Legal Drinking Age In Different Countries



Alcohol has become an integral part of celebration in our society. Wedding, college graduation or a friendly get together, alcohol is usually there. There are some countries that prohibit alcohol drinking altogether, and then there are some where laws prohibit you from drinking until you turn 21. I am sure most of you have wondered what the legal drinking age is in some countries are as compared to United States and that is exactly what this post is all about. Below you will find over 80 countries with different legal drinking age.

If you would like to download this information, please click on the download link towards the end of this article.

Please note that legal drinking age is different than legal purchasing age in some countries. This list shows the legal drinking age where one can drink alcohol but may not be able to purchase.

Drinking and Purchasing of Alcohol Is Illegal

• Libya
• Sudan
• Saudi Arabia
• Kuwait
• Bangladesh
• Iran
• Pakistan ( for foreign nationals (non muslims) the legal drinking age is 21)

Legal Drinking Age = None

• Albania
• Brunei
• Denmark
• Poland
• Mauritius
• Georgia
• Cambodia
• Malaysia
• Macau
• Philippines
• Gibraltar
• Slovakia
• Netherlands
• Italy
• Slovenia
• New Zealand
• Malta
• Norway
• Portugal
• Romania
• Serbia
• Swaziland
• Thailand
• Greece
• Finland

Legal Drinking Age = 14

• Spain

Legal Drinking Age = 16

• Lebanon
• Eritrea
• Austria
• Bulgeria
• Botswana
• Zimbabwe
• France
• Luxembourg
• Germany
• Switzerland (16-18)
• Samoa

Legal Drinking Age = 17

• Cyprus

Legal Drinking Age = 18

• Ghana
• Kenya
• Canada (18-19)
• Puerto Rico
• Algeria
• Cameroon
• Malawi
• South Africa
• Argentina
• China
• Hong Kong
• Jordan
• Israel
• Fiji
• Australia
• Ukraine
• Sweden
• Russia
• Latvia
• Hungary
• Singapore
• Croatia
• Belarus
• Sri Lanka
• Taiwan
• Mongolia
• Guatemala
• Honduras
• Ecuador
• Columbia
• Chile
• Uganda

Legal Drinking Age = 19

• South Korea

Legal Drinking Age = 20

• Japan
• Paraguay

Legal Drinking Age = 21

• United States Of America
• Indonesia
• Palau

We have also created an excel file for anyone who would like to keep this information handy, Download the legal drinking age in different countries.

We know we have missed quite a few as it is not possible to include every single country in the list. If you know of any laws related to drinking age for countries that weren’t mentioned here please let us know through your comments.