In the context of the law, legal age can refer to various ordinances that require individuals to be of a certain age in order to engage in particular activity. Typically, legal age is most commonly associated with the minimum age to obtain a driver's license and the legal drinking age. The latter is a topic that has been constantly debated for various reasons in past decades.
The legal drinking age is the minimum age at which an individual can consume or purchase alcoholic beverages. This is sometimes also extended to include the minimum age that one must be in order to consume alcohol, though they are both usually separated into two different statutes.
In the United states, the legal age for drinking alcohol is 21, though in almost all parts of the world the legal drinking age is 18. In certain areas, such as India, may have higher legal age requirements, in certain regions being as high as 28. Furthermore, in many Islamic nations there is no legal age for different due to the fact that consuming alcohol is simply not permitted.
Legal age can also refer to another debated issue, which is the age at which a person is legally allowed to have sex. The laws in regards to the legal age of consent can prove to be fairly complex. For instance, in the U.S., the state legislation is responsible for instituting a legal age of consent. Generally speaking, the ages can range anywhere from 15 to 18.
NEXT: What is Jurisprudence