It’s not the currency or the language which will trouble you during your international trips, but the power outlets and plugs. Think of a situation where you can’t use your electronic devices at all.

If you don’t do your homework ahead of time, you may be unable to use your electrical devices. Even worse, you may damage them by plugging them into the foreign outlets. So what is the solution to this problem?

The answer is to know the world standards well in advance.I have compiled an article regarding this which can help everyone who are traveling abroad.

There are currently 15 types of electrical outlet plugs in use today, each of which has been assigned a letter by the US Department of Commerce International Trade Administration (ITA), starting with A and moving through the alphabet. These letters are completely arbitrary: they don’t actually mandate anything.

The below diagram from Wikipedia gives us some idea of how plug shapes vary from country to country. Note that North America, continental Europe, the United Kingdom, and Australia all use different plug shapes.

Different types of plugs used around the world

Type A – Power Outlets

2 pins
15 A
Almost always 100 – 127 V
Not grounded
Socket compatible with plug type A
Mainly used in the USA, Canada, Mexico & Japan (for a full list, click here)

Type B – Power Outlets

3 pins
15 A
Almost always 100 – 127 V
Grounded
Socket compatible with plug types A & B
Mainly used in the USA, Canada, Mexico & Japan (for a full list, click here)

Type C – Power Outlets

2 pins
2.5 A
Almost always 220 – 240 V
Not grounded
Socket compatible with plug type C
Commonly used in Europe, South America & Asia (for a full list, click here)

Type D – Power Outlets

3 pins
5 A
220 – 240 V
Grounded
Socket compatible with plug types C & D (unsafe compatibility with E & F)
Mainly used in India (for a full list, click here)

Type E – Power Outlets

2 pins
16 A
220 – 240 V
Grounded
Socket compatible with plug types C, E & F
Primarily used in France, Belgium, Poland, Slovakia & the Czech Republic (for a full list, click here)

Type F – Power Outlets

2 pins
16 A
220 – 240 V
Grounded
Socket compatible with plug types C, E & F
Used almost everywhere in Europe & Russia, except for the UK & Ireland (for a full list, click here)

Type G – Power Outlets

3 pins
13 A
220 – 240 V
Grounded
Socket compatible with plug type G
Mainly used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Malta, Malaysia & Singapore (for a full list, click here)

Type H – Power Outlets

3 pins
16 A
220 – 240 V
Grounded
Socket compatible with plug types C & H (unsafe compatibility with E & F)
Used exclusively in Israel, the West Bank & the Gaza Strip (for a full list, click here)

Type I – Power Outlets

2 or 3 pins
2 pins: Not grounded / 3 pins: Grounded
10 A
220 – 240 V
Socket compatible with plug type I
Mainly used in Australia, New Zealand, China & Argentina (for a full list, click here)

Type J – Power Outlets

3 pins
10 A
220 – 240 V
Grounded
Socket compatible with plug types C & J
Used almost exclusively in Switzerland, Liechtenstein & Rwanda (for a full list, click here)

Type K – Power Outlets

3 pins
16 A
220 – 240 V
Grounded
Socket compatible with plug types C & K (unsafe compatibility with E & F)
Used almost exclusively in Denmark & Greenland (for a full list, click here)

Type L – Power Outlets

3 pins
10 A & 16 A
220 – 240 V
Grounded
10 A socket compatible with plug types C & L (10 A version) / 16 A socket compatible with plug type L (16 A version)
Used almost exclusively in Italy & Chile (for a full list, click here)

Type M – Power Outlets

3 pins
15 A
220 – 240 V
Grounded
Socket compatible with plug type M
Mainly used in South Africa (for a full list, click here)

Type N – Power Outlets

3 pins
10 A & 20 A
100 – 240 V
Grounded
Socket compatible with plug types C & N
Used almost exclusively in Brazil (for a full list, click here)

Type O – Power Outlets

3 pins
16 A
220 – 240 V
Grounded
Socket compatible with plug types C & O (unsafe compatibility with E & F)
Used exclusively in Thailand

credits : worldstandards.eu