Statistics 2016 - Online Catalog Entries

This statistical analysis of the online-catalog can only show trends, because there are too many error sources and possible points of criticism, as they are:
       ---  The online catalog is and will never be complete.
       ---  Some assignments in the catalog will not find your approval. E.g. Swiss soldier stamps assigned to cinderella - not to stamps. The German “Privatpost-Marken” are classified as Local Post, although they nowadays deliver Germany wide and even worldwide.
       ---  How is an item classified? For example this stamperija sheet:

The item was printed and distributed through an agency. Single stamps were not offered. A use of the stamps in the home country Togo can be excluded. Therefore, catalogs such as Scott, Gibbons, WNS, .... deliberately do not list these objects - others like Michel and Yvert & Tellier do this nevertheless.

There are 3 different variants this item could can be catalogued:
     1 souvenir sheet + 3 individual stamps
     1 souvenir sheet only
     1 cinderella

In the example above, 4 numbers were assigned - one for the sheet (RE18755) and three for the stamps (RE18756, RE18757, RE18758). However, the numbers for the single stamps make no sense, since they have never been sold separately or used at all. If they are offered somewhere, they probably come from a damaged sheet. For sheets like the above only one RE-number will be given from the year 2017 onwards.

This example shows that statistics are influenced by subjective decisions. Don't trust any statistic you haven't falsified yourself.

At the end of 2016 the online catalog included 10327 entries in total.

Top performer with 857 entries are the Netherlands - due to the many local and personalized issues. In Germany it are the many local issues and picture postcards, which lead to place two. Switzerland is pushed by the soldiers' stamps to an upper position in the ranking list, and Great Britain by the Christmas mail (Colchester, ...), which was delivered by school children.

 The rankings are different in the individual categories.

When considering the local issues with a total of 950 entries, Germany is with its 349 entries by far ahead - due to many authorized mail services:

Personalized stamps: The passion of the Dutch for these leads them to the top of the following table (432 of total 1989 entries):

Sports-related are 4452 of all entries - their percentage is therefore 43 %. The desert states have the highest percentage of sports-related issues - referred to their own issues:

Well - in these hot states there is only little everyday cycling, so that the street scenes don’t often show bicycles.

1666 entries have a reference to the Olympics = 16 % of all entries:

The table above is of little significance: it is led by states which have produced only a small number of bicycle stamps - all referred to olympics. Major cycling nations like France, Italy, ... with their own big cycling events (Tour de France, Giro, ...) do not pay much attention to the Olympic Games.

The complete tables, sorted differently, you can see here:
             Alphabetical
     Top: Overall entries
     Top: Personalized
     Top: Sports
     Top: Olympics

Summery: There is material for collecting bicycle stamps in abundance. As a thematic collector, you are free to pick out only those items you like. Use this chance.