Global

18.22 yearsLegal Drinking AgeGlobal Average

5.46LAlcohol Consumption per CapitaGlobal Average

54.04LBeer Consumption per CapitaGlobal Average

—Age of Consent

Legal Drinking Age 2021

15 years25 years

1	Eritrea	25years
2	Iraq	21years
2	Egypt	21years
2	Marshall Islands	21years
2	Oman	21years
2	Cameroon	21years
2	Micronesia	21years
2	Lesotho	21years
2	Cambodia	21years
2	Solomon Islands	21years
2	Bahrain	21years
2	Kazakhstan	21years
2	United States	21years
2	United Arab Emirates	21years
2	Indonesia	21years
2	Mauritania	21years
2	Nauru	21years
2	Palau	21years
2	India	21years
2	Sri Lanka	21years
21	Benin	20years
21	Paraguay	20years
21	Japan	20years
21	Uzbekistan	20years
21	Thailand	20years
21	Iceland	20years
27	Canada	19years
27	South Korea	19years
27	Qatar	19years
30	Saint Kitts and Nevis	18years
30	Sweden	18years
30	Nicaragua	18years
30	Panama	18years
30	Bhutan	18years
30	Russia	18years
30	Morocco	18years
30	Singapore	18years
30	Zambia	18years
30	Guyana	18years
30	Argentina	18years
30	Senegal	18years
30	Albania	18years
30	Ecuador	18years
30	Lebanon	18years
30	Greece	18years
30	Tanzania	18years
30	Bahamas	18years
30	Romania	18years
30	New Zealand	18years
30	Fiji	18years
30	Slovakia	18years
30	Latvia	18years
30	Myanmar	18years
30	Uganda	18years
30	Trinidad and Tobago	18years
30	Croatia	18years
30	Jamaica	18years
30	Portugal	18years
30	Norway	18years
30	Gambia	18years
30	Malaysia	18years
30	Costa Rica	18years
30	El Salvador	18years
30	Slovenia	18years
30	Spain	18years
30	South Sudan	18years
30	Moldova	18years
30	Turkey	18years
30	Italy	18years
30	Tajikistan	18years
30	Monaco	18years
30	Estonia	18years
30	Nigeria	18years
30	United Kingdom	18years
30	Montenegro	18years
30	Republic of the Congo	18years
30	Sierra Leone	18years
30	Zimbabwe	18years
30	South Africa	18years
30	Malawi	18years
30	Bangladesh	18years
30	Mexico	18years
30	Comoros	18years
30	Angola	18years
30	China	18years
30	Seychelles	18years
30	Vietnam	18years
30	Botswana	18years
30	Tunisia	18years
30	Uruguay	18years
30	Chile	18years
30	Venezuela	18years
30	Eswatini	18years
30	Azerbaijan	18years
30	Belarus	18years
30	Armenia	18years
30	Dominican Republic	18years
30	Rwanda	18years
30	Bulgaria	18years
30	Mozambique	18years
30	Honduras	18years
30	France	18years
30	Madagascar	18years
30	Cyprus	18years
30	Kenya	18years
30	Gabon	18years
30	Grenada	18years
30	Mauritius	18years
30	Papua New Guinea	18years
30	Ghana	18years
30	Peru	18years
30	Brazil	18years
30	Guinea	18years
30	Turkmenistan	18years
30	Taiwan	18years
30	Ukraine	18years
30	Kyrgyzstan	18years
30	Liberia	18years
30	DR Congo	18years
30	Syria	18years
30	Czech Republic	18years
30	Nepal	18years
30	Ivory Coast	18years
30	Serbia	18years
30	Colombia	18years
30	Australia	18years
30	Israel	18years
30	Philippines	18years
30	North Korea	18years
30	Bosnia and Herzegovina	18years
30	Namibia	18years
30	Algeria	18years
30	Belize	18years
30	Puerto Rico	18years
30	Guatemala	18years
30	Niger	18years
30	Hong Kong	18years
30	Sao Tome and Principe	18years
30	Finland	18years
30	Equatorial Guinea	18years
30	Ethiopia	18years
30	Netherlands	18years
30	Mongolia	18years
30	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	18years
30	Lithuania	18years
30	Poland	18years
30	Bolivia	18years
30	Hungary	18years
30	Ireland	18years
30	Jordan	18years
30	North Macedonia	18years
152	Malta	17years
153	Switzerland	16years
153	Saint Lucia	16years
153	Belgium	16years
153	Haiti	16years
153	Denmark	16years
153	San Marino	16years
153	Chad	16years
153	Austria	16years
153	Germany	16years
153	Luxembourg	16years
153	Palestine	16years
153	Georgia	16years
153	Barbados	16years
153	Burundi	16years
153	Dominica	16years
153	Suriname	16years
153	Cuba	16years
170	Mali	15years
170	Central African Republic	15years

Table of Contents↑

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Introduction
Source

Last updated February 28, 2026

Introduction

In a world where customs and laws vary widely, the legal drinking age stands as one of the most debated and diversified policy areas globally. The legal drinking age is the minimum age at which a person can legally consume alcoholic beverages. The age limit can differ dramatically from country to country and can have separate rules for consumption and purchase of alcohol.

The highest legal drinking age in the world is found in Eritrea – 25 years. This sets a top benchmark, showing extreme caution towards the potentially harmful effects of alcohol on individuals and their societies.
In contrast, the minimum legal drinking age is 15 years in the Central African Republic and Mali, pointing to a more lenient approach towards alcohol consumption.
The United States, along with 16 other countries, enforces a legal drinking age of 21, which is among the highest globally. Notably, this is driven by a nationwide effort to curtail drunk driving incidents among teens and young adults.
Most of the countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, and China, have set their legal drinking age at 18 years.
Countries like Denmark, Austria, Belgium, and Switzerland, reflect a more lenient approach towards alcohol consumption with a legal drinking age of 16.

All Metrics

Region ↕	Legal Drinking Age 2021↕	Alcohol Consumption per Capita 2022↕	Beer Consumption per Capita↕	Age of Consent↕
Eritrea	25	1.3		18+
Iraq	21	0.6		18+
Egypt	21	0.1		18+
Marshall Islands	21			15-17
Oman	21	0.7		Must be married
Cameroon	21	8		15-17
Micronesia	21	2		Under 15
Lesotho	21	3.8		15-17
Cambodia	21	5.4	59.2 L	15-17
Solomon Islands	21	0.8		15-17
Bahrain	21	1.7		18+
Kazakhstan	21	5.4		15-17
United States	21	9.8	72.7 L	15-17
United Arab Emirates	21	0.8		Must be married
Indonesia	21	0.1	0.7 L	15-17
Mauritania	21			15-17
Nauru	21	3		15-17
Palau	21			15-17
India	21	4.5	2 L	18+
Sri Lanka	21	2.7	2 L	15-17
Benin	20	7		18+
Paraguay	20	6.7		Under 15
Japan	20	6.3	38.4 L	Under 15
Uzbekistan	20	2.1	11 L	15-17
Thailand	20	7.6	27 L	15-17
Iceland	20	8.2		15-17
Canada	19	10	53.5 L	15-17
South Korea	19	8.4	39.4 L	18+
Qatar	19	1.3		Must be married
Saint Kitts and Nevis	18	7		15-17
Sweden	18	9.6		15-17
Nicaragua	18	3.9		18+
Panama	18	6.3	78.3 L	18+
Bhutan	18	4.4		18+
Russia	18	10.5	57.7 L	15-17
Morocco	18	0.6
Singapore	18	2	20.9 L	15-17
Zambia	18	3.6		15-17
Guyana	18	5.3
Argentina	18	8.8		18+
Senegal	18	0.4		15-17
Albania	18	5		Under 15
Ecuador	18	2.7		Under 15
Lebanon	18	1.6		18+
Greece	18	7		15-17
Tanzania	18	5.6	8 L	18+
Bahamas	18	6.9		15-17
Romania	18	17.1	100.3 L	15-17
New Zealand	18	9.2	61 L	15-17
Fiji	18	3.5		15-17
Slovakia	18	11	76.1 L
Latvia	18	14.7	81.4 L	15-17
Myanmar	18	1.9	11.3 L	Under 15
Uganda	18	6.3	6 L	18+
Trinidad and Tobago	18	4.8		15-17
Croatia	18	10.8	85.5 L	15-17
Jamaica	18	3.9		15-17
Portugal	18	11.2	54.9 L	Under 15
Norway	18	7.5		15-17
Gambia	18	0.6		18+
Malaysia	18	0.8	5.8 L	15-17
Costa Rica	18	3.8		15-17
El Salvador	18	3.4		18+
Slovenia	18	10.9	80 L	15-17
Spain	18	11	88.8 L	15-17
South Sudan	18	0.8		18+
Moldova	18	14.1		15-17
Turkey	18	2.2	10.9 L	18+
Italy	18	8.3	31 L	Under 15
Tajikistan	18	0.7		15-17
Monaco	18			15-17
Estonia	18	10.5	80.5 L	Under 15
Nigeria	18	2.3		Under 15
United Kingdom	18	10.9	70.3 L	15-17
Montenegro	18	8		Under 15
Republic of the Congo	18	6.4		18+
Sierra Leone	18	0.3		18+
Zimbabwe	18	5.4		15-17
South Africa	18	7.8	60.1 L	15-17
Malawi	18	1.7		Under 15
Bangladesh	18			Under 15
Mexico	18	6	70.5 L	15-17
Comoros	18	0.4		Under 15
Angola	18	4		Under 15
China	18	4.5	29 L	Under 15
Seychelles	18	11.4		18+
Vietnam	18	10.7	45.1 L	18+
Botswana	18	6		15-17
Tunisia	18	1.8		18+
Uruguay	18	6.2		15-17
Chile	18	7.9		18+
Venezuela	18	2.3		15-17
Eswatini	18	7.2		15-17
Azerbaijan	18	2.3		15-17
Belarus	18	11.4		15-17
Armenia	18	4.3		15-17
Dominican Republic	18	5.2		18+
Rwanda	18	6.5		18+
Bulgaria	18	11.5	78.7 L	Under 15
Mozambique	18	1.9
Honduras	18	3.1		15-17
France	18	11.2	33 L	15-17
Madagascar	18	0.9		Under 15
Cyprus	18	5.2	47 L	15-17
Kenya	18	2.5	12 L	18+
Gabon	18	7.9	67 L	18+
Grenada	18	7.8		15-17
Mauritius	18	7.7		Under 15
Papua New Guinea	18	1.3	10.9 L	15-17
Ghana	18	4.4		15-17
Peru	18	6.8		Under 15
Brazil	18	9.4	58.4 L	Under 15
Guinea	18	0.5		15-17
Turkmenistan	18	3		15-17
Taiwan	18		23.2 L	15-17
Ukraine	18	7.4		15-17
Kyrgyzstan	18	3.9		15-17
Liberia	18	2.8		18+
DR Congo	18	2	54.8 L	Under 15
Syria	18	0.1		15-17
Czech Republic	18	13.7	140 L	15-17
Nepal	18	3.7		15-17
Ivory Coast	18	4.5		18+
Serbia	18	9	54.7 L	Under 15
Colombia	18	4.3		Under 15
Australia	18	11.2	75.1 L	15-17
Israel	18	3.1	17.4 L	15-17
Philippines	18	5.7		Under 15
North Korea	18	4.8		15-17
Bosnia and Herzegovina	18	6.3	68.6 L	Under 15
Namibia	18	12	95.5 L	15-17
Algeria	18	0.5		15-17
Belize	18	5.1		15-17
Puerto Rico	18		54.8 L
Guatemala	18	1.7		18+
Niger	18	0.2		Under 15
Hong Kong	18		21.2 L
Sao Tome and Principe	18	5.7		Under 15
Finland	18	9.5	72 L	15-17
Equatorial Guinea	18	6.1		18+
Ethiopia	18	3.1		18+
Netherlands	18	8.7	79.3 L	15-17
Mongolia	18	7.7		15-17
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	18	6.8		15-17
Lithuania	18	12.2	74.4 L	15-17
Poland	18	11.9	97.7 L	15-17
Bolivia	18	3.6		Under 15
Hungary	18	11.3	73.7 L	Under 15
Ireland	18	10.5	92.9 L	15-17
Jordan	18	0.3		15-17
North Macedonia	18	5.8
Malta	17	6.2		18+
Switzerland	16	9.2	55.1 L	15-17
Saint Lucia	16	11.4		15-17
Belgium	16	8.7	65.9 L	15-17
Haiti	16	3.3		18+
Denmark	16	10	59.8 L	15-17
San Marino	16			Under 15
Chad	16	3		Under 15
Austria	16	11.8	107.8 L	Under 15
Germany	16	11.2	99 L	Under 15
Luxembourg	16	10.8		15-17
Palestine	16			Must be married
Georgia	16	15.5		15-17
Barbados	16	9.5		15-17
Burundi	16	4.5		18+
Dominica	16	7		15-17
Suriname	16	5.9		15-17
Cuba	16	5.6		15-17
Mali	15	3.6		18+
Central African Republic	15	2.1		18+