Maybe common in the US. Europe takes plug and outlet design more serious (as a consequence of 230V), and while the UK plug and continental Europe's Schuko plug are very different both make it basically impossible to accidentally shock yourself.

Plugs are only part of the safety issue.

Wire insulation deteriorates over time. Rodents like to chew through it. Water can find it's way in through plumbing or roof leaks. Higher voltage is more likely to start a fire in these instances.

Are there any stats showing that Europe has more issues with electricutions and electrical fires?

According to the European Fire Safety Alliance:

    The total number of fires of electrical origin in the EU is estimated to be 273,000 per year. 

According to the US National Fire Protection Assocation:

    Fire departments responded to an estimated average of 46,700 home fires involving electrical failure or malfunction each year in 2015–2019.

Stats aside, which do you think will cause a bigger spark, 110 or 220?

https://www.europeanfiresafetyalliance.org/publications/whit...

https://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Data-research-and-too...

Those numbers are not the same. EU is covering everything, while US only home fires. And there is a significant population difference in play as well.

Not impossible with the Schuko, it's still possible for something to get caught in it and touch the pins when it's partially inserted, that's happened to me. It's better when only the tip of the pins are exposed, as on the UK plug and the Europlug.

The plug is an issue but so is the socket.

What keeps a kid from sticking something metal into it?

On UK plugs at least, there are shutters and you need to insert something into the earth pin slot before they will allow you to access the live/neutral pins. On better sockets, the shutters then need simultaneous pressure on both live/neutral to completely release. The actual contacts in the socket are recessed too.

UK plugs and sockets are really, really, really safe. Except to stand on.

Same on modern Schuko.

There is a hole cover plate that has to be pushed by rounded plug pins to pivot and unlock the socket holes.

You can try pushing with something like a screwdriver (to test for live) and it's hard to pivot the plate (feels like it needs both pins to pivot), and a non round tool snags on the plastic cover plate.

In the US code requires shutters so you can't stick anything into the socket other than the correct plug (IIRC as of 2008?). Other responses are implying the UK (and I assume EU) now require that too.

On the other end, in India I saw a power strip that would accept EU, UK, or US plugs. I took one look and refused to get close, but someone else plugged my laptop in and it worked. (everything got 240 volts, which my laptop power supply was fine with)

No EU-regulation for that I think, it depends on the country. British Standard 1363 has had mandatory safety shutters since it was introduced in 1947 (not sure if you could still use the older British Standard 546). Here in Sweden there is a building regulation from 1988 stating outlets should be placed or designed to make it hard for children to insert things into them. I was surprised to learn that wasn't common in the US, at least until recently.

I'm in Europe and I've been shocked a few times by 220V and I know plenty of other who has too. It's usually not from regular wall sockets, but wires with broken insulation or working on things where parts of a circuit is uninsulated.

I've seen people shock themselves using the UK plugs with casual handling more than once, it is definitely possible.