: the rapid rise of oil prices increased the cost of road transport.
• The Swedish band ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest with their song "Waterloo" in Brighton in 1974.
• Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple Computer in 1976.
• A small company called Microsoft was registered in New Mexico in 1976.