Guinea-Bissau is a country in Africa and is near Senegal. In visiting Guinea-Bissau, tourists must know some necessary information about the country like standard voltage used by the electronic gadgets and primary types of electrical outlet and plug. The standard voltage used is 220-240 volts with a frequency of 50Hz. For the primary type of electrical outlet and plug, it is the Type C CEE 7/16 Europlug.

In addition to the knowledge about standard voltage and primary types of electrical outlet and plug, an adapter and voltage converter brought on the trip to Guinea-Bissau will also be helpful. Adapters are used when the shape of the plug of the electronic gadget or appliance is not compatible with the shape of the electrical outlet in Guinea-Bissau. On the other hand, voltage converters are used when the voltage of the electronic gadget or appliance is different from the voltage of the electrical outlet. Examples of voltage converters are step-up and step-down transformer as well as combination voltage converter.

Type C CEE 7/16 Europlug Electrical Outlet and Adapter

Type C plug and outlet

The Type C Europlug is also known as the CEE 7/16 (Europlug 2.5 A/250 V unearthed), which is a bit similar, only slightly smaller, to the CEE 7/17 and it is one of the most commonly used electrical outlet and plug in Guinea-Bissau. The Type C CEE 7/16 Europlug alters the shape of the appliance’s plug so that it could be used into a “Type C” European CEE 7/16 Class II non-grounded Europlug socket or a Soviet-era Russian GOST 7396 Class II non-grounded socket used in Guinea-Bissau. Also, the receptacle end of the adapter in Guinea-Bissau is usually compatible with any standard electronic household plug in Guinea-Bissau and from any country, 

Type C adapter

aside from the “Type M” South African SABS1661 (Old British BS-546 Large) plug. The pins of the Type C CEE 7/16 Europlug are 4.0mm in diameter, 19mm long and are spaced 19mm apart. In using appliances and gadgets in Guinea-Bissau, the Type C CEE 7/16 Europlug could also be safely used with the Type C, Type E, Type F, and some Type L electrical outlets. In addition, the Type C CEE 7/16 Europlug is also the most widely used electrical outlet all over continental Europe like Guinea-Bissau and in the former Soviet Republics. This plug is also non-polarized and non-grounded. Aside from Guinea-Bissau, there are also countries in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Pacific Rim region, Central and South America, and Caribbean that use this kind of adapter.

Voltage Converters and Adapters

Voltage Converter

Most appliances and electronic gadgets made in the United States of America (USA) have a voltage of 110-120 and using it directly on a 220-240 electrical outlet in Guinea-Bissau would cause damage to the appliance or electronic gadget, to the extent that it might be totally fried out or  might even cause a fire.

If a tourist wants to use his or her gadget in Guinea-Bissau, the best way is by using voltage converters such as resistor-network converters, transformers, and in some cases the combination of both. The resistor-network converters to be used in Guinea-Bissau are usually advertised to support as much as 50-1600 Watts and are just ideal to use for short periods of time. The resistor-network converter is also not recommended for digital devices like laptop computers however it is great for lightweight electronics like hair dryers and irons.

Universal Adapters

If a tourist would want to use a laptop computer or charge batteries for camera, mp3 players, camcorders, and radios in Guinea-Bissau, the ideal voltage converter is a transformer which lowers maximum watt rating. It could be used for long periods of time but is a little bit heavy because of the large iron rods and copper wires. The last kind of voltage converter in order to use electronics in Guinea-Bissau that are not compatible with the electrical outlet present in Guinea-Bissau is the combination of resistor-network converters and transformer.