Africa has no single plug standard, and the split follows the continent's wiring history rather than any logic a traveller can guess. The practical shortcut: British-type G in the west and east, European C/E/F in the north, and South African M/N in the south.
North Africa — European round pins
Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria use Type C and Type E at 220–230 V, 50 Hz, the legacy of French wiring. Egypt uses C and Type F. A Europlug charger works everywhere along the Mediterranean coast.
West Africa — British G, with older D
Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and much of anglophone Africa use Type G, the British fused plug, at 230–240 V. Ghana and Nigeria also keep older Type D round-pin sockets, and you will see both in the same building. A UK adapter is the right call for this belt.
East Africa — mixed, with G dominant
Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe lean on G and D. Ethiopia and Eritrea sit in the European camp with C and F, and Ethiopia also uses Italian Type L. Madagascar mixes French and British patterns.
Southern Africa — M and N
South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini and Botswana use the large three-round-pin Type M at 230 V. South Africa has been adding the smaller Type N since 2013, so modern buildings often have both. Nothing else fits an M socket without an adapter, and the adapters sold at European airports almost never include it.
What to pack
- Multi-country trip: a universal adapter with G, C, D and M pins covers nearly the whole continent.
- One country: buy the specific adapter — a UK-to-G for Nigeria, an EU-to-M for South Africa.
- Power reliability: outages are routine outside major cities in much of the continent. A power bank is more useful than a second adapter.
- Surge protection: voltage sags and spikes are common; a small surge-protected strip protects your laptop.
Country pages
South Africa · Nigeria · Kenya · Ghana · Morocco · Egypt · Tanzania · Ethiopia · Namibia · Botswana