Age of Consent for Different Countries in the World

Many countries of the world have varied age of consent they legalise. This is the age limit teens are permitted to kick start their sexual involvements. Our article will base on this as we will examine and list the age of consent for the different countries in the world.

age of consent

What is Age of Consent?

The minimum age which a person (usually young teenagers in most cases) is considered legally permitted to involve in sexual acts, is referred to as the Age of Consent. This age limit is strict and much favour those that fall below the set age. For instance, if someone older engages in sexual activity with a younger person who falls below the age of consent, then this act may be considered statutory rape on the minor. This is because the person younger than the age of consent cannot legally say this act was what they agreed to.

Factors Influencing Age of Consent In Different Countries

Just as the age of consent is different in countries, there are many factors that influences it the specific region. These factors makes the age to be differing in different countries as the case is seen.

Below are the factors determining the age of consent

Culture

The culture and traditions of countries in the world are not the same. This deviation creates room for the different age of consent in the world, due to the fact that there are many customs and beliefs.

Religion

Religion is another factor that determines the age of consent of a particular country. This is because not all religions in the world have the same stand on age of consent. And through the differences, there is a room for varying consent ages which will be in consonant with what their religion states.

Government Laws

This is the law set up by the government regarding age of consent. And such, the age of consent in any country is dependent on these laws by the authorities.

Age Of Consent Around The World

The Age of consent in the world vary considerably, depending on each country stand on it.

The majority of countries in the world require teens to be over the age of 14 before having sex, but there is some difference in some countries. Angola and the Philippines age of consent is at 12, with South Korea and Japan at 13. In South America, Paraguay, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia and Ecuador all have 14 as the age of consent.

While in North America, the highest age of consent is 15 years which is by Aruba. Still in the region, the age of consent in the United States varies from state to state, which is from 16 to 18. Adding in South America continent, Chile, Argentina, and a number of other countries have the highest age of consents in the whole of America, which is at 18 years.

A number of countries in Asia and Africa like Libya, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia, require people to be married before they can legally have sex.

In Europe, Austria has the lowest age of consent which is set at 14 years. While most European countries have 16-17 as the age of consent, several others, including Malta and Vatican City, sets their age of consent to at least 18 years, which is the maturity age.

List of Age of Consent in Different Countries of the World

Below is a table showing a list of the age of consent in different countries in the world in descending order:

Country Age of Consent (Years)
Nigeria 18
Philippines 12
Angola 12
Japan 13
Comoros 13
Burkina Faso 13
Niger 13
South Korea 13
Dr Congo 14
Bolivia 14
Portugal 14
Sao Tome And Principe 14
Peru 14
Cape Verde 14
Ecuador 14
Estonia 14
Chad 14
Paraguay 14
Albania 14
Germany 14
Serbia 14
Bosnia And Herzegovina 14
China 14
Bangladesh 14
Hungary 14
Montenegro 14
Mauritius 14
Brazil 14
Italy 14
Myanmar 14
Malawi 14
Austria 14
Madagascar 14
Colombia 14
Bulgaria 14
San Marino 14
Laos 15
Solomon Islands 15
Sweden 15
Syria 15
Monaco 15
Iceland 15
Honduras 15
Slovenia 15
Aruba 15
Slovakia 15
Thailand 15
Guinea 15
North Korea 15
France 15
Denmark 15
Uruguay 15
Poland 15
Czech Republic 15
Croatia 15
Costa Rica 15
Romania 15
Cambodia 15
Saint Vincent And The Grenadines 15
Greece 15
Dominica 16
Switzerland 16
Israel 16
Taiwan 16
American Samoa 16
Jamaica 16
United States 16
United Kingdom 16
Ukraine 16
Kyrgyzstan 16
Cameroon 16
Canada 16
Lesotho 16
Latvia 16
Spain 16
Fiji 16
Luxembourg 16
Finland 16
Venezuela 16
Malaysia 16
Botswana 16
Belarus 16
Mauritania 16
Zimbabwe 16
Turkmenistan 16
South Africa 16
Netherlands 16
Ghana 16
Vanuatu 16
New Zealand 16
Zambia 16
Belgium 16
Sri Lanka 16
Singapore 16
Grenada 16
Norway 16
Azerbaijan 16
Senegal 16
Papua New Guinea 16
Tonga 16
Togo 16
Cuba 16
Uzbekistan 16
Tajikistan 16
Andorra 16
Brunei 16
Samoa 16
Russia 16
Algeria 16
Australia 16
Indonesia 16
Nauru 17
Mexico 17
Ireland 17
Cyprus 17
Vatican City 18
Sierra Leone 18
Nicaragua 18
Vietnam 18
Rwanda 18
Somalia 18
Panama 18
Central African Republic 18
Mali 18
Liberia 18
South Sudan 18
Lebanon 18
Kenya 18
Ivory Coast 18
Northern Mariana Islands 18
Iraq 18
India 18
Argentina 18
Gambia 18
Tunisia 18
Turkey 18
Gabon 18
Djibouti 18
Uganda 18
Eritrea 18
Egypt 18
Ethiopia 18
Tanzania 18
Equatorial Guinea 18
Benin 18
Seychelles 18
Republic Of The Congo 18
Chile 18
Malta 18
Bahrain 21

Conclusion

The age of consent is very consequential, as it gives a guard to infants. It also protects against rape, and child abuse, because of the punishments given to this law breakers. In our article, we stressed on the age of consent in different countries of the world, and we were more explicit in outlining this.

Oluchi Chukwu

Oluchi is a seasoned Information blogger, content developer and the editor of Nigerian Queries. She is a tech enthusiast who loves reading, writing and research

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