Age of majority

The age of majority is the threshold of adulthood as recognized or declared in law. It is the moment when minors cease to be considered such and assume legal control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thus terminating the control and legal responsibilities of their parents or guardian over them. Most countries set the age of majority at 18, but some jurisdictions have a higher age and others lower. The word majority here refers to having greater years and being of full age as opposed to minority, the state of being a minor. The law in a given jurisdiction may not actually use the term "age of majority". The term typically refers to a collection of laws bestowing the status of adulthood. The age of majority does not necessarily correspond to the mental or physical maturity of an individual.

Age of majority should not be confused with the age of maturity, age of sexual consent, marriageable age, school-leaving age, drinking age, driving age, voting age, smoking age, gambling age, etc., which each may be independent of and set at a different age from the age of majority.

Although a person may attain the age of majority in a particular jurisdiction, they may still be subject to age-based restrictions regarding matters such as the right to vote or stand for elective office, act as a judge, and many others.

Explanation

Age of majority can be confused with the similar concept of the age of license, which also pertains to the threshold of adulthood but in a much broader and more abstract way. As a legal term of art, "license" means "permission", and it can implicate a legally enforceable right or privilege. Thus, an age of license is an age at which one has legal permission from government to do something. The age of majority, on the other hand, is legal recognition that one has grown into an adult.

Age of majority pertains solely to the acquisition of the legal control over one's person, decisions and actions, and the correlative termination of the legal authority of the parents (or guardian(s), in lieu of parent(s)) over the child’s person and affairs generally.

Many ages of license are correlated to the age of majority, but they are nonetheless legally distinct concepts. One need not have attained the age of majority to have permission to exercise certain rights and responsibilities. Some ages of license are actually higher than the age of majority. For example, to purchase alcoholic beverages, the age of license is 21 in all U.S. states. Another example is the voting age, which prior to the 1970s was 21 in the US, as was the age of majority in all or most states. In the Republic of Ireland the age of majority is 18, but one must be over 21 years of age to stand for election to the Houses of the Oireachtas. Also, in Portugal the age of majority is 18, but one must be at least 25 years of age to run for public office and 35 years of age to run for president. A child who is legally emancipated by a court of competent jurisdiction automatically attains to their maturity upon the signing of the court order. Only emancipation confers the status of maturity before a person has actually reached the age of majority.

In almost all places, minors who are married are automatically emancipated. Some places also do the same for minors who are in the armed forces or who have a certain degree or diploma.

Civil law

Template:Refimprove section In many countries minors can be emancipated: depending on jurisdiction, this may happen through acts such as marriage, attaining economic self-sufficiency, obtaining an educational degree or diploma, or participating in a form of military service. In the United States, all states have some form of emancipation of minors.

The following list the age of majority in countries (or administrative divisions) in the order of lowest to highest:

Up to age 15 Template:Flagicon Saudi Arabia – age of majority is based on physical signs of puberty (bulugh), with age 15 as the upper limit. Template:Flagicon Iran – 9 lunar years (female only), 15 lunar years (male only) Age 15 Template:Col-3 Template:Flagicon Indonesia Template:Col-3 Template:Flagicon Myanmar Template:Col-3 Template:Flagicon YemenTemplate:Efn Age 16 Template:Col-3 Template:Flagicon Cambodia Template:Flagicon Cuba Template:Flagicon Kyrgyzstan Template:Col-3 Template:Flagicon Kuwait Template:Flagicon Palestine Template:Flagicon Pakistan (female only) Template:Flagicon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Template:Col-3 Template:GBR Template:Flagicon ScotlandTemplate:Efn Template:Flagicon Vietnam Age 17 Template:Col-3 Template:Flagicon North Korea Template:Col-3 Template:Flagicon Tajikistan Template:Col-3 Template:Flagicon Timor-Leste Age 18 Template:Col-3 Template:Flagicon Afghanistan Template:Flagicon Albania Template:Flagicon American Samoa Template:Flagicon Andorra Template:Flagicon Antigua and Barbuda Template:Flagicon ArgentinaTemplate:Efn Template:Flagicon AngolaTemplate:Efn Template:Flagicon Armenia Template:Flagicon Australia Template:Flagicon Austria Template:Flagicon Azerbaijan Template:Flagicon Bahamas Template:Flagicon Bangladesh Template:Flagicon Barbados Template:Flagicon Belarus Template:Flagicon Belgium Template:Flagicon Belize Template:Flagicon Bhutan Template:Flagicon Bolivia Template:Flagicon Bosnia and Herzegovina Template:Flagicon Botswana Template:Flagicon Brazil Template:Efn Template:Flagicon Brunei Template:Flagicon Bulgaria Template:Flagicon Burundi Template:Flagicon Canada Template:Flagicon Alberta Template:Flagicon Manitoba Template:Flagicon Ontario Template:Flagicon Prince Edward Island Template:Flagicon Quebec Template:Flagicon Saskatchewan Template:Flagicon Chile Template:Flagicon China Template:Flagicon Mainland China Template:Flagicon Hong Kong Template:Flagicon Macau Template:Flagicon Colombia Template:Flagicon Costa Rica Template:Flagicon Croatia Template:Efn Template:Flagicon Cyprus Template:Flagicon Czech RepublicTemplate:Efn Template:Flagicon Denmark (incl. Faroe Islands and Greenland) Template:Flagicon Djibouti Template:Flagicon Dominica Template:Flagicon Dominican Republic Template:Flagicon Ecuador Template:Flagicon Egypt Template:Col-3 Template:Flagicon El Salvador Template:Flagicon Estonia Template:Flagicon Fiji Template:Flagicon Finland Template:Flagicon FranceTemplate:Efn Template:Flagicon Germany Template:Flagicon Georgia Template:Flagicon Ghana Template:Flagicon Greece Template:Flagicon Guatemala Template:Flagicon Guinea Template:Flagicon Guinea-Bissau Template:Flagicon Guyana Template:Flagicon Haiti Template:Flagicon Hungary Template:Flagicon Iceland Template:Flagicon India Template:Flagicon IraqTemplate:Efn Template:IRL Template:Flagicon Israel Template:Flagicon Italy Template:Flagicon Jamaica Template:Flagicon Japan (1 April 2022–) Template:Flagicon Jordan Template:Flagicon Kazakhstan Template:Flagicon KenyaTemplate:Efn Template:Flagicon Laos Template:Flagicon Latvia Template:Flagicon Lebanon Template:Flagicon Liechtenstein Template:Flagicon Lithuania Template:Flagicon Luxembourg Template:Flagicon Malawi Template:Flagicon Malaysia Template:Flagicon Malta Template:Flagicon Mauritania Template:Flagicon Mauritius Template:Flagicon Mexico Template:Flagicon Moldova Template:Flagicon Monaco Template:Flagicon Mongolia Template:Flagicon Montenegro Template:Flagicon Namibia Template:Flagicon Nepal Template:Flagicon NetherlandsTemplate:Efn Template:Flagicon Nigeria Template:Flagicon North Macedonia Template:Flagicon Norway Template:Col-3 Template:Flagicon Oman Template:Flagicon Pakistan (male only) Template:Flagicon Palau Template:Flagicon Panama Template:Flagicon Paraguay Template:Flagicon Peru Template:Flagicon Philippines Template:Flagicon Poland Template:Efn Template:Flagicon Portugal Template:Flagicon Qatar Template:Flagicon Romania ("Minimum legal age in Romania") Template:Flagicon Russia Template:Efn Template:Flagicon Rwanda Template:Flagicon Saint Kitts and Nevis Template:Flagicon Seychelles Template:Flagicon Slovakia Template:Flagicon Slovenia Template:Flagicon Somalia Template:Flagicon South AfricaTemplate:Efn Template:Flagicon SpainTemplate:Efn Template:Flagicon Sri Lanka Template:Flagicon Sudan Template:Flagicon Sweden Template:Flagicon Switzerland Template:Flagicon Syria Template:Flagicon Serbia Template:Flagicon Tanzania Template:Flagicon Trinidad and Tobago Template:Flagicon Tunisia Template:Flagicon Turkey Template:Flagicon Uganda Template:Flagicon Ukraine Template:GBR Template:Flagicon England Template:Flagicon Wales Template:Flagicon Northern Ireland Template:Flagicon Crown dependencies Template:Flagicon Isle of Man Template:Flagicon Jersey Template:Flagicon Gibraltar Template:Flagicon Guernsey Template:USA: all states and territories except for those listed below Template:Flagicon Uruguay Template:Flagicon Uzbekistan Template:Flagicon Vatican City Template:Flagicon Venezuela Template:Flagicon Zimbabwe Age 19 Template:Col-3 Template:Flagicon Algeria Template:Col-3 Template:Flagicon Canada Template:Flagicon Nova Scotia Template:Flagicon New Brunswick Template:Flagicon British Columbia Template:Flagicon Newfoundland and Labrador Template:Flagicon Northwest Territories Template:Flagicon Yukon Template:Flagicon Nunavut Template:Col-3 Template:Flagicon South Korea Template:Flagicon United States Template:Flagicon Alabama Template:Flagicon Nebraska Age 20 Template:Col-3 Template:Flagicon Japan (–31 March 2022) Template:Flagicon New Zealand Template:Col-3 Template:Flagicon Taiwan Template:Flagicon Thailand Template:Col-3 File:Coming of Age Day Ceremony.jpg Coming of Age Day in Japan Age 21 Template:Col-3 Template:Flagicon Bahrain Template:Flagicon Cameroon Template:Flagicon Côte d'Ivoire Template:Flagicon Eswatini Template:Flagicon Gabon Template:Flagicon Grenada Template:Col-3 Template:Flagicon Honduras Template:Flagicon Lesotho Template:Flagicon Madagascar Template:Flagicon Samoa Template:Flagicon Singapore Template:Col-3 Template:Flagicon United Arab Emirates Template:Flagicon United States Template:Flagicon Mississippi Template:Flagicon Puerto Rico Template:Flagicon Zambia Religious law Religions have their own rules as to the age of maturity, when a child is regarded to be an adult, at least for ritual purposes: Islam: a person having reached the age of 15 or having entered puberty before that age is considered bulugh (adult). Judaism: the age of majority is 13 years for boys (bar mitzvah) and 12 years for girls (bat mitzvah) for religious purposes. However, Jewish law follows the law of the land if there is a difference, such as marriage age. Christianity (including Roman Catholic Church): 18 years of age. See also Template:Div col Age of candidacy Age of consent Age of criminal responsibility Emancipation of minors Legal drinking age Marriageable age Mature minor doctrine Secular coming-of-age ceremony Voting age Youth rights Youth suffrage Youth