For many, being able to buy a legal drink is a sign of maturity and freedom — and perhaps a harbinger of questionable decisions and good times to come.

While 21 years old is the standard for most of the United States (looking at you, Wisconsin), many consumers across the world have earlier introductions to alcohol. In fact, 64 percent of the world’s nations have legal drinking ages of 18.

The youngest legal drinking age in the world is 15, with both Mali and the Central African Republic allowing folks to drink at that time. Seven countries do not have a government-mandated drinking age, while 11 countries ban the consumption of booze entirely.

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In Canada, India, and the United Arab Emirates, different regions have varying legal drinking ages.

Want to know more about legal drinking ages around the world? Check out the map below to discover the legal minimum drinking ages of countries around the world!

A map of The Legal Drinking Age in Each Country

Country Legal Drinking Age
Central African Republic 15
Mali 15
Antigua 16
Austria 16
Barbados 16
Belgium 16
Burundi 16
Chad 16
Cuba 16
Denmark 16
Dominica 16
Georgia 16
Germany 16
Haiti 16
Luxembourg 16
Palestine 16
Saint Lucia 16
San Marino 16
Suriname 16
Switzerland 16
Malta 17
Albania 18
Algeria 18
Angola 18
Argentina 18
Armenia 18
Australia 18
Azerbaijan 18
Bahamas 18
Bangladesh 18
Belarus 18
Belize 18
Bhutan 18
Bolivia 18
Bosnia 18
Botswana 18
Brazil 18
Bulgaria 18
Cabo Verde 18
Chile 18
China 18
Colombia 18
Comoros 18
Cook Islands 18
Costa Rica 18
Cote d’Ivoire 18
Croatia 18
Cyprus 18
Czech Republic 18
Democratic Republic of Congo 18
Dominican Republic 18
El Salvador 18
Ecuador 18
Equatorial New Guinea 18
Estonia 18
Eswatini 18
Ethiopia 18
Fiji 18
Finland 18
France 18
Gabon 18
Gambia 18
Ghana 18
Greece 18
Grenada 18
Guatemala 18
Guinea 18
Guyana 18
Honduras 18
Hong Kong 18
Hungary 18
Ireland 18
Israel 18
Italy 18
Jamaica 18
Jordan 18
Kenya 18
Kyrgyzstan 18
Lao People’s Democratic Republic 18
Latvia 18
Lebanon 18
Liberia 18
Lithuania 18
Macedonia 18
Madagascar 18
Malawi 18
Malaysia 18
Mauritius 18
Mexico 18
Moldova 18
Monaco 18
Mongolia 18
Montenegro 18
Morocco 18
Mozambique 18
Myanmar 18
Namibia 18
Nepal 18
Netherlands 18
New Zealand 18
Nicaragua 18
Niger 18
Nigeria 18
Niue 18
North Korea 18
Norway 18
Panama 18
Papua New Guinea 18
Peru 18
Philippines 18
Poland 18
Portugal 18
Republic of Congo 18
Puerto Rico 18
Romania 18
Russia 18
Rwanda 18
Saint Kitts and Nevis 18
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 18
Sao Tome and Principe 18
Senegal 18
Serbia 18
Seychelles 18
Sierra Leone 18
Singapore 18
Slovakia 18
Slovenia 18
South Africa 18
South Sudan 18
Spain 18
Sweden 18
Syria 18
Taiwan 18
Tajikistan 18
Tanzania 18
Tongo 18
Trinidad and Tobago 18
Tunisia 18
Turkey 18
Turkmenistan 18
Tuvalu 18
Uganda 18
UK 18
Ukraine 18
Uruguay 18
Venezuela 18
Vietnam 18
Zambia 18
Zimbabwe 18
Qatar 19
South Korea 19
Canada 18-19*
United Arab Emirates 18-21 (or illegal)**
India 18-21 (or illegal)***
Benin 20
Iceland 20
Japan 20
Paraguay 20
Thailand 20
Uzbekistan 20
Bahrain 21
Cambodia 21
Cameroon 21
Egypt 21
Indonesia 21
Iraq 21
Kazakhstan 21
Kiribati 21
Lesotho 21
Marshall Islands 21
Mauritania 21
Micronesia 21
Nauru 21
Oman 21
Palau 21
Samoa 21
Solomon Islands 21
Sri Lanka 21
USA 21
Eritrea 25
Afghanistan illegal
Brunei illegal
Iran illegal
Kuwait illegal
Libya illegal
Maldives illegal
Pakistan illegal
Saudi Arabia illegal
Somalia illegal
Sudan illegal
Yemen illegal
Burkina Faso no legal drinking minimum
Djibouti no legal drinking minimum
Guinea-Bissau no legal drinking minimum
Timor-Leste no legal drinking minimum
Togo no legal drinking minimum
Vanuatu no legal drinking minimum
Western Sahara no legal drinking minimum

*Drinking age is 18 in Alberta, Manitoba, and Quebec. In all remaining provinces and territories, the legal drinking age is 19.

** In Abu Dhabi, the legal drinking age is 18. In all other territories besides Sharjah, the age limit is 21 years. The sale, supply and consumption of alcohol are prohibited in Sharjah.

*** The minimum age for purchasing alcohol in India is 18 in Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Sikkim, and Puducherry. The drinking age is 21 in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Haryana, Meghalaya, Punjab, Delhi. Alcohol is prohibited in Bihar, Gujarat, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Lakshadweep.