Three-phase electric power (industrial applications only)

Three-phase electric power (industrial applications only)

Although single-phase power is more prevalent today, three-phase is chosen as the power of choice for many different types of applications. Generators at power stations supply three-phase electricity. This is a way of supplying three times as much electricity along three wires as can be supplied through two, without having to increase the thickness of the wires. It is usually used in industry to drive motors and other devices.

Three-phase electricity is by its very nature a much smoother form of electricity than single-phase or two-phase power. It is this more consistent electrical power that allows machines to run more efficiently and last many years longer than their relative machines running on the other phases. Some applications are able to work with three-phase power in ways that would not work on single phase at all.

Mind you, since three-phase electricity is rarely used for domestic purposes, the table below is only relevant to electricians, electrical engineers and other technically skilled people. Travellers and laymen should take a look at the single-phase voltage table.

Country	Three-phase voltage (volts)	Frequency (hertz)	Number of wires (not including the ground wire)
Abu Dhabi (not a country, but a state (an emirate) within the United Arab Emirates)	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Afghanistan	400 V	50 Hz	4
Albania	400 V	50 Hz	4
Algeria	400 V	50 Hz	4
American Samoa	208 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Andorra	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Angola	400 V	50 Hz	4
Anguilla	120/208 V / 127/220 V / 240/415 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Antigua and Barbuda	400 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Argentina	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Armenia	400 V	50 Hz	4
Aruba	220 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Australia	400 V (officially, but in practice often 415 V)	50 Hz	3, 4
Austria	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Azerbaijan	400 V	50 Hz	4
Azores	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Bahamas	208 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Bahrain	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Balearic Islands	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Bangladesh	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Barbados	200 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Belarus	400 V	50 Hz	4
Belgium	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Belize	190 V / 380 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Benin	400 V	50 Hz	4
Bermuda	208 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Bhutan	400 V	50 Hz	4
Bolivia	400 V	50 Hz	4
Bonaire	220 V	50 Hz	4
Bosnia & Herzegovina	400 V	50 Hz	4
Botswana	400 V	50 Hz	4
Brazil	220 V / 380 V	60 Hz	3, 4
British Virgin Islands	190 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Brunei	415 V	50 Hz	4
Bulgaria	400 V	50 Hz	4
Burkina Faso	400 V	50 Hz	4
Burma (officially Myanmar)	400 V	50 Hz	4
Burundi	400 V	50 Hz	4
Cambodia	400 V	50 Hz	4
Cameroon	400 V	50 Hz	4
Canada	120/208 V / 240 V / 480 V / 347/600 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Canary Islands	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Cape Verde (in Portuguese: Cabo Verde)	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Cayman Islands	240 V	60 Hz	3
Central African Republic	400 V	50 Hz	4
Chad	400 V	50 Hz	4
Chile	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
China, People’s Republic of	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Christmas Island (external Australian territory)	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Cocos (Keeling) Islands (external Australian territory)	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Colombia	220 V / 440 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Comoros	400 V	50 Hz	4
Congo-Brazzaville (Republic of the Congo)	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Congo-Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo)	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Cook Islands	415 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Costa Rica	240 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Croatia	400 V	50 Hz	4
Cuba	190 V / 440 V	60 Hz	3
Curaçao	220 V / 380 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Cyprus	400 V	50 Hz	4
Cyprus, North (unrecognised, self-declared state)	400 V	50 Hz	4
Czechia (Czech Republic)	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Denmark	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Djibouti	400 V	50 Hz	4
Dominica	400 V	50 Hz	4
Dominican Republic	120/208 V / 277/480 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Dubai (not a country, but a state (an emirate) within the United Arab Emirates)	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
East Timor (Timor-Leste)	400 V	50 Hz	4
Ecuador	208 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Egypt	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
El Salvador	200 V	60 Hz	3
England	400 V	50 Hz	4
Equatorial Guinea	[unavailable]	[unavailable]	[unavailable]
Eritrea	400 V	50 Hz	4
Estonia	400 V	50 Hz	4
Eswatini (formerly Swaziland)	400 V	50 Hz	4
Ethiopia	400 V	50 Hz	4
Faroe Islands	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Falkland Islands	415 V	50 Hz	4
Fiji	415 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Finland	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
France	400 V	50 Hz	4
French Guiana (French overseas department)	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
French Polynesia (French overseas collectivity)	400 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Gabon (Gabonese Republic)	400 V	50 Hz	4
Gambia	400 V	50 Hz	4
Gaza Strip (Gaza) (not a country, but part of Palestine)	400 V	50 Hz	4
Georgia	400 V	50 Hz	4
Germany	400 V	50 Hz	4
Ghana	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Gibraltar	400 V	50 Hz	4
Great Britain (GB)	400 V	50 Hz	4
Greece	400 V	50 Hz	4
Greenland	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Grenada	400 V	50 Hz	4
Guadeloupe (French overseas department)	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Guam	190 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Guatemala	208 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Guernsey	400 V	50 Hz	4
Guinea	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Guinea-Bissau	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Guyana	190 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Haiti	190 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Holland (officially the Netherlands)	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Honduras	208 V / 230 V / 240 V / 460 V / 480 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Hong Kong (special administrative region of China)	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Hungary	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Iceland	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
India	400 V	50 Hz	4
Indonesia	400 V	50 Hz	4
Iran	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Iraq	400 V	50 Hz	4
Ireland, Northern	400 V	50 Hz	4
Ireland, Republic of (Eire)	400 V	50 Hz	4
Isle of Man	400 V	50 Hz	4
Isle of Man	400 V	50 Hz	4
Israel	400 V	50 Hz	4
Italy	400 V	50 Hz	4
Jamaica	220 V / 240/415 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Japan	200 V	50 Hz / 60 Hz	3
Jersey	400 V	50 Hz	4
Jordan	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Kazakhstan	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Kenya	415 V	50 Hz	4
Kiribati	[unavailable]	[unavailable]	[unavailable]
Korea, North	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Korea, South	400 V	60 Hz	4
Kosovo	230 V / 400 V	50 Hz	3
Kuwait	400 V	50 Hz	4
Kyrgyzstan	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Laos	400 V	50 Hz	4
Latvia	400 V	50 Hz	4
Lebanon	400 V	50 Hz	4
Lesotho	400 V	50 Hz	4
Liberia	400 V	50 Hz	4
Libya	400 V	50 Hz	4
Liechtenstein	400 V	50 Hz	4
Lithuania	400 V	50 Hz	4
Luxembourg	400 V	50 Hz	4
Macau (special administrative region of China)	400 V	50 Hz	3
Macedonia, North	400 V	50 Hz	4
Madagascar	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Madeira	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Malawi	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Malaysia	400 V (officially, but in practice often 415 V)	50 Hz	4
Maldives	400 V	50 Hz	4
Mali	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Malta	400 V	50 Hz	4
Marshall Islands	[unavailable]	[unavailable]	[unavailable]
Martinique (French overseas department)	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Mauritania	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Mauritius	400 V	50 Hz	4
Mayotte (French overseas department)	[unavailable]	[unavailable]	[unavailable]
Mexico	127/220 V / 120/240 V / 440 V / 240/480 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Moldova	400 V	50 Hz	4
Monaco	400 V	50 Hz	4
Mongolia	400 V	50 Hz	4
Montenegro	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Montserrat	400 V	60 Hz	4
Morocco	400 V	50 Hz	4
Mozambique	400 V	50 Hz	4
Myanmar (formerly Burma)	400 V	50 Hz	4
Namibia	400 V	50 Hz	4
Nauru	415 V	50 Hz	4
Nepal	400 V	50 Hz	4
Netherlands	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
New Caledonia (French overseas collectivity)	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
New Zealand	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Nicaragua	208 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Niger	400 V	50 Hz	4
Nigeria	415 V	50 Hz	4
Niue	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Norfolk Island (external Australian territory)	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
North Cyprus (unrecognised, self-declared state)	400 V	50 Hz	4
North Korea	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
North Macedonia	400 V	50 Hz	4
Northern Ireland	400 V	50 Hz	4
Norway	230 V / 400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Oman	400 V	50 Hz	4
Pakistan	400 V	50 Hz	3
Palau	208 V	60 Hz	3
Palestine	400 V	50 Hz	4
Palestine	400 V	50 Hz	4
Panama	120/208 V / 277/480 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Papua New Guinea	415 V	50 Hz	4
Paraguay	400 V	50 Hz	4
Peru	220 V	60 Hz	3
Philippines	400 V	60 Hz	3
Pitcairn Islands	[unavailable]	[unavailable]	[unavailable]
Poland	400 V	50 Hz	4
Portugal	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Puerto Rico	480 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Qatar	415 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Réunion (French overseas department)	400 V	50 Hz	4
Romania	400 V	50 Hz	4
Russia (officially the Russian Federation)	400 V	50 Hz	4
Rwanda	400 V	50 Hz	4
Saba	[unavailable]	[unavailable]	[unavailable]
Saint Barthélemy (French overseas collectivity, informally also referred to as Saint Barth’s or Saint Barts)	[unavailable]	[unavailable]	[unavailable]
Saint Helena	[unavailable]	[unavailable]	[unavailable]
Saint Kitts and Nevis (officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis)	400 V	60 Hz	4
Saint Lucia	400 V	50 Hz	4
Saint Martin (French overseas collectivity)	[unavailable]	[unavailable]	[unavailable]
Saint Pierre and Miquelon (French overseas collectivity)	[unavailable]	[unavailable]	[unavailable]
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	400 V	50 Hz	4
Samoa	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
San Marino	400 V	50 Hz	4
São Tomé and Príncipe	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Saudi Arabia	400 V	60 Hz	4
Scotland	400 V	50 Hz	4
Senegal	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Serbia	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Seychelles	240 V	50 Hz	3
Sierra Leone	400 V	50 Hz	4
Singapore	400 V	50 Hz	4
Sint Eustatius	220 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Sint Maarten	220 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Slovakia	400 V	50 Hz	4
Slovenia	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Solomon Islands	[unavailable]	[unavailable]	[unavailable]
Somalia	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Somaliland (unrecognised, self-declared state)	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
South Africa	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
South Korea	400 V	60 Hz	4
South Sudan	400 V	50 Hz	4
Spain	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Sri Lanka	400 V	50 Hz	4
Sudan	400 V	50 Hz	4
Suriname	230 V / 400 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Swaziland (officially Eswatini)	400 V	50 Hz	4
Sweden	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Switzerland	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Syria	400 V	50 Hz	3
Tahiti (the largest island in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France)	400 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Taiwan	220 V	60 Hz	4
Tajikistan	400 V	50 Hz	3
Tanzania	415 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Thailand	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Togo	400 V	50 Hz	4
Tokelau	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Tonga	415 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Trinidad & Tobago	115/230 V / 230/400 V	60 Hz	4
Tunisia	400 V	50 Hz	4
Turkey	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Turkmenistan	400 V	50 Hz	3
Turks and Caicos Islands	240 V	60 Hz	4
Tuvalu	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Uganda	415 V	50 Hz	4
Ukraine	400 V	50 Hz	4
United Arab Emirates (UAE)	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
United Kingdom (UK)	400 V	50 Hz	4
United States of America (USA)	120/208 V / 277/480 V / 120/240 V / 240 V / 480 V	60 Hz	3, 4
United States Virgin Islands	190 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Uruguay	400 V	50 Hz	3
Uzbekistan	400 V	50 Hz	4
Vanuatu	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
Vatican City	400 V	50 Hz	4
Venezuela	120 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Vietnam	400 V	50 Hz	4
Virgin Islands (British)	190 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Virgin Islands (USA)	190 V	60 Hz	3, 4
Wales	400 V	50 Hz	4
Wallis and Futuna (French overseas collectivity)	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4
West Bank (not a country, but part of Palestine)	400 V	50 Hz	4
Western Sahara	400 V	50 Hz	4
Yemen	400 V	50 Hz	4
Zambia	400 V	50 Hz	4
Zimbabwe	400 V	50 Hz	3, 4