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.
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.