I've lived in many countries, I have a very unusual life. I've lived in the UK; France and Sweden; US, Canada, and Japan; and New Zealand.
From my experience, it's really the Australian plug that is the best. If there is one type that should be taken as an international standard, it's this one.
Reasons:
>It's small, much more compact than the UK. Size is on par with US plug.
>But unlike the US plug, it's not prone to sagging or getting loose. Not near as easily. In large part because the prongs are slanted.
>It uses the 240v standard, which holds enough electricity to boil a litre of water fast and use powerful space heaters, etc
>The most clever aspect is the compatibility with higher-power equipment. You only need to glance at the plug to instantly know how many amps (or watts) it can provide. Any lower-powered device can be plugged into any higher power plug, but not vice-versa. Absolutely brilliant how they did that. And runs all the way up to 32amps (7680w) which can easily power high-demand equipment such as an oven, demanding clothes dryer, or charging an electric vehicle without needing a special charger installed.
>Similar to the UK plug, for safety the ground prong is entirely metal, while the charged prongs are half-metal. This ensures ground is connected before the line is electrified.
Just the sheer genius of this one gives it a solid, undeniable first place. I mean everything about it is better, they didn't create it haphazardly, it was brilliantly thought through.
Keep in mind, despite living in NZ now, I have no national bias or pride. Knowing that, I'll rank the rest of them in order:
1st place) Australia et al
2nd) UK et al
3rd) EU et al
4th) USA et al
