5. Canada Post
With only 1,516 citizens per post office -- compared with 8,409 and more than 24,000 in China -- Canada ranks highest in the world for access to postal services. But like its neighbor to the south, Canada has been hit by rising costs and decreased demands for its services.
The government launched a $2 billion modernization plan in 2010, which will include updating equipment and buying more vehicles. Unions have objected to new rules requiring letter carriers to carry two bundles instead of one, and have also expressed concerns that the investment in new technology is a prelude to large-scale layoffs. (Canada Post denies this, but does plan to reduce its workforce through attrition.)
Canada Post has also set up a free online billing service called ePost, which allows customers to pay bills online and manage financial documents through the postal service's website. The U.S. Government Accountability Office has suggested that the USPS set up a similar service, but Congress has yet to take up the idea.
Denis S. Hurd/Flickr
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