diff --git a/10/Dockerfile.c8s b/10/Dockerfile.c8s
index 9aff4d3e..36eaa28c 100644
--- a/10/Dockerfile.c8s
+++ b/10/Dockerfile.c8s
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ FROM quay.io/sclorg/s2i-core-c8s:c8s
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_DATABASE - Name of the database to create
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_ADMIN_PASSWORD (Optional) - Password for the 'postgres'
 #                           PostgreSQL administrative account
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_ENCODING - Database encoding. Default to UTF8
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_LOCALE   - Database locale. Default to en_US
 
 ENV POSTGRESQL_VERSION=10 \
     POSTGRESQL_PREV_VERSION=9.6 \
diff --git a/10/Dockerfile.rhel7 b/10/Dockerfile.rhel7
index acb94437..6ab07c71 100644
--- a/10/Dockerfile.rhel7
+++ b/10/Dockerfile.rhel7
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ FROM rhscl/s2i-core-rhel7
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_DATABASE - Name of the database to create
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_ADMIN_PASSWORD (Optional) - Password for the 'postgres'
 #                           PostgreSQL administrative account
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_ENCODING - Database encoding. Default to UTF8
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_LOCALE   - Database locale. Default to en_US
 
 ENV POSTGRESQL_VERSION=10 \
     POSTGRESQL_PREV_VERSION=9.6 \
diff --git a/10/Dockerfile.rhel8 b/10/Dockerfile.rhel8
index e188c7e5..71fb91bd 100644
--- a/10/Dockerfile.rhel8
+++ b/10/Dockerfile.rhel8
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ FROM ubi8/s2i-core
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_DATABASE - Name of the database to create
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_ADMIN_PASSWORD (Optional) - Password for the 'postgres'
 #                           PostgreSQL administrative account
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_ENCODING - Database encoding. Default to UTF8
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_LOCALE   - Database locale. Default to en_US
 
 ENV POSTGRESQL_VERSION=10 \
     POSTGRESQL_PREV_VERSION=9.6 \
diff --git a/10/root/usr/share/container-scripts/postgresql/common.sh b/10/root/usr/share/container-scripts/postgresql/common.sh
index 29e91dd8..9d67a317 100644
--- a/10/root/usr/share/container-scripts/postgresql/common.sh
+++ b/10/root/usr/share/container-scripts/postgresql/common.sh
@@ -201,7 +201,10 @@ initdb_wrapper ()
   # Initialize the database cluster with utf8 support enabled by default.
   # This might affect performance, see:
   # http://www.postgresql.org/docs/10/static/locale.html
-  LANG=${LANG:-en_US.utf8} "$@"
+  ENCODING=${POSTGRESQL_ENCODING:-UTF8}
+  LOCALE=${POSTGRESQL_LOCALE:-en_US}
+  if [ ${LOCALE} == "C" ] ; then LANG=C; fi
+  LANG=${LANG:-$LOCALE.$ENCODING} "$@" -E $ENCODING
 }
 
 function initialize_database() {
@@ -234,7 +237,16 @@ EOF
 function create_users() {
   if [[ ",$postinitdb_actions," = *,simple_db,* ]]; then
     createuser "$POSTGRESQL_USER"
-    createdb --owner="$POSTGRESQL_USER" "$POSTGRESQL_DATABASE"
+
+    EXTRA_ARGS=""
+    if [ -v POSTGRESQL_ENCODING ]; then
+       EXTRA_ARGS="$EXTRA_ARGS -E $POSTGRESQL_ENCODING"
+    fi
+    if [ -v POSTGRESQL_LOCALE ]; then
+       EXTRA_ARGS="$EXTRA_ARGS -l $POSTGRESQL_LOCALE"
+    fi
+
+    createdb $EXTRA_ARGS --owner="$POSTGRESQL_USER" "$POSTGRESQL_DATABASE"
   fi
 
   if [ -v POSTGRESQL_MASTER_USER ]; then
diff --git a/12/Dockerfile.c8s b/12/Dockerfile.c8s
index 946cd278..5728244e 100644
--- a/12/Dockerfile.c8s
+++ b/12/Dockerfile.c8s
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ FROM quay.io/sclorg/s2i-core-c8s:c8s
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_DATABASE - Name of the database to create
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_ADMIN_PASSWORD (Optional) - Password for the 'postgres'
 #                           PostgreSQL administrative account
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_ENCODING - Database encoding. Default to UTF8
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_LOCALE   - Database locale. Default to en_US
 
 ENV POSTGRESQL_VERSION=12 \
     POSTGRESQL_PREV_VERSION=10 \
diff --git a/12/Dockerfile.fedora b/12/Dockerfile.fedora
index f596e65f..a4fe4b93 100644
--- a/12/Dockerfile.fedora
+++ b/12/Dockerfile.fedora
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ FROM quay.io/fedora/s2i-core:38
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_DATABASE - Name of the database to create
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_ADMIN_PASSWORD (Optional) - Password for the 'postgres'
 #                           PostgreSQL administrative account
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_ENCODING - Database encoding. Default to UTF8
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_LOCALE   - Database locale. Default to en_US
 
 ENV NAME=postgresql \
     VERSION=0 \
diff --git a/12/Dockerfile.rhel7 b/12/Dockerfile.rhel7
index 75e7b688..c8a4a695 100644
--- a/12/Dockerfile.rhel7
+++ b/12/Dockerfile.rhel7
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ FROM rhscl/s2i-core-rhel7
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_DATABASE - Name of the database to create
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_ADMIN_PASSWORD (Optional) - Password for the 'postgres'
 #                           PostgreSQL administrative account
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_ENCODING - Database encoding. Default to UTF8
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_LOCALE   - Database locale. Default to en_US
 
 ENV POSTGRESQL_VERSION=12 \
     POSTGRESQL_PREV_VERSION=10 \
diff --git a/12/Dockerfile.rhel8 b/12/Dockerfile.rhel8
index e83fd4fe..e7a868b1 100644
--- a/12/Dockerfile.rhel8
+++ b/12/Dockerfile.rhel8
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ FROM ubi8/s2i-core
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_DATABASE - Name of the database to create
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_ADMIN_PASSWORD (Optional) - Password for the 'postgres'
 #                           PostgreSQL administrative account
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_ENCODING - Database encoding. Default to UTF8
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_LOCALE   - Database locale. Default to en_US
 
 ENV POSTGRESQL_VERSION=12 \
     POSTGRESQL_PREV_VERSION=10 \
diff --git a/12/root/usr/share/container-scripts/postgresql/common.sh b/12/root/usr/share/container-scripts/postgresql/common.sh
index e917c39d..aac8d729 100644
--- a/12/root/usr/share/container-scripts/postgresql/common.sh
+++ b/12/root/usr/share/container-scripts/postgresql/common.sh
@@ -201,7 +201,10 @@ initdb_wrapper ()
   # Initialize the database cluster with utf8 support enabled by default.
   # This might affect performance, see:
   # http://www.postgresql.org/docs/12/static/locale.html
-  LANG=${LANG:-en_US.utf8} "$@"
+  ENCODING=${POSTGRESQL_ENCODING:-UTF8}
+  LOCALE=${POSTGRESQL_LOCALE:-en_US}
+  if [ ${LOCALE} == "C" ] ; then LANG=C; fi
+  LANG=${LANG:-$LOCALE.$ENCODING} "$@" -E $ENCODING
 }
 
 function initialize_database() {
@@ -234,7 +237,16 @@ EOF
 function create_users() {
   if [[ ",$postinitdb_actions," = *,simple_db,* ]]; then
     createuser "$POSTGRESQL_USER"
-    createdb --owner="$POSTGRESQL_USER" "$POSTGRESQL_DATABASE"
+
+    EXTRA_ARGS=""
+    if [ -v POSTGRESQL_ENCODING ]; then
+       EXTRA_ARGS="$EXTRA_ARGS -E $POSTGRESQL_ENCODING"
+    fi
+    if [ -v POSTGRESQL_LOCALE ]; then
+       EXTRA_ARGS="$EXTRA_ARGS -l $POSTGRESQL_LOCALE"
+    fi
+
+    createdb $EXTRA_ARGS --owner="$POSTGRESQL_USER" "$POSTGRESQL_DATABASE"
   fi
 
   if [ -v POSTGRESQL_MASTER_USER ]; then
diff --git a/13/Dockerfile.c8s b/13/Dockerfile.c8s
index 60130b92..0772796c 100644
--- a/13/Dockerfile.c8s
+++ b/13/Dockerfile.c8s
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ FROM quay.io/sclorg/s2i-core-c8s:c8s
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_DATABASE - Name of the database to create
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_ADMIN_PASSWORD (Optional) - Password for the 'postgres'
 #                           PostgreSQL administrative account
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_ENCODING - Database encoding. Default to UTF8
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_LOCALE   - Database locale. Default to en_US
 
 ENV POSTGRESQL_VERSION=13 \
     POSTGRESQL_PREV_VERSION=12 \
diff --git a/13/Dockerfile.c9s b/13/Dockerfile.c9s
index 65bdb635..45a3e17c 100644
--- a/13/Dockerfile.c9s
+++ b/13/Dockerfile.c9s
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ FROM quay.io/sclorg/s2i-core-c9s:c9s
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_DATABASE - Name of the database to create
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_ADMIN_PASSWORD (Optional) - Password for the 'postgres'
 #                           PostgreSQL administrative account
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_ENCODING - Database encoding. Default to UTF8
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_LOCALE   - Database locale. Default to en_US
 
 ENV POSTGRESQL_VERSION=13 \
     POSTGRESQL_PREV_VERSION=12 \
diff --git a/13/Dockerfile.fedora b/13/Dockerfile.fedora
index 7031f394..7f85b1bd 100644
--- a/13/Dockerfile.fedora
+++ b/13/Dockerfile.fedora
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ FROM quay.io/fedora/s2i-core:38
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_DATABASE - Name of the database to create
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_ADMIN_PASSWORD (Optional) - Password for the 'postgres'
 #                           PostgreSQL administrative account
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_ENCODING - Database encoding. Default to UTF8
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_LOCALE   - Database locale. Default to en_US
 
 ENV NAME=postgresql \
     VERSION=0 \
diff --git a/13/Dockerfile.rhel7 b/13/Dockerfile.rhel7
index 93939459..a9840318 100644
--- a/13/Dockerfile.rhel7
+++ b/13/Dockerfile.rhel7
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ FROM rhscl/s2i-core-rhel7
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_DATABASE - Name of the database to create
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_ADMIN_PASSWORD (Optional) - Password for the 'postgres'
 #                           PostgreSQL administrative account
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_ENCODING - Database encoding. Default to UTF8
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_LOCALE   - Database locale. Default to en_US
 
 ENV POSTGRESQL_VERSION=13 \
     POSTGRESQL_PREV_VERSION=12 \
diff --git a/13/Dockerfile.rhel8 b/13/Dockerfile.rhel8
index 986c1e67..ab795842 100644
--- a/13/Dockerfile.rhel8
+++ b/13/Dockerfile.rhel8
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ FROM ubi8/s2i-core
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_DATABASE - Name of the database to create
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_ADMIN_PASSWORD (Optional) - Password for the 'postgres'
 #                           PostgreSQL administrative account
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_ENCODING - Database encoding. Default to UTF8
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_LOCALE   - Database locale. Default to en_US
 
 ENV POSTGRESQL_VERSION=13 \
     POSTGRESQL_PREV_VERSION=12 \
diff --git a/13/Dockerfile.rhel9 b/13/Dockerfile.rhel9
index 50b91331..13c1ee63 100644
--- a/13/Dockerfile.rhel9
+++ b/13/Dockerfile.rhel9
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ FROM ubi9/s2i-core
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_DATABASE - Name of the database to create
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_ADMIN_PASSWORD (Optional) - Password for the 'postgres'
 #                           PostgreSQL administrative account
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_ENCODING - Database encoding. Default to UTF8
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_LOCALE   - Database locale. Default to en_US
 
 ENV POSTGRESQL_VERSION=13 \
     POSTGRESQL_PREV_VERSION=12 \
diff --git a/13/root/usr/share/container-scripts/postgresql/common.sh b/13/root/usr/share/container-scripts/postgresql/common.sh
index 5b166305..7f77705d 100644
--- a/13/root/usr/share/container-scripts/postgresql/common.sh
+++ b/13/root/usr/share/container-scripts/postgresql/common.sh
@@ -201,7 +201,10 @@ initdb_wrapper ()
   # Initialize the database cluster with utf8 support enabled by default.
   # This might affect performance, see:
   # http://www.postgresql.org/docs/13/static/locale.html
-  LANG=${LANG:-en_US.utf8} "$@"
+  ENCODING=${POSTGRESQL_ENCODING:-UTF8}
+  LOCALE=${POSTGRESQL_LOCALE:-en_US}
+  if [ ${LOCALE} == "C" ] ; then LANG=C; fi
+  LANG=${LANG:-$LOCALE.$ENCODING} "$@" -E $ENCODING
 }
 
 function initialize_database() {
@@ -234,7 +237,16 @@ EOF
 function create_users() {
   if [[ ",$postinitdb_actions," = *,simple_db,* ]]; then
     createuser "$POSTGRESQL_USER"
-    createdb --owner="$POSTGRESQL_USER" "$POSTGRESQL_DATABASE"
+
+    EXTRA_ARGS=""
+    if [ -v POSTGRESQL_ENCODING ]; then
+       EXTRA_ARGS="$EXTRA_ARGS -E $POSTGRESQL_ENCODING"
+    fi
+    if [ -v POSTGRESQL_LOCALE ]; then
+       EXTRA_ARGS="$EXTRA_ARGS -l $POSTGRESQL_LOCALE"
+    fi
+
+    createdb $EXTRA_ARGS --owner="$POSTGRESQL_USER" "$POSTGRESQL_DATABASE"
   fi
 
   if [ -v POSTGRESQL_MASTER_USER ]; then
diff --git a/14/Dockerfile.fedora b/14/Dockerfile.fedora
index 6cc888ee..85e6fa06 100644
--- a/14/Dockerfile.fedora
+++ b/14/Dockerfile.fedora
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ FROM quay.io/fedora/s2i-core:38
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_DATABASE - Name of the database to create
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_ADMIN_PASSWORD (Optional) - Password for the 'postgres'
 #                           PostgreSQL administrative account
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_ENCODING - Database encoding. Default to UTF8
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_LOCALE   - Database locale. Default to en_US
 
 ENV NAME=postgresql \
     VERSION=0 \
diff --git a/14/root/usr/share/container-scripts/postgresql/common.sh b/14/root/usr/share/container-scripts/postgresql/common.sh
index 53ed955f..538cd244 100644
--- a/14/root/usr/share/container-scripts/postgresql/common.sh
+++ b/14/root/usr/share/container-scripts/postgresql/common.sh
@@ -201,7 +201,10 @@ initdb_wrapper ()
   # Initialize the database cluster with utf8 support enabled by default.
   # This might affect performance, see:
   # http://www.postgresql.org/docs/14/static/locale.html
-  LANG=${LANG:-en_US.utf8} "$@"
+  ENCODING=${POSTGRESQL_ENCODING:-UTF8}
+  LOCALE=${POSTGRESQL_LOCALE:-en_US}
+  if [ ${LOCALE} == "C" ] ; then LANG=C; fi
+  LANG=${LANG:-$LOCALE.$ENCODING} "$@" -E $ENCODING
 }
 
 function initialize_database() {
@@ -234,7 +237,16 @@ EOF
 function create_users() {
   if [[ ",$postinitdb_actions," = *,simple_db,* ]]; then
     createuser "$POSTGRESQL_USER"
-    createdb --owner="$POSTGRESQL_USER" "$POSTGRESQL_DATABASE"
+
+    EXTRA_ARGS=""
+    if [ -v POSTGRESQL_ENCODING ]; then
+       EXTRA_ARGS="$EXTRA_ARGS -E $POSTGRESQL_ENCODING"
+    fi
+    if [ -v POSTGRESQL_LOCALE ]; then
+       EXTRA_ARGS="$EXTRA_ARGS -l $POSTGRESQL_LOCALE"
+    fi
+
+    createdb $EXTRA_ARGS --owner="$POSTGRESQL_USER" "$POSTGRESQL_DATABASE"
   fi
 
   if [ -v POSTGRESQL_MASTER_USER ]; then
diff --git a/15/Dockerfile.c8s b/15/Dockerfile.c8s
index 9dbb7809..a7658873 100644
--- a/15/Dockerfile.c8s
+++ b/15/Dockerfile.c8s
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ FROM quay.io/sclorg/s2i-core-c8s:c8s
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_DATABASE - Name of the database to create
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_ADMIN_PASSWORD (Optional) - Password for the 'postgres'
 #                           PostgreSQL administrative account
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_ENCODING - Database encoding. Default to UTF8
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_LOCALE   - Database locale. Default to en_US
 
 ENV POSTGRESQL_VERSION=15 \
     POSTGRESQL_PREV_VERSION=13 \
diff --git a/15/Dockerfile.c9s b/15/Dockerfile.c9s
index 7d8fcba8..8b5be9b4 100644
--- a/15/Dockerfile.c9s
+++ b/15/Dockerfile.c9s
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ FROM quay.io/sclorg/s2i-core-c9s:c9s
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_DATABASE - Name of the database to create
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_ADMIN_PASSWORD (Optional) - Password for the 'postgres'
 #                           PostgreSQL administrative account
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_ENCODING - Database encoding. Default to UTF8
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_LOCALE   - Database locale. Default to en_US
 
 ENV POSTGRESQL_VERSION=15 \
     POSTGRESQL_PREV_VERSION=13 \
diff --git a/15/Dockerfile.fedora b/15/Dockerfile.fedora
index 762cfbb1..05984472 100644
--- a/15/Dockerfile.fedora
+++ b/15/Dockerfile.fedora
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ FROM quay.io/fedora/s2i-core:38
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_DATABASE - Name of the database to create
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_ADMIN_PASSWORD (Optional) - Password for the 'postgres'
 #                           PostgreSQL administrative account
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_ENCODING - Database encoding. Default to UTF8
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_LOCALE   - Database locale. Default to en_US
 
 ENV NAME=postgresql \
     VERSION=0 \
diff --git a/15/Dockerfile.rhel8 b/15/Dockerfile.rhel8
index b68f9781..0b8e1742 100644
--- a/15/Dockerfile.rhel8
+++ b/15/Dockerfile.rhel8
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ FROM ubi8/s2i-core
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_DATABASE - Name of the database to create
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_ADMIN_PASSWORD (Optional) - Password for the 'postgres'
 #                           PostgreSQL administrative account
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_ENCODING - Database encoding. Default to UTF8
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_LOCALE   - Database locale. Default to en_US
 
 ENV POSTGRESQL_VERSION=15 \
     POSTGRESQL_PREV_VERSION=13 \
diff --git a/15/Dockerfile.rhel9 b/15/Dockerfile.rhel9
index 51d003e1..683c8a2d 100644
--- a/15/Dockerfile.rhel9
+++ b/15/Dockerfile.rhel9
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ FROM ubi9/s2i-core
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_DATABASE - Name of the database to create
 #  * $POSTGRESQL_ADMIN_PASSWORD (Optional) - Password for the 'postgres'
 #                           PostgreSQL administrative account
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_ENCODING - Database encoding. Default to UTF8
+#  * $POSTGRESQL_LOCALE   - Database locale. Default to en_US
 
 ENV POSTGRESQL_VERSION=15 \
     POSTGRESQL_PREV_VERSION=13 \
diff --git a/15/root/usr/share/container-scripts/postgresql/common.sh b/15/root/usr/share/container-scripts/postgresql/common.sh
index 0428cd0e..7836d1e1 100644
--- a/15/root/usr/share/container-scripts/postgresql/common.sh
+++ b/15/root/usr/share/container-scripts/postgresql/common.sh
@@ -201,7 +201,10 @@ initdb_wrapper ()
   # Initialize the database cluster with utf8 support enabled by default.
   # This might affect performance, see:
   # http://www.postgresql.org/docs/15/static/locale.html
-  LANG=${LANG:-en_US.utf8} "$@"
+  ENCODING=${POSTGRESQL_ENCODING:-UTF8}
+  LOCALE=${POSTGRESQL_LOCALE:-en_US}
+  if [ ${LOCALE} == "C" ] ; then LANG=C; fi
+  LANG=${LANG:-$LOCALE.$ENCODING} "$@" -E $ENCODING
 }
 
 function initialize_database() {
@@ -234,7 +237,16 @@ EOF
 function create_users() {
   if [[ ",$postinitdb_actions," = *,simple_db,* ]]; then
     createuser "$POSTGRESQL_USER"
-    createdb --owner="$POSTGRESQL_USER" "$POSTGRESQL_DATABASE"
+
+    EXTRA_ARGS=""
+    if [ -v POSTGRESQL_ENCODING ]; then
+       EXTRA_ARGS="$EXTRA_ARGS -E $POSTGRESQL_ENCODING"
+    fi
+    if [ -v POSTGRESQL_LOCALE ]; then
+       EXTRA_ARGS="$EXTRA_ARGS -l $POSTGRESQL_LOCALE"
+    fi
+
+    createdb $EXTRA_ARGS --owner="$POSTGRESQL_USER" "$POSTGRESQL_DATABASE"
   fi
 
   if [ -v POSTGRESQL_MASTER_USER ]; then