Worldwide Ages of Consent

back to top Introduction

This page provides a brief overview of legal ages of consent worldwide, allowing for an insight into the variations that exist between countries and within countries. However, age of consent laws are usually complex and the legal age of consent listed here may be higher or lower depending on certain conditions. These include but are not limited to: Male or female; anal sex; vaginal sex; partner age difference; a partner that represents a position of authority; variations between state, territory and federal laws; whether partners are married or unmarried. See individual country references for specific conditions that modify the age of consent. Being aware of global variations in the age of consent is important to avoid breaking the law in countries that have laws different to your country of residence.

As this table shows, the age of consent varies significantly between countries, and in a number of cases may be considered to be too low. Sex before the age of 15 years and among partners where there is a large age difference may increase the risk of HIV transmission.^{1 2} Governments can, to some extent, reduce the risk of HIV infection among young people by ensuring the age of consent for sex, and also marriage, is not too low.

If you're a young person, and you want to find out more, read our page on teens, sex and the law. You might also like to have a look at our "Am I ready for sex?" page.

back to top A Table showing Worldwide Ages of Consent

This table should only be used as general guide - please read the notes and references at the bottom of this page for more detailed information.

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References back to top

1. UNAIDS (2010) 'UNAIDS Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic'
2. UNICEF (2011) 'Opportunity in Crisis: Preventing HIV from early adolescence to young adulthood'
3. Department of justice Canada (2008) ‘Canadian communities now safer: tougher laws come into force for serious gun crimes and sexual predators’
4. Juris (2010) 'German Criminal Code'
5. Australian Government 'About Australia: People, culture and lifestyle' Accessed 26/07/12
6. Republic of South Africa (2007) 'Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act (PDF)' Government Gazette
7. The National Archives (2012) 'Sexual Offences Act 2003'

Notes

Unless specifically referenced, individual country age of consent laws can be accessed through the Interpol reference listed under sources. A [-] symbol indicates a credible reference documenting the age of consent for a particular country is either unavailable or not yet found.

Disclaimer & Privacy Policy back to top

We rely on the help of our readers to keep this table as accurate and up-to-date as possible. If you know that the age of consent in your country differs from that given above, and if you can supply good references to prove it, then please contact us. Please note that AVERT will not answer personal enquiries about age of consent.

This page is intended for educational purposes only and should not be used to inform personal decisions. If you are in any doubt about the age of consent law in your region then please seek expert legal advice.