Hello everybody. Today we’ll talk about… plugs. Don’t worry, we haven’t changed topic, as it may seem not pertinent there is a link to all this and now we will show you by asking a question. Which of you during your stay in a foreign city had a hair dryer without knowing how dry your hair or not knowing how to charge your phone or your pc? Of course all of us are able to do this but when we don’t have the right plug then we could have some problems. Being the plugs different from country to country, the question is: how to recognize them and be prepared about the situation? Well today we are here to give you some information. Let’s start!

There are about fifteen different plugs in use in the world and they are identified with the letters of the alphabet. Let’s see them!

 

A: two pins. This plug is used in the USA, Canada, Japan, Central America, the Bahamas, Barbados, Philippines, Cayman Islands, Maldives.

B: this plug is similar to the A type with the difference that it is grounded. This is used in the same country listed above.

C: two pins, mainly used in Europe.

D and M are basically the same (three pins) the difference is only in the power. It is used in Asian and African countries.

E: two pins. It is grounded and it is used in Belgium and in Africa.

F: “schuko” plug (with two pins). It is used in Europe.

G: British plug with three pins. It is udsed in Ireland, Saudi Arabia, China, United Arab Emirates, Gibraltar, Kenya, Maldives, Malta, Cyprus.

H: three pins. It is used exclusively in Israel.

I: two and three pins plug. It is used in Australia, New Zealand, China, Papua New Guinea, Fiji.

J: plug with three pins, it is grounded and is used in Switzerland.

K: three pins plug, used in Denmark.

L: three pins plug used in the Republic of San Marino, the Vatican, Albania and the Canary Islands.

 

What we feel to say to you is to buy an adapter kit (easily available or in specialized shops or on the Internet) and pay attention to the different electrical voltage by controlling the compatibility of your equipment.

Below we will show a map of the plugs in the world to be more precisely.

 

Hopefully this guide has been helpful for today but also for tomorrow (if we are late!).

A big kiss to everyone.

42 thoughts on “Plugs in the world

  1. Aw plugs drive me crazy! I still can’t understand why we don’t all have universal ones. Also, I think it’s important to point out that the C two pins plugs, mainly used in Europe actually worked for me in India as the top prong was meant for safety and not power (If you have the big type with the ground, then be prepared to trip the circuit breaker on occasion). They mightn’t always work though so I also bought an adapter.

  2. I have not found a good brand of a universal travel adapter. The one that I have is broken. I bought it in Miami. I have forgotten to bring a universal travel adapter sometimes. I borrowed from a stranger at the Frankfurt airport when this first happened. She was nice and let me use her adapter. Haha! It was funny. After that, I bought my first universal travel adapter.

    1. The fact that there are different types of plugs in the world it doesn’t help people who travel. If you don’t have an adapter with you or you don’t have checked the type of the plug using in that area… damn!
      Fortunately you have found a good girl that helped you.

  3. This is a very helpful article, especially for people that travel outside of their countries. I also bought an adapter as I travel to many locations and always need to charge things. Thanks for sharing this interesting article.

  4. Wow! This article is so very useful for travellers. I do have a suggestion about the map though – the colours are confusing, so it would be easier if you chose colours that were slightly different from each other.

  5. Great post! It’s crazy when the plugs change even within the same area. The plugs are different in South Korea and Japan. So that was fun when I vacationed in Japan when living in Korea! Another thing is that some countries have different wattage, between 220 and 110 and that means some electronics won’t work even if you have the right plug!

  6. Who knew there were so many different plugs around the world. I definitely have trouble with this every trip I take overseas. I always end up ruining another straightener since the plug voltage and equipment aren’t compatible. Thanks for sharing these tips.

  7. This is quite a useful guide. I dream of a world where plugs and voltages are all standardized. But for now, we’ll just have to carry a universal charger. Most common electrical outlets in the Philippines are the second and third outlets in the fourth row.

  8. LOL, this is so cool. I will keep this post. I travel a lot and have an adapter that has 8 different pins so it works in most countries but how annoying when you arrive somewhere and cannot charge a phone or laptop. We need one universal plug for all countries.

  9. After this post, I’m convinced that South Africans invented their own strange plug points. Our plug points are not in your diagram and often give people a hard time. 3 quite thick holes in a triangle. I struggled when taking my plug around the world with me.

    1. Giusta osservazione Sabrina, per quanto un adattatore possa essere universale ci sono delle varianti in alcuni paesi che possono creare più di un problema. Ad ogni modo meglio partire con qualche conoscenza in più sulla propria destinazione.

  10. Ottimo articolo e argomento interessante. Infatti, quando si viaggia all’estero ci dobbiamo ricordare che anche gli adattatori sono diversi e molto spesso Italia non è cosi semplice trovarli. Io per andare a Londra ho comprato quello universale, ma nonostante l’adattatore fosse quello giusto non funzionava e così mi sono arrangiata con quello della mia ospitante. Ah che ho passato 😀

    1. In effetti anche se ci si dota di un adattatore universale le possibilità che possa non essere poi così universale sono reali. Diciamo che un po’ di informazione prima di partire per un paese straniero non guasta mai haha
      Oggi come oggi poi con tutta questa tecnologia usufruire di elettricità diventa fondamentale!!

  11. E’ successo a me quando sono venuta in Italia per la prima volta perchè non sapevo che utilizzate la presa a tre poli! Grazie per la guida e un suggerimento per comprare un kit di adattatori!

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