The legal age of consent for sexual activity varies by jurisdiction across Asia. The specific activity engaged in or the gender of participants can also be relevant factors. Below is a discussion of the various laws dealing with this subject. The highlighted age refers to an age at or above which an individual can engage in unfettered sexual relations with another who is also at or above that age. Other variables, such as homosexual relations or close in age exceptions, may exist, and are noted when relevant.
The unrestricted age of consent is the legal age from which one is deemed able to consent to having sex with anyone else at or above the age of consent, or the marriageable age if they must be married.
Summary
All jurisdictions in Asia per List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Asia:
Definitions
Table
+ Ages of consent by country, sex, sex difference, age difference, and authority between partners. Countries and states Must be married Yes — — Puberty — No — — 16 No — — 16 No 18 (if married) 16 (if married) — — 21 No — — 16 — No — — 18 Yes — — 16 — No — — 15 No — — 14 Yes — — 18 — No — — 16 No — 16 21 No — — 18 No — — 18 Yes — — 15 13 — No — — 15 — No 14 — 16 No 13 16 18 No — — 18 No — — 16 Yes — — 17 15 — No — — 16 No — — 15 No — — 18 No — 14 18 Yes (for Muslims) No (for Non-Muslims) — 16 — 18 — Yes — 16 — 18 — No — — 16 No — 15 (if married) — 16 — No — — 18 No — — 15 Yes — — 18 — Yes — — 18 16 (18 in Sindh and the Punjab) — No 13 16 18 Yes — — 18 16 — Yes — — 18 — No — 16 18 No — — 16 No — — 16 — No — — 15 — No — — 16 Article 227, 227–1, 229–1, No — — 16 No — 15 18 No — 14 16 (WIPO Lex) No — — 18 No — — 16 — Yes — — 18 — No — — 16 — No — — 16 No — — 16 Yes — — 15 —
Afghanistan Sexual activity outside marriage is illegal in Afghanistan. According to the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, marriage is allowed at puberty.
Armenia The age of consent in Armenia is 16.
"Article 141. Sexual acts with a person under 16.
Sexual intercourse or other sexual acts with a person obviously under 16, by a person who reached 18 years of age, in the absence of elements of crime envisaged in Articles 138, 139 or 140 of this Code, is punished with correctional labor for the term of up to 2 years, or with imprisonment for the term of up to 2 years."
Azerbaijan The age of consent in Azerbaijan is 16.
"Article 152
Sexual intercourse with the person below the age of 16 years, as well as the same offences linked with satisfaction of sexual passion in perverted forms shall be punished by imprisonment up to 3 years."
Bahrain Consensual sex outside of marriage is legally permissible for those aged 21 and above, regardless of gender and/or sexual orientation. If a married individual has sex with somebody they are not married to, the person they are married to is given the liberty, by the criminal procedure code, to file for an 'adultery' charge if they wanted to. They are also given the liberty to drop off the charge after filing it if they wanted to. However, the mentioned options would not be available after three months are passed from when the person learned about the adultery. The marriage of course should be recognized by the government for the mentioned options to be provided.
The marriageable age is 16 years for females, and 18 for males. Before this age, marriage requires authorization from the Shariah Court of the State of Bahrain. The minimum age to marry without permission from the girl's father or legal guardian is 18 years.
Rape is punished by imprisonment. Since 1986, the penalty is either life imprisonment or possibly the death penalty for victims under 16. Non-consent is assumed for unmarried women under 14. According to article 349 of the updated penal code, the death penalty for the rapist is eligible only if the rape causes death for the sexually assaulted female.
The law presumes non-consent of male victims less than 14 too. There is a prison sentence (maximum 10 years) for male victims under 16 (article 346) while article 347 gives an unspecified prison sentence with consenting male victims under 21.
Bangladesh According to section 9 (1) of the Women and Child Abuse Prevention Act, 2003, it is defined as rape to have sexual intercourse with a woman with or without her consent, when she is under 14 years of age.
Article 375 specifies that “A man is said to commit "rape" who except in the case hereinafter excepted, has sexual intercourse with a woman With or without her consent, when she is under fourteen years of age. (Exception) Sexual intercourse by a man with his wife, the wife not being under thirteen years of age, is not rape.
Bhutan The age of consent in Bhutan is 18 regardless of gender or sexual orientation, according to Article 183 of the Penal Code of Bhutan.
Brunei Any kind of sexual activity outside of a heterosexual marriage is illegal in Brunei. The minimum age for marriage is 16.
Article 2 of this Act determines the offence as follows: Any person who has or attempts to have carnal knowledge (sexual intercourse) of a girl under the age of sixteen (16) years except by way of marriage, shall be guilty of an offense: Penalty, imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than 2 years and not more than 7 years and to whipping not exceeding 24 strokes of the rattan in the case of an adult or 12 strokes of the rattan in the case of a youthful offender.
Cambodia The age of consent in Cambodia is 15 regardless of gender or sexual orientation. The age of consent in this country is determined by Article 8, of Chapter 4 (Debauchery) of the Law on Suppression of the Kidnapping, Trafficking, and Exploitation of Human Beings, which has been specifically enacted to prohibit sex with children under 15. The law prohibits "debauchery" with a child under 15, and this term (the original Cambodian word is has been interpreted by courts to forbid any form of sexual conduct (both consensual and non-consensual; both 'ordinary' sex and paid sex) with a child under 15. This is the main legal tool used to prosecute foreigners engaging in child sex tourism in Cambodia.
Article 8 of the 'Law on Suppression of the Kidnapping, Trafficking, and Exploitation of Human Beings' states, "Any person who commits acts of debauchery involving a minor below 15 years old, even if there is consent from the concerned minor, or even if the person has bought such minor from someone else or from a pimp, shall be punished by ten (10) to twenty (20) years in prison. In case of repeat offenses, the maximum punishment term shall be applied."
Mainland China In Mainland China, the age of consent for sexual activity is 14 years, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. (). "According to the law, the minimum age of consensual sex is 14." Chinese law defines statutory rape as having sex with a girl who is less than fourteen years of age. A five-year prison sentence and fine may result if the girl under 14 years of age was acting as a prostitute. In August 2015, the law concerning underage prostitutes was repealed. The Statutory rape law now applies to underage prostitution as well. Persons with Special Duties towards minor females who have attained the full age of 14 shall be held accountable for rape if they compel the victim engaging in sexual relations with them by taking advantage of their dominant positions or the helpless situations of the victim.
In 2020, there was a proposal to raise the age of consent in the wake of a scandal in the city of Yantai.
In 2021, there was a proposal to criminalize teachers having intercourse with students in primary and junior high levels.
As of 2026, neither proposal has been enacted.
East Timor The age of consent in East Timor is 14 regardless of gender or sexual orientation, per Article 177. However, sex acts with an adolescent aged above 14 but under 16 years of age are illegal if an adult practices them with the adolescent by "taking advantage of the inexperience" of that adolescent. (Article 178).
Article 177. Sexual abuse of a minor: Any person who practices vaginal, anal or oral coitus with a minor aged less than 14 years is punishable with 5 to 20 years' imprisonment. Any person who practices any act of sexual relief with a minor aged less than 14 years is punishable with 5 to 15 years' imprisonment.
Article 178. Sexual acts with an adolescent: Any person who, being an adult and apart from situations provided in this section, practices any relevant sexual act with a minor aged between 14 and 16 years, taking advantage of the inexperience of the same, is punishable with up to 5 years' imprisonment.
Georgia The age of consent in Georgia is 16 as per Article 140 and 141 of the Georgian Penal Code.
Hong Kong In Hong Kong the age of consent for sexual activity is 16 regardless of gender or sexual orientation. However, the age of consent for a female receiving anal sex is 21.
Under s.124 of the Crimes Ordinance (Cap.200), a man who has unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 16 shall be liable to imprisonment for 5 years. Under s.123 of the Crimes Ordinance, a man who has unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 13 shall be liable to imprisonment for life.
Under s.122 of the Crimes Ordinance, a person under the age of 16 cannot in law give any consent which would prevent an act being an assault for the purposes of indecent assault. Hence, a woman who has sexual activity with a boy or a girl under 16 will be prosecuted under this section.
Under s.127 of the Crimes Ordinance, a person who takes an unmarried girl under the age of 18 out of the possession of her parent or guardian against the will of the parent or guardian with the intention that she shall have unlawful sexual intercourse with men or with a particular man shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for 7 years."
The previous position regarding homosexual couples is contained in s.118C which provides that a man who commits or suffers to commit buggery with a man under the age of 21 is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for life. However, this section was struck down as unconstitutional in Leung TC William Roy v Secretary for Justice. Hence, the age of consent between two males have been effectively equalized with that between a male and a female, which is 16.
Prior to 2012 there was a presumption that a male minor under 14 could not consent to sexual intercourse under any circumstances. The law was changed after a 13-year-old boy attacked a 5-year-old girl at a Chai Wan hospital ward; the prosecution was unable to convict him of rape, instead only able to do so for indecent assault. In 2015 an 11-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy were arrested after they were found having sex with an 11-year-old girl. Under the new laws they have the possibility of having the maximum sentence of life in prison.
India India's age of consent for sex is set at 18 years under the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, regardless of gender.
In 1892, the marital rape and subsequent death of a 10-year-old girl, Phulmoni Dasi, caused the age of consent to be raised from 10 to 12. In 1949, it was raised to 16 after agitation from women's groups about the adverse effect of early pregnancy. On 3 April 2014 the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 came into effect, which raised the legal permissible age for sexual consent from 16 to 18. Although the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 initially sought to lower the age to 16, it was set at 18 due to political pressure from conservative parties. Section 375 reads: A man is said to commit "rape" if he ... Sixthly – With or without her consent, when she is under eighteen years of age.
Legal action on marital rape