Legal ages around the world

Many of life’s big steps are tied to a birthday: being treated as an adult, voting, buying a drink, getting a driving licence. The ages vary from country to country, and often within countries too. This guide summarises the rules in ten countries as of October 2026.

At a glance

The age of majority

The age of majority is when the law treats you as an adult for most purposes: signing contracts, managing your own money, and making decisions without a parent or guardian. 18 is by far the most common. Some places differ:

• United States: set by each state. It’s 18 in most, 19 in Alabama and Nebraska, and 21 in Mississippi.
• Canada: set by each province and territory, either 18 or 19.
• Japan: lowered from 20 to 18 on 1 April 2022. The age for drinking, smoking and public gambling stayed at 20.
• South Korea: 19 under the Civil Act.

Reaching the age of majority doesn’t switch on every adult right at once. Drinking, gambling and some kinds of licences often have their own, higher ages.

Voting age

Most democracies let people vote from 18. The United States set it nationwide with the 26th Amendment to the Constitution in 1971. A growing number of places have gone lower:

• Austria lets 16-year-olds vote in national elections.
• Brazil and Argentina allow voting from 16, voluntary until 18.
• In the United Kingdom, 16- and 17-year-olds can vote in Scottish and Welsh parliamentary and local elections. The government introduced a bill in 2026 to extend votes at 16 to all UK elections. It had passed the House of Commons and was being considered by the House of Lords at the time of writing.
• Germany lets 16-year-olds vote in European Parliament elections, and some German states allow it in state or local elections, while federal elections remain at 18.
• Japan lowered its voting age from 20 to 18 in 2016, and South Korea from 19 to 18 in 2020.

In a few countries, such as Australia and Brazil, voting is compulsory for adults.

Drinking age

The United States has the highest national minimum among wealthy countries, at 21, set by federal law that withholds highway funding from states with a lower age. Most of Europe uses 18, with exceptions: in Germany, 16- and 17-year-olds may buy and drink beer and wine but not spirits. In the UK, you must be 18 to buy alcohol, but 16- and 17-year-olds accompanied by an adult can drink (not buy) beer, wine or cider with a meal.

In Japan the drinking age is 20. South Korea counts by calendar year: people can buy alcohol and tobacco from 1 January of the year they turn 19, one of the exceptions kept when the country switched to international age in 2023. In Canada it’s 18 or 19 depending on the province, and in India it varies by state, from 18 to 25.

Driving age

Driving ages vary more than any other, and many places use graduated licensing: a learner stage, then a restricted licence, then a full one.

• United States: each state sets its own rules. Many allow a learner’s permit at 15 or 16 and an unrestricted licence between 16 and 18.
• United Kingdom: you can start driving a car at 17.
• France: since 1 January 2024 you can pass the car (category B) test and drive alone at 17, down from 18.
• Germany: 18, or 17 with an accompanying adult under the accompanied driving scheme.
• Japan and South Korea: 18 for a standard car licence.
• India: 18 for cars; motorcycles up to 50 cc are allowed from 16.

Checking the exact date you qualify

Laws usually say you reach an age at the start of your birthday, so on your 18th birthday you are 18. To see your exact age on any date, such as an election day or a licence test, use our age calculator with Age on set to that date. If you were born on 29 February, ask the authority involved which date it treats as your birthday in common years; our guide to leap day birthdays explains why it matters. And remember that in some places age is counted differently for certain laws, as in South Korea; see how age is counted around the world.