United Kingdom: plugs, voltage, currency, time & travel facts

Plugs and voltage

The United Kingdom uses Type G sockets; Types D and M are also found. Mains supply is 230 V at 50 Hz.

Type G is the standard socket. Types D and M survive only on special circuits (switched lamps, stage lighting); bathrooms may have a two-pin shaver socket.

At 230 V, devices made only for 100–127 V (many American and Japanese hair dryers, curling irons and some shavers) will be damaged without a step-down converter. Chargers labelled “100–240V” work fine with just a plug adapter.

Adapter guides: from United States · from Canada · from Australia · from India · from Germany · from France · from China · from Ireland · from New Zealand · from South Africa · from Japan · from South Korea · from Brazil · from Mexico · from Italy · from Spain · from Netherlands · from Singapore · from Malaysia · from United Arab Emirates

Money

£ British Pound GBP

Reference rates, 2026-10-30 (ECB)
1 USD	0.7463 GBP
1 EUR	0.8338 GBP
1 JPY	0.004746 GBP
1 AUD	0.5243 GBP

British Pound: where it's used and rates

Price level 92 (US = 100, 2025)

Everyday household prices in the United Kingdom are about 92% of US prices when converted at market exchange rates: dearer than the median country (50). All countries

Language

Englishofficial98%

Also official in some regions: Welsh, Irish, Scottish Gaelic.

Bars show the share of the population that speaks each language (CLDR estimates).

Time

UTC+0

The United Kingdom is on UTC+0 (standard time; clocks change for daylight saving).

Driving

Traffic in the United Kingdom drives on the left, so the steering wheel is on the right. All left-driving countries

Public holidays in the next 12 months

7 national public holidays from 2 November 2026. Banks, offices and many shops close; regional holidays are not shown. Dates marked “estimated” follow a lunar calendar and can move by a day.