Used in: Japan

The Type Anp electrical plug (or flat blade attachment plug) is an ungrounded plug with two flat parallel pins of the same size. There is no polarity required at the socket i.e. the plug can be inserted either way. Although the American and Japanese plugs appear identical, the neutral pin on the American plug is wider than the live pin, whereas on the Japanese plug both pins are the same size. As a result, Japanese plugs can be used in the US but often not the other way around.

The pins on Type A plugs have a hole near the tip that fits into ‘bumps’ found on the contact wipers of some sockets, so that the pins are gripped more tightly allowing for better contact and also to prevent the plug from slipping out of the socket. Some sockets have spring-action blades that grip the sides of the pins, making the holes obsolete.

Used in: Europe, with the exception of the UK, Ireland, Cyprus and Malta

The Type C electrical plug (or Europlug) is a two-wire plug that has two round pins. It fits into any socket that accepts 4.0 – 4.8 mm round contacts on 19 mm centres.

Type C plugs are generally limited for use in appliances that require 2.5 amps or less.

Used in: UK, Ireland, Cyprus, Malta, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong

The Type G electrical plug has three rectangular blades in a triangular pattern and has an incorporated fuse (usually a 3 amps fuse for smaller appliances such as a computer and a 13 amps one for heavy duty appliances such as heaters). British sockets have shutters on the live and neutral contacts so that foreign objects can’t be introduced into them.

Used in: Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Argentina

The Type I plug has two flat pins in a V-shape as well as a grounding pin. A version of the plug, which only has the two flat pins, exists as well. The Australian plug also works with sockets in China.

Australia’s standard plug/socket system is rated 10 amps but a plug/socket configuration rated 15 amps also exists, although the ground pin is wider. A standard 10 amp plug will fit into a 15 amp socket but not the other way around.