Source(s): Personal experience. Drinking ages in Europe tend to be this way. Minimum age is 19. Italy has set a minimum legal drinking age at 16 years, one of the lowest MLDA in the world. Many people allow minors to have a sip of wine at meals. In the UK, you can consume alcohol on private property at 15 years of age, and you must be 18 to drink in public on your own, and to buy alcohol. 20% of American youth aged 16-to-17 and 7.4% aged 14-to-15 report drinking alcohol in the past month compared to an average 38% of European youth aged 15-to-16 years. In Cyprus, Greece, and Malta the legal drinking age is 17. The legal age to purchase alcohol is 18. Drinking age in Latvia - Europe. In many European countries, the legal drinking age is 18 or lower, and minors are not as compelled to drink excessively because moderated drinking is part of the culture. Also, there are more young people at the age of 13, in … When the legal drinking age is 21, there are fewer alcohol-related traffic fatalities in general, and specifically for 18 and 20 year-olds. OP -- drinking age is as stated by noct, but I have never heard of any person of any age ever being carded in Europe, if that is your subtext. When the legal drinking age is delayed until someone is 21 years of age, some argue that the individual is left more to their own devices. There are ​exceptions in certain states for a variety of reasons. The legal drinking age varies across Europe. If you're planning a backpacking trip through Europe or are going a big trip with your parents, you might have heard that many of the countries in the region have lower drinking ages than in the United States. Throughout much of Europe, the legal drinking and purchasing age ranges between 16 and 18, and often there isn't a drinking age at all; it's not uncommon to see children drinking a … This is actually a bit of a trick question, as several European countries including: Armenia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Russia have no formal laws on what age people are allowed to consume alcoholic beverages. The average (mean) minimum legal drinking age around the globe is 10.3. Underage drinking in private is not regulated by a specific legal restriction. The enactment of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 prompted states to raise their legal age for purchase or public possession of alcohol to 21 or risk losing millions in federal highway funds. Regarding alcohol purchase and alcohol consumption in public places (such as pubs and restaurants), Germany has three drinking ages regulated by § 9 Jugendschutzgesetz (Protection of Young Persons Act): Taking the UK again as an example, the percentage was respectively 55.1% for boys and 55.7% for girls in 2002 and is now down at 28.3% for boys and 32.6% for girls. You don't want to open yourself up to scams and sexual assault abroad because of a heavy night of drinking. Countries with a legal drinking age at the top end of the scale include Lithuania and Iceland at 20. so we wanted to buy alcohol and go to clubs and bars...i know the drinking age is 18. i am supposed to be 18 this year but my birthday is march.23rd. In all European countries, the legal drinking age is less than this, running from about 15 years old up to 20. The most commonly used age limit for alcohol in the EU is eighteen years. All this being partially true, statistics present a strong case in favor of a delayed legal drinking age. As we all know, the legal drinking age and minimum age of purchase in the United States is 21. Minimum age is 17. By contrast, New Zealand, which reduced its drinking age from 20 to 18 in 1999, saw significant increases in drinking among ages 18 to 19, bigger increases among those 16 … Drinking in Europe. UK- The Legal drinking age is 5. Even though raising the drinking age in the U.S. caused a decline in traffic fatalities, the percentage of traffic fatalities in the U.S. is still higher than some European countries where the legal drinking age is less than 21. I'm legal, by the way, so no funny business. Tajikistan: The legal age is 21 for both drinking and purchasing, but only if you're not Muslim. Selling alcoholic drinks in stores, with the exemption of restaurants, clubs, and bars, is against the law between the hours of 10 PM and 8 AM. In all other European countries, the legal age to drink alcohol is 18. Her work has appeared in Travel + Leisure, USA Today 10Best, Michelin Guide, Hemispheres, DuJour, and Jetsetter. All are younger than the legal drinking age in the United States, which is 21. (Hint: Higher Than You Think), Visiting NYC? This can present a large learning curve, and result in more dangerous drinking. This happens in the brain’s frontal lobe, which is the last area of the brain to mature. Italy’s official legal drinking age is a bit of a mystery. Research shows that over 90% of the alcohol young people consume happens when they are binge drinking, or bringing their blood alcohol level up to 0.08% or higher. In most places in Europe, you can buy and drink alcohol of any kind if you're over 18. Did they have a legal drinking age back then? Minimum age is 20. Between 1970-1976, 30 states lowered their Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) from 21 to 18, 19, or 20. Exceptions to legal drinking ages exist in many places (including the U.S.); for instance, the island of Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory (meaning no passport is needed for travel to that area of the Caribbean), but the legal drinking age is 18. Eleven Member States (Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania and Slovenia) do not impose any age requirements for the consumption of alcohol in their national legal frameworks. 9 Answers. What's the Drinking Age for Countries around the World? Minimum age is 21. MLDA 21 should not be lowered to mirror European drinking age limits because the rate of drinking among US teenagers is lower than most European countries. Here, a minor can drink undistilled alcohol like wine or beer at 14 years old, if they are accompanied by what is called a Custodial Person, (ie their parents or another adult who is in charge of their welfare). 5. ... There’s no minimum in China or Portugal. First: Part of a healthy diet, it does not cause one to grow taller than their genetic potential. It can cause cognitive impairment and deficits, as well as memory problems. A later drinking age also protects youths and adolescents from the negative impact alcohol can have on the developing brain. After I wrote an … Extra-legal drinking is widely practiced at Oktoberfest, restaurants in Italy or France, and pubs in the UK. People have also argued that when countries or states have a legal drinking age of 21 that it breeds disrespect for the law, as many youth want to break it by drinking alcohol before their 21st birthday. By Victoria Simpson on July 12 2020 in Society. Thailand: The legal age is 20 for both drinking and purchasing. European adolescents attract public attention because of their high alcohol consumption 1 but adolescent alcohol use varies considerably across as well as within European countries. Even though it’s prohibited for minors to purchase alcohol in the country, it may happen, as in some cases sellers may not care enough to check customers' age. Unlike in America, fake IDs are not common in Italy. Jillian Dara is a freelance travel writer and fact checker. This map is based on the data from Wikipedia as of early 2020. Lauren Juliff is a full-time budget traveler, blogger, and author of "How Not to Travel the World: Adventures of a Disaster-Prone Backpacker.". In Sweden, the legal age for being served alcohol (in restaurants, etc.) In Denmark you also must be 18 to be served in a restaurant, pub, or bar. The minimum driving age is the minimum age at which a person may obtain a driver's licence to lawfully drive a motor vehicle on public roads. Relevance. A legal drinking age of 21 has been shown to reduce the number of people who develop an alcohol dependency later in life. legal drinking age in europe? For most European countries it's 18 or lower, but no one actually obeys the law, so that makes Europe a free drinking Continent. If you are somewhere around these ages, you are probably OK to consume wine or beer in moderation in this country. When in doubt, ask the locals of course, or the person serving you. Favorite Answer. Studies like the ‘European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs’ (ESPAD), 2 the ‘Health-Behaviour in School-aged Children Study’ (HBSC) 3 or the cross-national research-project ‘Alcohol Abuse among Adolescents—Effective environmental strategies for Prevention’ (AAA-prevent) 4 point to the widesprea… All maps, graphics, flags, photos and original descriptions © 2020 worldatlas.com, 15- to 19-year-olds reporting heavy episodic drinking. This is actually a bit of a trick question, as several European countries including: Armenia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Russia have no formal laws on what age people are allowed to consume alcoholic beverages. This happens because in adolescence and into your mid-20s, your brain is maturing in the areas of decision-making and memory. Driving age is generally 18, and it is expensive to learn, so DWI incidents are rare. It’s 14 in Switzerland, 16 in most of Europe. i am going on a trip with my friends on feb.4th . Some countries differentiate between the legal age for drinking and of legal age to purchase alcohol. John . In einigen Ländern wird hierbei zwischen Getränken mit geringerem Alkoholgehalt – wie etwa Bier, Schaumwein und Wein – sowie höherprozentigen Spirituosen unterschieden. 8 Frequently Asked Questions About Alcohol Laws in Ireland, What's the Legal Drinking Age in Paris? 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