What is the age of consent in the United Kingdom?
16–17
The age of consent is 16.
The United Kingdom is one of 80 countries classified “16–17” for the age of consent — 43% of the 188 with data.
Source
- Taken from
- Wikipedia: Age of consent by country
- Last checked
- 15 September 2026
- How it was classified
- Read directly from the source’s own table, without interpretation.
Nearby countries
- Ireland
- 16–17 The age of consent is 17.
- Netherlands
- 16–17 The age of consent is 16.
- Belgium
- 16–17 The age of consent is 16.
- Luxembourg
- 16–17 The age of consent is 16.
- Denmark
- 14–15 The age of consent is 15.
- France
- 14–15 The age of consent is 15.
Other laws in United Kingdom
- Same-Sex Marriage
- Marriage legal
- Same-Sex Activity
- Legal
- Sex Work
- Legal & regulated
- Pornography
- Legal
- Divorce
- Legal
- Non-Binary Recognition
- Not recognized
- Same-Sex Adoption
- Joint adoption legal
- Incest Laws
- Criminal offense
- Marriage Age
- 16–17
Every law in the United Kingdom → · What is the age of consent around the world? →
A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.