Age of consent laws vary considerably around the world, although a majority of countries require young people to be over the age of 14 before having sex. Of the countries with lower age of consent laws, Nigeria has the lowest at just 11. This is followed by Angola and the Philippines at 12, and several other countries, including South Korea and Japan at 13 (although Japan has notoriously consent laws that vary in different parts of the country).

Additionally, a number of countries in Asia and Africa require individuals to be married before they can legally have sex. These include Libya, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia, all of which are known to be highly conservative on issues around gender and sexuality. Perhaps surprisingly, the country with the oldest age of consent, at 21, is Portugal in Western Europe (Bahrain's age of consent is also 21). And while most European countries have 16-17 as the age of consent, several other European countries, including Malta and Vatican City, also have higher than average consent laws, requiring young people to be at least 18 before legally having sex. Austria has Europe's lowest age of consent at 14 years old.

In North America, Aruba has the lowest age of consent at 15 years old, while in South America, Paraguay, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia and Ecuador all have 14 as the age of consent. In the United States, the age of consent is 16 years old – this is shared by Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. At 18, Chile, Argentina, and a number of other countries have the highest age of consents in the Americas.

Name Region GDP Per Capita

Yemen Asia Must be married

United Arab Emirates Asia Must be married

Saudi Arabia Asia Must be married

Qatar Asia Must be married

Pakistan Asia Must be married

Oman Asia Must be married

Maldives Asia Must be married

Kuwait Asia Must be married

Iran Asia Must be married

Gaza Strip Asia Must be married

Afghanistan Asia Must be married

Sudan Africa Must be married

Libya Africa Must be married

Portugal Europe 21

Bahrain Asia 21

Niue Oceania 19

Chile South America 18

Argentina South America 18

Northern Mariana Islands Oceania 18

Panama North America 18

Nicaragua North America 18

Haiti North America 18

Guatemala North America 18

El Salvador North America 18

Dominican Republic North America 18

Vatican City Europe 18

Turkey Europe 18

Malta Europe 18

Vietnam Asia 18

Lebanon Asia 18

Iraq Asia 18

India Asia 18

Bhutan Asia 18

Uganda Africa 18

Tunisia Africa 18

Tanzania Africa 18

South Sudan Africa 18

Somalia Africa 18

Sierra Leone Africa 18

Seychelles Africa 18

Rwanda Africa 18

Republic of the Congo Africa 18

Mali Africa 18

Liberia Africa 18

Kenya Africa 18

Ivory Coast Africa 18

Gambia Africa 18

Gabon Africa 18

Ethiopia Africa 18

Eritrea Africa 18

Equatorial Guinea Africa 18

Egypt Africa 18

Djibouti Africa 18

Central African Republic Africa 18

Burundi Africa 18

Benin Africa 18

Nauru Oceania 17

Mexico North America 17

Ireland Europe 17

Cyprus Europe 17

Venezuela South America 16

Suriname South America 16

Vanuatu Oceania 16

Tonga Oceania 16

Samoa Oceania 16

Papua New Guinea Oceania 16

Palau Oceania 16

New Zealand Oceania 16

Marshall Islands Oceania 16

Guam Oceania 16

Fiji Oceania 16

Cook Islands Oceania 16

Australia Oceania 16

American Samoa Oceania 16

United States North America 16

Trinidad and Tobago North America 16

Saint Lucia North America 16

Saint Kitts and Nevis North America 16

Jamaica North America 16

Grenada North America 16

Dominica North America 16

Cuba North America 16

Caribbean Netherlands North America 16

Canada North America 16

Belize North America 16

Barbados North America 16

Bahamas North America 16

Antigua and Barbuda North America 16

United Kingdom Europe 16

Ukraine Europe 16

Switzerland Europe 16

Spain Europe 16

Russia Europe 16

Norway Europe 16

Northern Cyprus Europe 16

Netherlands Europe 16

Moldova Europe 16

Luxembourg Europe 16

Lithuania Europe 16

Latvia Europe 16

Kazakhstan Europe 16

Georgia Europe 16

Finland Europe 16

Belgium Europe 16

Belarus Europe 16

Azerbaijan Europe 16

Armenia Europe 16

Andorra Europe 16

Uzbekistan Asia 16

Turkmenistan Asia 16

Tajikistan Asia 16

Taiwan Asia 16

Sri Lanka Asia 16

Singapore Asia 16

Nepal Asia 16

Mongolia Asia 16

Malaysia Asia 16

Kyrgyzstan Asia 16

Jordan Asia 16

Israel Asia 16

Indonesia Asia 16

Brunei Asia 16

Zimbabwe Africa 16

Zambia Africa 16

Togo Africa 16

Swaziland Africa 16

South Africa Africa 16

Senegal Africa 16

Namibia Africa 16

Mauritania Africa 16

Lesotho Africa 16

Guinea Bissau Africa 16

Ghana Africa 16

Cameroon Africa 16

Botswana Africa 16

Algeria Africa 16

Uruguay South America 15

Solomon Islands Oceania 15

Kiribati Oceania 15

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines North America 15

Honduras North America 15

Costa Rica North America 15

Aruba North America 15

Sweden Europe 15

Slovenia Europe 15

Slovak Republic Europe 15

Romania Europe 15

Poland Europe 15

Monaco Europe 15

Iceland Europe 15

Greece Europe 15

France Europe 15

Denmark Europe 15

Czech Republic Europe 15

Croatia Europe 15

Thailand Asia 15

Syria Asia 15

North Korea Asia 15

Laos Asia 15

Cambodia Asia 15

Guinea Africa 15

Peru South America 14

Paraguay South America 14

Ecuador South America 14

Colombia South America 14

Brazil South America 14

Bolivia South America 14

Federated States of Micronesia Oceania 14

Serbia Europe 14

San Marino Europe 14

Montenegro Europe 14

Macedonia Europe 14

Liechtenstein Europe 14

Italy Europe 14

Hungary Europe 14

Germany Europe 14

Estonia Europe 14

Bulgaria Europe 14

Bosnia and Herzegovina Europe 14

Austria Europe 14

Albania Europe 14

Myanmar Asia 14

East Timor Asia 14

China Asia 14

Bangladesh Asia 14

Sao Tome and Principe Africa 14

Mauritius Africa 14

Malawi Africa 14

Madagascar Africa 14

Democratic Republic of the Congo Africa 14

Chad Africa 14

Cape Verde Africa 14

South Korea Asia 13

Japan Asia 13

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Africa 13

Niger Africa 13

Comoros Africa 13

Burkina Faso Africa 13

Philippines Asia 12

Angola Africa 12

Nigeria Africa 11

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4273613&forum_id=2#38322081)

12 y./o girls are actually pretty rational

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4273613&forum_id=2#38322093)