How we check the data
A plug guide is only useful if it is right. Here is exactly where each field comes from and what we do when sources disagree.
Plug types
Each country is matched to its national wiring standard rather than to whatever a hotel happens to have installed. Where a country has more than one socket in circulation — South Africa's M and N, Britain's surviving D and M, India's D and M — we list all of them rather than picking one.
The letter names (Type A to O) come from the widely used US government classification. The standards themselves are the real sources: BS 1363 in Britain, NEMA 5-15 in North America, AS/NZS 3112 in Australia and New Zealand, TIS 166-2549 in Thailand, IEC 60906-1 for Type N, and the IEC/TR 60083 survey of plugs and sockets standardised in member countries.
Voltage and frequency
We publish nominal supply voltage — the figure the grid is designed around, not a measurement. Europe's nominal 230 V has replaced the old 220 V and 240 V ratings but tolerates ±10%, which is why some sources still say 220 V and others 240 V. Where a country genuinely differs — Japan at 100 V, Jamaica at 110 V / 50 Hz, the Philippines at 220 V / 60 Hz — the exception is called out on the page.
The awkward cases
- Split grids. Japan runs 50 Hz in the east and 60 Hz in the west; we show the eastern figure and explain the boundary.
- Multiple voltages. Brazil, Mexico and parts of the Caribbean have more than one distribution voltage; the page shows the dominant one and flags the rest.
- Unstandardised countries. Myanmar, Cambodia and parts of West Africa have no reliable single standard. Those pages say so instead of inventing precision.
How often it changes
The dataset was last reviewed in October 2026. Plug standards change slowly — the last significant additions were Thailand's Type O in 2006 and South Africa's Type N in 2013 — but voltage harmonisation and new socket regulations do happen, and we update pages when they do.
Corrections
If you live somewhere we have got wrong, tell us. Email [email protected] with the country, what the page says, and what you see on the wall — a photo is ideal. Corrections from residents take priority over secondary sources.
What this site is not
We are not electricians and this is not a wiring manual. We describe the public supply standard so you can decide what to pack. Always check the label on your own device, and have fixed wiring installed by a qualified local electrician.