I am in Canada, we use the standard North American 3-prong plug and socket here. I think they are compact, but extremely unsafe; the plugs are easy for kids to insert things into, so industry came up with little caps to fill the holes. When a plug is inserted, it can become lose and the prongs are exposed. When you try to plug it in, you have to find the correct orientation. That's easy to do in the daylight, and when you can see the socket. However, put it behind a cabinet, or under a table, or in the dark, anywhere where you can't actually SEE the socket, and I challenge anyone to plug in a north-american plug in less than 5 minutes without getting electrocuted.
The best plug design I have seen is the German Schuko design. It's a recessed socket, self-locating, safety-ground connects first. This is the ultimate plug and socket, I wish it was used worldwide.