Electrical: Power Plug & Outlet Type C

Type C is used in all countries of Europe except the United Kingdom, Ireland, Cyprus and Malta.

Type C is probably the single most widely used international plug. This two-wire plug is ungrounded and has two round prongs. It is popularly known as the Europlug which is described in CEE 7/16. The plug has two 4 mm round pins, measuring 19 mm in length on centres spaced 18.6 mm apart at the base and 17.5 mm apart at the tip. The two pins have 10 mm long insulated sleeves. They converge slightly, but they are relatively flexible which allows the plug to mate with any socket that accepts 4.0 – 4.8 mm round contacts on 17.5 – 19 mm centres. The plug is generally limited for use in class II applications that require 2.5 amps or less. It is, of course, unpolarised. It is commonly used in all countries of Europe except in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Cyprus and Malta. It is also used in various parts of the developing world. Whereas type C plugs are very commonly used, this is not the case for type C sockets. This kind of socket is the older and ungrounded variant of socket types E, F, J, K or N. Nowadays most countries demand grounded sockets to be installed in new buildings. Since type C sockets are ungrounded, they have become illegal almost everywhere and they are being replaced by type E, F, J, K or N (depending on the country). So as to leave no doubt: only the sockets have become illegal, the plugs remain in use of course. A type C plug fits perfectly into a type E, F, J, K or N socket.

Reference: WorldStandards