WSD logo

World Standards Day
(annually: 14 October)


Below is a checklist of World Standards Day (WSD) postal items (stamps, souvenir sheets, aerogrammes, postal cards, etc.). Catalog numbers, years of issue, and notes on the items featured are given when available. If readers know of additional information or images, please contact the author using the e-mail address at the bottom of this page.

Additional items are found on the ISO and related standards page.

Farther below is a Summary by year of issue and WSD ordinal number of the number of countries issuing WSD items, as well as the number of WSD items that were issued. WSD themes are also provided in this summary.


CountryCatalog Number*Type of Item**Year of IssueNotes on Content***
World Standards Day1
China (Taiwan)20661977(8th) World Standards Day: Chinese quality mark
China (Taiwan)2067
Egypt (UAR)8401970(1st) World Standards Day: 25th anniv. ISO, 1945: standardization emblems
Egypt9631974(5th) World Standards Day: UN Day: emblems, cogwheel, calipers: ISO
Ethiopia10501982(13th) World Standards Day: emblem, hand, foot, square: ESI
Ethiopia1051(13th) World Standards Day: emblem, scales: ESI
Ethiopia1052(13th) World Standards Day: emblem, rulers: ESI
Ethiopia1053(13th) World Standards Day: emblem, weights: ESI
Ethiopia1054(13th) World Standards Day: emblem: ESI
Iran22001985(16th) World Standards Day: National Standards Office emblem: ISO: ISIRI
Iran26921996(27th) World Standards Day: two cogwheels, other industrial symbols
Iraq8681978(9th) World Standards Day: map of Iraq, ruler, globe, emblem
Iraq869
Iraq870
Kuwait6361975(6th) World Standards Day: measurement symbols: ISO, KSS
Kuwait637
Kuwait1295 (Mi1427)1995(26th) World Standards Day: ISO, IEC, other emblems
Kuwait1296 (Mi1428)
Kuwait1297 (Mi1429)
Libya7081977(8th) World Standards Day: emblems, coat of arms
Libya709
Libya710
Nigeria3941980(11th) World Standards Day: kilogram scale, centimeter ruler, emblem
Nigeria395(11th) World Standards Day: technician, quality control, emblem
Saudi Arabia8521982(13th) World Standards Day: symbols, cogwheel
Sudan2451972(1st) World Standards Day, 1970-10-14: emblems, measure: SSO
Sudan246
Sudan247
Syria789 (Mi1380)1977(8th) World Standards Day, 1977-10-14: measures, globe: ISO
Syria988 (Mi1576)1983(14th) World Standards Day: factory, ISO emblem: SASMO
Syria989 (Mi1577)(14th) World Standards Day: measuring equipment: ISO, SASMO

*Scott catalog number, unless prefixed with Mi or BL for Michel; "i" prefix denotes imperforate version.
**SS# = souvenir sheet, MS# = miniature sheet, where # = number of stamps in sheet, and the numbers in parentheses are the catalog numbers of the stamps in the sheet.
***World Standards Day and ISO General Assembly ordinal numbers given in parentheses are not specifically noted on items, but are based on year of issue.

1The date, 14 October, was chosen because it was on that day in 1946 that delegates from 25 countries first gathered in London and consequently decided to create a new international organization dedicated to the coordination and unification of standards work. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) was officially formed one year later and it was at the prompting of an ISO President that the first World Standards Day was celebrated on 14 October 1970.


Below is a summary, by year of issue and WSD ordinal number, the World Standards Day (WSD) postal items listed in the table immediately above.

Year of IssueWSD Ordinal NumberNumber ofWSD Theme
CountriesItems
1970, including Sudan 245-2471st24
19712nd00
1972, except Sudan 245-2473rd00
19734th12
19745th11
19756th12
19767th00
19778th36
19789th13
197910th00
198011th12
198112th00
198213th26
198314th00
198415th00
198516th11
198617th00International Standardization (Poster symbolizes what the standardization profession strives for in every project - to make pieces fit without constraints on choice or imagination.)
198718th00International Standardization (Poster shows an engineering component (a wing screw). Engineering drawing is part of the standard technical language itself. Rationalization and agreement should free the imagination from repetitive tasks, giving free rein to ideas and a practical basis for implementation of technology.)
198819th00International standardization for light and lighting (Slogan: Spotlight on international standards)
198920th00Standards for Health Technology (Slogan: Improving health security)
199021st00Environment (Slogan: Restoring the environment)
199122nd00Safety (Slogan: Safety at work)
199223rd00Global trade (Slogan: International standards: A key to open markets)
199324th00Information technology (Slogan: Information management - Faster and better with global standards)
199425th00Consumers (Slogan: Standards and the consumer: Partners for a better world)
199526th13Transportation (Slogan: A world on the move – International standards help transport people, energy, goods and data)
199627th11Services (Slogan: Raising standards for services)
199728th00Trade (Slogan: World trade needs worldwide standards)
199829th00Standards in daily life
199930th00Standards in the Construction industry (Slogan: Building on standards)
200031st00International Standards for Peace and Prosperity (Slogan: Harmony for prosperity)
200132nd00Environment (Slogan: The environment and standards – Close together)
200233rd00Standards and conformity assessment (Slogan: One standard, one test – Accepted everywhere)
200334th00Information and communication technologies (Slogan: Global standards for the global information society)
200435th00Standards connect the world
200536th00Standards for a safer world
200637th00Standardization and small business (Slogan: Standards: Big benefits for small business)
200738th00Standards and the global village
200839th00Intelligent and Sustainable Buildings
200940th00Tackling climate change through standards
Total: 11 out of 40 yearsTotal: 31 items


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Updated: 2009-09-10