The U.S. National Academy of Medicine (NAM), on behalf of both the U.S. and Canada, sets Dietary Reference Intakes, including Estimated Average Requirements (EARs) and Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs), or Adequate Intakes (AIs) for when there is not sufficient information to set EARs and RDAs.
For both males and females under 9 years of age, the AIs for potassium are: 400mg of potassium for 0 to 6-month-old infants, 860mg of potassium for 7 to 12-month-old infants, 2,000mg of potassium for 1 to 3-year-old children, and 2,300mg of potassium for 4 to 8-year-old children.
For males 9 years of age and older, the AIs for potassium are: 2,500mg of potassium for 9 to 13-year-old males, 3,000mg of potassium for 14 to 18-year-old males, and 3,400mg for males that are 19 years of age and older.
For females 9 years of age and older, the AIs for potassium are: 2,300mg of potassium for 9 to 18-year-old females, and 2,600mg of potassium for females that are 19 years of age and older.
For pregnant and lactating females, the AIs for potassium are: 2,600mg of potassium for 14 to 18-year-old pregnant females, 2,900mg for pregnant females that are 19 years of age and older; furthermore, 2,500mg of potassium for 14 to 18-year-old lactating females, and 2,800mg for lactating females that are 19 years of age and older. As for safety, the NAM also sets tolerable upper intake levels (ULs) for vitamins and minerals, but for potassium the evidence was insufficient, so no UL was established.
In 2019, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine revised the Adequate Intake for potassium to 2,600 mg/day for females 19 years of age and older who are not pregnant or lactating, and 3,400 mg/day for males 19 years of age and older.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) refers to the collective set of information as Dietary Reference Values, with Population Reference Intake (PRI) instead of RDA, and Average Requirement instead of EAR. AI and UL defined the same as in United States. For people ages 15 and older the AI is set at 3,500 mg/day. AIs for pregnancy is 3,500 mg/day, for lactation 4,000 mg/day. For children ages 1–14 years the AIs increase with age from 800 to 2,700 mg/day. These AIs are lower than the U.S. RDAs. The EFSA reviewed the same safety question and decided that there was insufficient data to establish a UL for potassium.