The age of majority is the threshold of adulthood as it is conceptualized (and recognized or declared) in law. It is the chronological moment when minors cease to legally be considered children and assume control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thereby terminating the legal control and legal responsibilities of their parents or guardian over and for them. The vast majority of countries set majority at 18, but ages as low as 14 and as high as 21 also exist. The word majority here refers to having greater years and being of full age; it is opposed to minority, the state of being a minor. The law in a given jurisdiction may never actually use the term "age of majority" and the term thereby refers to a collection of laws bestowing the status of adulthood. The age of majority is a legally fixed age, concept, or statutory principle, which may differ depending on the jurisdiction, and may not necessarily correspond to actual mental or physical maturity of an individual.

In practical terms, there are certain specific actions which a person who attains the age of majority is permitted to take, which they could not do before. These may include entering into a binding contract, buying stocks, voting, buying and/or consuming alcoholic beverages, driving motor vehicles on public roads, and marrying without obtaining consent of others. The ages at which these various rights or powers may be exercised vary as between the various rights and as between different jurisdictions. For example, the ages at which a person may obtain a license to drive a car or consume alcoholic beverages vary considerably between and also within jurisdictions. Age of majority should not be confused with the age of sexual consent, the driving age, the voting age, etc., which all may sometimes be higher or lower than majority. Although a person may attain the age of majority in a particular jurisdiction, he or she 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[link]

Age of majority can be confused with a similar concept, the age of license,^{[citation needed]} 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 maturity, on the other hand, is legal recognition that one has grown into an adult.

For example, in any jurisdiction, the age at which an individual is allowed to exercise the franchise (vote), leave school without taking a diploma, enter into legally binding contracts (other than for necessaries, to which no age of license applies), operate a motor vehicle, purchase and consume alcoholic beverages, and so on – these are all ages of license, at which the law permits an individual to perform certain acts and exercise certain rights, with or without any restrictions.

Age of majority pertains solely to the acquisition of control over one's person, decisions and actions, and the correlative termination of the legal authority and responsibility of the parents (or guardian(s), in lieu of parents) over the child’s persons 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, the age of license to purchase alcoholic beverages is 21 in all U.S. states. Another example is the voting age which prior to the 1970s was 21 while the age of majority was 18 in 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.^[1] Also, in Portugal the age of majority is 18, but one must be at least 25 years of age to run for public office.^[2] A child who is legally emancipated by a court of competent jurisdiction automatically attains to his or her maturity upon the signing of the court order. This is distinct from the legal process by which a child might be taken into foster care and/or made a ward of the court. Foster care and court wardship do not confer maturity upon the child so separated from his or her parents (or guardians). Only emancipation confers the status of maturity before a person has actually reached the age of majority.

Almost all jurisdictions automatically confer emancipation (and with it, the status of majority) upon otherwise minor individuals who are married. Some do likewise for minors who are on active duty in the armed forces.^[3]

Countries and subdivisions[link]

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The following list the age of majority in countries (or administrative divisions) as appropriate:
Age 14

• Armenia^[4]

Age 16

• • Scotland (which is a state of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ^[5]

Age 17

• El Salvador (for females)
• Indonesia (or upon marriage)
• North Korea
• Tajikistan
• Gibraltar^[6]

Age 18

Age 19

• United States
  • Alabama^[37]
  • Nebraska ^[38]
• Algeria^[40]
• Botswana^[25]
• Canada (provinces of British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut and Yukon)^[17]
• South Korea^[41]

Age 20

• Japan; as of 2008^[update], the age of majority in Japan was 20, but it had plans to lower it to 18.^[42]
• Taiwan (Republic of China)
• Thailand

Age 21

• Bahrain^[6]
• Chad
• Egypt^[6]
• Honduras^[6]
• Kuwait
• Lesotho^[6]
• Madagascar^[43]
• Namibia^[6]
• Singapore (Only for casino entry age, voting and marriage)
• Swaziland^[6]
• United Arab Emirates
• United States
  • Pennsylvania^[44]
  • Puerto Rico
• Zambia^[25]
• Azerbaijan^[45]

See also[link]

References[link]