The island nation of Maldives is one of the most visited islands in Asia and it is also the smallest in population and land area. When visiting Maldives, some of the basic information one must know are the standard electrical outlet, plug, and adapter; the currency; the basic words of their language; and the culture of the people. Maldives is also the smallest country in Asia in terms of land area and population.

Inside the households in Maldives, the standard electrical outlets are the Type C European CEE 7/16 Europlug, Type D Indian VBS-546, and the Type G British -1363. For the voltage, electronic gadgets and appliances use 220-240 V. When a tourist in Maldives would want to use electronic gadgets and appliances that have a 110-120 V, a plug adapter and a step-down transformer will be needed. Additional kinds of voltage converters that will come in handy in a tourist’s trip to Maldives are the network-resistor converter and the travel combination converter.

Type C CEE 7/16 Europlug Adapter, Plug, and Electrical Outlet

Type C plug and outlet

In most developing countries like Maldives, the usual electrical outlet used is the Type C Europlug. 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 is one of the commonly used electrical outlet and plug types in Maldives. The pins of the Type C Europlug are 4.0mm in diameter, 19mm long and are spaced apart by 19mm. In using appliances and gadgets in Maldives, the Type C Europlug could also be safely used along with the Type C, Type E, Type F, and some Type L electrical outlet. This plug in Maldives is also non-polarized and non-grounded. The Type C 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 commonly used in Maldives. Also, the receptacle end of the adapter is usually compatible with any standard electronic household plug from any country, aside from the “Type M” South African SABS1661 plug, also known as the Old British BS-546 Large.

Type C adapter

The plug end of the Type C Europlug is compatible as well with the other types of sockets used in Europe, like that of the grounded “Type F” German and “Type E” French Schuko socket, “Type L” Italian socket, “Type H” Israeli socket, “Type J” Swiss socket, and “Type K” Danish socket, although connections to some of these sockets are non-grounded. In addition to Maldives, there are also countries in Middle East, Southeast Asia, Pacific Rim region, Central and South America, and Caribbean that use this kind of adapter. Some of these countries are Greece, Greenland, Madagascar, Tunisia, Vietnam, Philippines, Poland, Hungary, Israel, Lithuania, Iceland, Laos, Lebanon, Russia, and Luxembourg.

Type D Indian BS-546 Adapter Plug and Electrical Outlet

Type D plug

The Type D Old British Plug Adapter is most compatible with the Type D Indian electrical outlet that is sometimes used in Maldives. In this Type D Old British Plug Adapter, the live and neutral pins are 5mm in diameter, spaced 22mm apart, and the grounding pin is 7mm in diameter with the plug being polarized and grounded.  It is an old British standard electrical outlet which is still the primary household electrical outlet in countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal, Namibia, and Hong Kong.

Type D O outlet

The receptacle end of this Type D plug is also compatible with common household plugs except the Type M South African SABS1661 (Old British BS-546 Large) plug.  Although the Type D electrical outlet and plug is not the standard in Maldives and other countries, it is still used in various households. In terms of design and appearance, the Type D Indian electrical outlet and plug is often confused with the Type M South African electrical outlet and plug. However, as similar as these two may seem, they are not compatible and must not be used together in Maldives or even in other countries.

Type G British BS-1363 3-pin Plug, Electrical Outlet, and Adapter

Type G plug

The Type G British 3-pin  also has a receptacle end that is compatible with most household plug types, except the Type M South African SABS1661 (Old British BS-546 Large) plug. The plug end is a British BS-1363 13-amp type. For the adapter, the live and neutral pins are 4 x 6 x 18 mm apart, with the grounding pin measuring 4 x 8 x 23mm. Also, through the Type G British 3-pin adapter, a tourist could use his or her appliance or electronic gadget in Maldives. The plug of this Type G British 3-pin is polarized and grounded but not fused. The Type G electrical outlet and plug is a British 3-pin rectangular blade used widely in Maldives that has a protective fuse inside to protect cords from high-current circuits and, most of the time, the Type G electrical outlet includes a safety switch.

Type G plug and outlet

Another name for the Type G British 3-pin plug is the 13-amp plug and for safety reasons the Maldives requires electrical outlets in households that use the Type G British 3-pin to have shutters over the live and neutral connections of the electrical outlet. In the insertion of the longer earth pin from the plug, the safety shutters of the Type G British 3-pin are opened. The shutters are also present to prevent the use of incompatible plugs made to other standards in Maldives. However, there are cases wherein the safety shutters of this electrical outlet could be opened through a screwdriver in order to insert Type C plugs. But then, the usage of Type G British 3-pin outlet along with another kind of plug is not recommended because these plugs do not have a fuse. The regulation about the safety shutters and fuse is then followed in Maldives and all the other countries that use the type G British 3-pin electrical outlet and plug like the United Kingdom, England, Ghana, Grenada, Macau, Malta, Malaysia, Qatar, Saint Vincent, Saudi Arabia, Scotland and Maldives.

Type G adapter

In terms of compatibility, the Type G British 3-pin electrical outlet will work together with the Type G British 3-pin plug and adapter in Maldives. For the electrical outlet, the Type G British 3-pin sockets are not compatible with other types of electrical outlet. With all the safety measures and features of this plug and outlet, it is considered as one of the safest in Maldives, even the world. However, with all its features, this type of plug is bulky and cumbersome. Some people claim that the Type G British 3-pin plug is mostly bigger than the appliances they are connected to but if tourists would want to use their electronic gadget or appliance in Maldives, then they must have a Type G British 3-pin adapter. Although the adapter would not change the voltage used, it will enable the plug of the appliance or electronic gadget to be inserted to the electrical outlet used in Maldives.

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