The EU asks every household to be ready to cope alone for at least 72 hours, but it leaves the packing list to national governments. We read the official guides of 24 countries, 23 EU members and the UK, and mapped each one against the same 51-item checklist. This is what they say, side by side.
The whole picture in one table
"Items" is how many of our 51 checklist items each guide names. "Stands out" picks out what is distinctive: a stated water amount, items few other guides mention, or common items it leaves out.
| Country | Official guide | Plans for | Items | Stands out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | SGDSN, Tous responsables (2025) | 3 days | 27 | 2 L water per person per day; games and books |
| Netherlands | Denk vooruit | 3 days | 21 | 3 L water per person per day; a whistle |
| Belgium | Centre de crise | 3 days | 19 | Iodine tablets; no spare batteries or power bank |
| Finland | 72 tuntia | 3 days | 19 | Iodine tablets, smoke alarm, duct tape |
| Sweden | MCF / MSB, In case of crisis or war | 7 days | 30 | 3 L water per person per day; bucket or camping toilet |
| Germany | BBK (11/2025) | 10 days | 33 | 2 L water per person per day; warning app, toilet bucket, smoke and CO alarms |
| Denmark | SAMSIK, Forberedt på kriser (2025) | 3 days | 20 | Iodine tablets, nappies, period products |
| Estonia | Päästeamet | 7 days | 16 | Car tank at least half full |
| Latvia | Ministry of Defence, 72 hours (2024) | 3 days | 32 | Cup, plate and cutlery; sleeping mat; paper map |
| Lithuania | Ministry of National Defence (2024) | 3 days | 26 | Masks, foil blankets, fire extinguisher |
| Poland | MSWiA, Poradnik bezpieczeństwa (2025) | 3 days | 36 | Warning app, CO and smoke alarms, toilet bucket, sleeping mat |
| Czechia | Ministry of the Interior / HZS, 72 hodin (2025) | 3 days | 37 | The longest list; tableware, sleeping mat, half-full car tank |
| Austria | Zivilschutzverband | 14 days | 28 | Iodine tablets, tableware; no power bank |
| Slovakia | Ministry of the Interior (2025) | 3 days | 33 | Sleeping mat, heater, half-full car tank |
| Slovenia | URSZR | 3 days | 24 | No power bank |
| Romania | DSU, Fii pregătit | 3 days | 33 | Whistle, paper map; no candles |
| Croatia | Civil protection | 3 days | 26 | Whistle, duct tape, paper map |
| United Kingdom | Cabinet Office, Be Ready (2026) | 3 days | 20 | Smoke alarm; no candles |
| Ireland | Office of Emergency Planning (2026) | 3 days | 20 | Paper map, spare keys |
| Luxembourg | infocrise.lu (2022) | 3 days | 20 | Change of clothes, games; no power bank |
| Greece | Civil Protection (2022) | 3 days | 19 | Half-full car tank; no candles or blankets |
| Bulgaria | Ministry of the Interior (2014) | 3 days | 26 | Tableware; no blankets or power bank |
| Portugal | ANEPC, earthquake leaflet (2018) | 3 days | 15 | Whistle; no candles, blankets or spare batteries |
| Cyprus | Civil Defence infographic (2026) | 3 days | 12 | The shortest list; masks, whistle |
Water quantities are in the table only where we could confirm them. Most guides ask for drinking water without a figure in our data, or give one we haven't checked.
What stands out
The core is the same everywhere
Six items appear in all 24 guides: drinking water, a torch, a radio that works without mains power, a first-aid kit, personal medication and cash. Spare batteries come close at 22. If you only have time for one shopping trip, start there. We go through each of them in the items every guide agrees on.
Twenty countries plan for 72 hours, four for longer
Sweden and Estonia plan for a week, Germany for ten days and Austria for fourteen. These are also among the guides that list dry staples such as rice, pasta and oats, which only make sense if you plan to cook. Our article on 72 hours, 7 days or 14 days shows how to scale a kit up.
Long lists are not always better
Czechia names 37 items, Poland 36 and Germany 33. Cyprus names 12 and Portugal 15. The short lists are mostly older or narrower documents: Portugal's is an earthquake leaflet from 2018, Bulgaria's dates from 2014 and Cyprus's is an infographic posted on X. A short list tells you what that one document covers, not that the country thinks the rest is unnecessary.
Local risks show through
- Iodine tablets appear only in Finland, Belgium, Denmark and Austria, always to be taken only when the authorities say so.
- A heater that runs without power appears in Germany, Sweden, Poland, Austria and Slovakia.
- A whistle appears in the Netherlands, Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria, Portugal and Cyprus.
- Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are rare: smoke alarms in four guides (Germany, Finland, Poland, the UK), CO alarms in only two (Germany and Poland).
Candles divide opinion
Nineteen guides list candles, matches or a lighter. Five don't, including the UK and Greece, though every one of the 24 lists a torch. See candles vs LED lanterns for the trade-off.
Countries with no national list
Spain, Italy, Hungary and Malta are not in the table. Spain has a list only for Catalonia, Italy gives a four-item example, Hungary covers an evacuation bag only, and Malta's manual is printed, not online.
A few caveats
- We read Greece and Cyprus from archived copies and an image. Croatia's list page still says 2 days.
- For Austria, the main civil protection site was unreachable; we used the Zivilschutzverband brochure and the government portal.
- For Romania, the English translation adds a camping stove that the Romanian original does not, so we follow the original.
Make it your own
You don't need to follow the longest list. Follow your own country's guide, then add the few items from elsewhere that fit your home: a CO alarm if you cook with gas, a toilet bucket if your water depends on pumps. Our checklist starts from your country's guide and sizes everything for your household.