First Day Abroad

Power sockets and voltage in South Africa

Part of the South Africa arrival guide.

This information may change. Always check the official source.Last verified: August 2026 by

Sockets and voltage in South Africa

  • Type CCEE 7/16 (Europlug)No earth
  • Type MBS 546, 15 AEarthed
  • Type NIEC 60906-1 / NBR 14136Earthed
Voltage
230 V
Frequency
50 Hz
Earthed sockets
Type M, Type N

The country is moving from the heavy Type M sockets to the compact Type N, so new buildings and old ones differ.

What you need, by where you are coming from

  • Arriving from the United States or CanadaA plug adapter, and appliances marked 100-240 V. Anything single-voltage needs a converter.
  • Arriving from the UK or IrelandPlugs go straight in and the voltage matches. Nothing to pack.
  • Arriving from most of continental EuropePlugs go straight in and the voltage matches. Nothing to pack.
  • Arriving from Australia or New ZealandA plug adapter is enough - the voltage is the same as at home.

Socket types, voltage and frequency are the nominal domestic supply as published in IEC/TR 60083 and the national standards it lists.

South Africa is mid-transition from the huge Type socket to the compact Type , so a hotel may have either or both.

Sockets in South Africa are Type , and at 230 V, 50 Hz - and the country is halfway through swapping one standard for another.

  • Type is the old standard: three very large round pins in a triangle, unlike anything else in daily use outside southern Africa.
  • Type is the new one, adopted as SANS 164-2 and preferred since 2013. New installations must include it, so recent buildings have both.
  • A Europlug fits a Type socket and the two-pin holes of many multi-sockets, which covers most chargers.
  • British, American and Australian plugs need an adapter - and specifically a Type one, which is not what a generic travel kit always contains.
  • 230 V, so American 120 V-only equipment needs a converter. Load-shedding used to be the other power problem here; Eskom has not shed a stage since 16 May 2025, but municipal outages still happen and no adapter helps with those.
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Sources (1)

What this guide was checked against. Rules and prices change — follow the official link before you rely on a detail.