Which countries have the strictest EMF limits?

Question

Which countries have the strictest RF exposure limits, and how much stricter are they?

Answer

For public RF exposure in the mobile bands, Russia is the strictest of the large jurisdictions at 10 µW/cm² (0.1 W/m²) from 300 MHz to 300 GHz, followed by China at 0.4 W/m² below 3 GHz, India at one tenth of the ICNIRP figure for base stations (0.9 W/m² at 1800 MHz), Italy at a 15 V/m attention value, and Switzerland, whose installation limit value applies per installation at sensitive locations. The U.S. FCC limit of 10 W/m² above 1.5 GHz and the ICNIRP-derived limits used across the EU, UK, Canada and Australia sit at the top of that range — up to a hundred times higher than Russia's. Stricter numbers do not imply the higher ones are unsafe: the low limits are policy choices about margin, and none of the frameworks disagree about where established effects begin.

Related records

• Russia public limit, 300 MHz–300 GHz

  10 µW/cm² (0.1 W/m², or 100,000 µW/m²) time-averaged power flux density — roughly a hundredth of the ICNIRP public reference level and the strictest national RF limit in wide use.

  Exposure limits

• China public limit, 30–3000 MHz

  12 V/m, equivalently 0.4 W/m², across the FM, TV, and sub-3 GHz cellular and Wi-Fi bands — the strictest widely enforced national limit in that range apart from Russia's.

  Exposure limits

• India base-station limit, 400–2000 MHz

  f/2000 W/m² (f in MHz) — 0.45 W/m² at 900 MHz and 0.9 W/m² at 1800 MHz, one tenth of the ICNIRP figure for the same band.

  Exposure limits

• Italy attention value and quality objective (15 V/m)

  The precautionary tier of Italian law, raised from 6 V/m to 15 V/m on 30 April 2024: it applies inside buildings occupied four or more hours a day and outdoors in intensively frequented areas.

  Exposure limits

• Swiss installation limit value for mobile phone antennas

  4–6 V/m at places of sensitive use depending on band — about 100 times lower in power density than ICNIRP's reference level.

  Exposure limits

Sources

1. russia-sanpin-1383 СанПиН 2.1.8/2.2.4.1383-03, приложение 1, таблица 2 — ПДУ ЭМП 30 кГц–300 ГГц для населения — Главный государственный санитарный врач РФ (via ConsultantPlus), 2003. regulation, link checked 2026-08-12.
2. china-gb-8702 GB 8702-2014 电磁环境控制限值 (Controlling limits for electromagnetic environment) — Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People's Republic of China, 2014. regulation, link checked 2026-08-12.
3. india-tarang-norms EMF radiation norms (Tarang Sanchar portal) — Department of Telecommunications, Government of India. regulation, link checked 2026-08-12.
4. italy-mimit-15vm Adeguamento dei limiti dei campi elettromagnetici (15 V/m) — Ministero delle Imprese e del Made in Italy, 2024. government, link checked 2026-08-12.
5. ch-onir Ordinance relating to Protection from Non-Ionising Radiation (ONIR / NISV, SR 814.710) — Swiss Confederation, 2000. regulation, link checked 2026-08-12.
6. fcc-1310 47 CFR § 1.1310 — Radiofrequency radiation exposure limits — U.S. Government Publishing Office (eCFR). regulation, link checked 2026-08-12.