Some surprising observations

I’ve been looking at some of the things that vary from
country to country and from state to state, and are
under state control to determine.
I have looked at the data for Europe, North America,
Central America, South America, and the Caribbean

  • basically Europe, and the New World settled by Europeans.
    I have included the states of the US and the provinces
    of Canada as separate entities.
    There are only a few gaps in my information.

One of the topics is the minimum age to legally purchase alcohol, of any strength.
Of the 176 entities checked,
7 have 16 as the age.
1 has 17 as the age
97 have 18 as the age
10 have 19 as the age
4 have 20 as the age
54 have 21 as the age
3 I had no data for
Note that of the 54 in which 21 is the minimum age to purchase alcohol, 51 are the US states and DC. The other 3 are Jamaica, Nauru, and St. Kitts and Nevis.
In the US, it is possible for states to change their drinking age,
but the age of 21 is coerced by the federal government by
not granting highway funds for any state that does not comply
with the 21 age.

For the legality of prostitution,
it is illegal in 86 entities,
it is legal in 90 entities.
Again, 50 of the entities are in the United States,
with Nevada being the only state that permits it.

Age of consent for sex varies widely.
20 entities it is 14
24 entities it is 15
96 entities it is 16
12 entities it is 17
22 entities it is 18
1 entity it is 19
1 entity I have no info for
The mean age is 15.97

The next one might surprise you… entities in which incest in sex is permitted. This is different than the figure for which incestuous marriage is permitted.
In 26 entities, the age of consent for incest is the same as the regular age of consent. This means sometimes that 14, 15, 16 and 17 year olds are treated as consenting adults for incestuous sex. The US state of Rhode Island is included in this group
There are also 10 entities in which the age of consent for sex and the age of consent for incestuous sex is 18.
That leaves 4 entities in which the age of consent for incestuous sex is 18, but the general age of consent is lower.
These include:
Serbia, general AoC is 14,
Slovenia, general AoC is 15
New Jersey, general AoC is 16
Ohio, general AoC is 16
I have included Ohio, even though I have no actual statement that it should be in this group.
In Ohio, incest is not permitted with a parent or other authority figure, but I am assuming that once someone reaches age 18 that is no longer a consideration.
The mean age for consent to incestuous sex for is those entities in which it is legal is 16.02, very close to the general age of consent.

Two more, not too surprising
Age of majority:
131 age of majority 18
9 age of majority 19
4 age of majority 20

Voting age:
11 voting age 16
1 voting age 17
168 voting age 18
1 voting age 20