Below find the legal minimum age for alcohol sales in 173 countries as found by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The sales are split between on-premise sales such as in restaurants, bars, and hotels where the alcohol will be consumed at the place of purchase and off-premise sales such as in grocery or liquor stores where the alcohol will be consumed in another location. However, the legal minimum ages are often the same for both on-premise and off-premise purchases.
The minimum ages are also split for the purchase of beer, wine, and spirits. But, again, the minimum ages are frequently the same. In the countries where the purchase of one or more of the alcohol types has a different minimum age for purchase, that age will be noted with a * and note indicating the difference(s) in the far right column.
Country | National legal minimum age for off-premise sales of alcoholic beverages (beer / wine / spirits) | National legal minimum age for on-premise sales of alcoholic beverages (beer / wine / spirits) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Afghanistan | Total ban | Total ban | |
Albania | 18 | 18 | |
Algeria | 18 | 18 | |
Andorra | 18 | 18 | |
Angola | 18 | 18 | |
Antigua and Barbuda | No minimum age | 16 | |
Argentina | 18 | 18 | |
Armenia | 18 | 18 | |
Australia | 18 | 18 | |
Austria | Minimum age determined at subnational level | Minimum age determined at subnational level | |
Azerbaijan | 18 | 18 | |
Bahamas | 18 | 18 | |
Bahrain | No information | No information | |
Bangladesh | No minimum age | No minimum age | |
Barbados | No minimum age | 16 | |
Belarus | 18 | 18 | |
Belgium | 16* | 16* | *Belgium has a national legal minimum age of 18 for on- or off-premise sales of alcoholic beverages for spirits. |
Belize | 18 | 18 | |
Benin | No minimum age | No minimum age | |
Bhutan | 18 | 18 | |
Bolivia (Plurinational State of) | No information | No information | |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 18 | 18 | |
Botswana | 18 | 18 | |
Brazil | 18 | 18 | |
Brunei Darussalam | No information | No information | |
Bulgaria | 18 | 18 | |
Burkina Faso | No minimum age | 13 | |
Burundi | 18 | 18 | |
Cabo Verde | 18 | 18 | |
Cambodia | No minimum age | No minimum age | |
Cameroon | 18 | 21 | |
Canada | Minimum age determined at subnational level | Minimum age determined at subnational level | |
Central African Republic | No minimum age | No minimum age | |
Chad | 16 | 16 | |
Chile | 18 | 18 | |
China | No minimum age | No minimum age | |
Colombia | 18 | 18 | |
Comoros | No information | No information | |
Congo | 18 | 18 | |
Cook Islands | 18 | 18 | |
Costa Rica | 18 | 18 | |
Côte d’Ivoire | 18* | 14 | *Côte d’Ivoire does not have a national legal minimum age for off-premise sales of alcoholic beverages for beer. |
Croatia | 18 | 18 | |
Cuba | 18 | 18 | |
Cyprus | 17 | 17 | |
Czechia | 18 | 18 | |
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea | No information | No information | |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | 18 | 18 | |
Denmark | 16* | 18 | *Denmark has a national legal minimum age of 18 for off-premise sales of alcoholic beverages for spirits. |
Djibouti | No minimum age | No minimum age | |
Dominica | 16 | 16 | |
Dominican Republic | 18 | 18 | |
Ecuador | 18 | 18 | |
Egypt | 21 | 21 | |
El Salvador | 18 | 18 | |
Equatorial Guinea | 18 | 18 | |
Eritrea | 25 | 25 | |
Estonia | 18 | 18 | |
Eswatini | 18 | 18 | |
Ethiopia | 18 | 18 | |
Fiji | No information | No information | |
Finland | 18* | 18 | *Finland has a national legal minimum age of 20 for off-premise sales of alcoholic beverages for spirits. |
France | 18 | 18 | |
Gabon | No minimum age | 18 | |
Gambia | 18 | 18 | |
Georgia | 18 | 18 | |
Germany | 16* | 16* | *Germany has a national legal minimum age of 18 for on- or off-premise sales of alcoholic beverages for spirits. |
Ghana | 18 | 18 | |
Greece | 18 | 18 | |
Grenada | No minimum age | 16 | |
Guatemala | 18 | 18 | |
Guinea | No minimum age | No minimum age | |
Guinea-Bissau | No minimum age | No minimum age | |
Guyana | 18 | 18 | |
Haiti | No information | No information | |
Honduras | 18 | 18 | |
Hungary | 18 | 18 | |
Iceland | 20 | 20 | |
India | Minimum age determined at subnational level | Minimum age determined at subnational level | |
Indonesia | 21 | 21 | |
Iran (Islamic Republic of) | Total ban | Total ban | |
Iraq | 21 | 21 | |
Ireland | 18 | 18 | |
Israel | 18 | 18 | |
Italy | 18 | 18 | |
Jamaica | 18 | 18 | |
Japan | 20 | 20 | |
Jordan | 18 | 18 | |
Kazakhstan | 21 | 21 | |
Kenya | 18 | 18 | |
Kiribati | 21 | 21 | |
Kuwait | No information | No information | |
Kyrgyzstan | No information | No information | |
Lao People’s Democratic Republic | 18 | 18 | |
Latvia | 18 | 18 | |
Lebanon | 18 | 18 | |
Lesotho | 21 | 21 | |
Liberia | 18 | 18 | |
Libya | Total ban | Total ban | |
Lithuania | 18 | 18 | |
Luxembourg | 16 | 16 | |
Madagascar | 18 | 18 | |
Malawi | 18 | 18 | |
Malaysia | 21 | 21 | |
Maldives | Total ban | Total ban | |
Mali | 15* | 15* | *Mali does not have a national legal minimum age for on- or off-premise sales of alcoholic beverages for spirits. |
Malta | 17 | 17 | |
Marshall Islands | 21 | 21 | |
Mauritania | Total ban | Total ban | |
Mauritius | 18 | 18 | |
Mexico | 18 | 18 | |
Micronesia (Federated States of) | No information | No information | |
Monaco | 18 | 18 | |
Mongolia | 21 | 21 | |
Montenegro | 18 | 18 | |
Morocco | 16 | 16 | |
Mozambique | 18 | 18 | |
Myanmar | 18 | 18 | |
Namibia | 18 | 18 | |
Nauru | No information | No information | |
Nepal | No information | No information | |
Netherlands | 18 | 18 | |
New Zealand | 18 | 18 | |
Nicaragua | 18 | 18 | |
Niger | 18 | 18 | |
Nigeria | No minimum age | No minimum age | |
Niue | No information | No information | |
Norway | 18* | 18* | *Norway has a national legal minimum age of 20 for on- or off-premise sales of alcoholic beverages for spirits. |
Oman | 21 | 21 | |
Pakistan | Total ban | Total ban | |
Palau | No information | No information | |
Panama | 18 | 18 | |
Papua New Guinea | No information | No information | |
Paraguay | 20 | 20 | |
Peru | 18 | 18 | |
Philippines | 18 | 18 | |
Poland | 18 | 18 | |
Portugal | 18 | 18 | |
Qatar | No information | No information | |
Republic of Korea | 19 | 19 | |
Republic of Moldova | 18 | 18 | |
Romania | 18 | 18 | |
Russian Federation | 18 | 18 | |
Rwanda | 18 | 18 | |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | 18 | 18 | |
Saint Lucia | 16 | 16 | |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 18 | 18 | |
Samoa | 21 | 21 | |
San Marino | 16 | 16 | |
Sao Tome and Principe | 18 | 18 | |
Saudi Arabia | Total ban | Total ban | |
Senegal | 18 | 18 | |
Serbia | 18 | 18 | |
Seychelles | 18 | 18 | |
Sierra Leone | 18 | 18 | |
Singapore | 18 | 18 | |
Slovakia | 18 | 18 | |
Slovenia | 18 | 18 | |
Solomon Islands | No information | No information | |
Somalia | Total ban | Total ban | |
South Africa | 18 | 18 | |
South Sudan | 18 | 18 | |
Spain | 18 | 18 | |
Sri Lanka | 21 | 21 | |
Sudan | Total ban | Total ban | |
Suriname | 16 | 16 | |
Sweden | 18* | 18 | *Sweden has a national legal minimum age of 20 for off-premise sales of alcoholic beverages for wine and spirits. |
Switzerland | 16* | 16* | *Switzerland has a national legal minimum age of 18 for on- or off-premise sales of alcoholic beverages for spirits. |
Syrian Arab Republic | 18 | 18 | |
Tajikistan | 18 | 18 | |
Thailand | 20 | 20 | |
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia | 18 | 18 | |
Timor-Leste | No minimum age | No minimum age | |
Togo | No minimum age | 18 | |
Tonga | No information | No information | |
Trinidad and Tobago | 18 | 18 | |
Tunisia | No information | No information | |
Turkey | 18 | 18 | |
Turkmenistan | 18 | 18 | |
Tuvalu | No information | No information | |
Uganda | 18 | 18 | |
Ukraine | 18 | 18 | |
United Arab Emirates | No information | No information | |
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 18 | 18 | |
United Republic of Tanzania | 18 | 18 | |
United States of America | 21 | 21 | |
Uruguay | 18 | 18 | |
Uzbekistan | 20 | 20 | |
Vanuatu | No minimum age | No minimum age | |
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) | 18 | 18 | |
Viet Nam | 18 | 18 | |
Yemen | Total ban | Total ban | |
Zambia | 18 | 18 | |
Zimbabwe | 18 | 18 |
Source: World Health Organization (WHO), “Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health 2018,” who.int, Sep. 27, 2018
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