05 March 2009

Legal drinking ages around the world


Click image to enlarge. Credit.

I won't editorialize; just presented for information. The Reddit thread points out some inaccuracies and subtleties of interpretation.

3 comments:

  1. In Quebec the drinking age is 18. In Quebec City a 14 year-old male is permitted to have wine with a meal.Perhaps with an adult present, not sure.

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  2. The map is wrong for Europe. Many countries raised the legal drinking age to 18. Here the corrected datas for European countries.

    Denmark: 16 for alcoholic beverages with less then 16.5% ABV in stores and supermarkets. 18 for alcoholic beverages with 16.5% ABV or more in stores and supermarkets. 18 to be served in bars, restaurants and clubs.

    Germany: 16 for beer and wine as some other party drinks without spirits.
    18 for spirits and alcopops. If a minor at the age of 14 or 15 is accompanied by his parent(s) he is allowed to drink beer and wine as some other party drinks without spirits if his parent allow it (also in bars, restaurants and in public).

    France: The age is 18 for every kind of alcohol. The age was raised from 16 to 18 in 2009.

    Netherlands: Age is 16 for alcoholic beverages with less than 15% ABV. 18 for alcoholic beverages with more than 15% ABV. A law has passed which is raising the age to 18 on first January 2014.

    Switzerland: The legal drinking age is 16 for beer, wine and fermented alcoholic drinks with less than 15% ABV. 18 for any kind of spirits and liquor, and fermented drinks with more than 15% ABV. The canton of Ticino has set a age limit of 18 years to buy or consume any kind of alcoholic beverage. The supermarket chain "Coop" wont sell any alcohol to minors under the age of 18.

    Portugal: Has raised the drinking age from 16 for beer and wine to 18 in 2012.

    Spain: Has raised the legal drinking age from 16 to 18 in 2005.

    Italy: Just raised the age from 16 to 18. The legal age used to be very lax, there was just an restriction for restaurant and bars which prohibted selling any kind of alcohol under the age of 16. The new law sets a very strict age limit and higher fines.

    Austria: The legal drinking age is 16 for all kinds of alcoholic beverages in folloing states: Burgenland, Lower Austria and Vienna.
    The other 6 states have a drinking age of 16 for fermented alcoholic beverages. And 18 for strong alcohol and liquor. Other states have further restrictions for minors to consume alcohol (Carinthia: Minors can only consume fermented alcohol until they reach a blood alcohol level of 0.5; Vienna: bans any kind of alcohol or tobacco at schools for minors under the age of 18).

    Liechtenstein: The age is 16 for beer, wine, cider and other fermented alcoholic beverages. And 18 for liquor and spirits.

    Belgium: The age is 16 for beer, wine, cider and other fermented alcoholic beverages. And 18 for liquor and spirits.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you. The map is now 4 years old and probably will become even more inaccurate with time.

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