The age of consent for sex outside of marriage varies by jurisdiction across Europe. The age of consent – by which we mean the age from which one is deemed able to consent to having sex with anyone else of consenting age or above – varies between 14 and 18. Most of the countries set their ages in the range of 14 to 16; only four countries set an unrestricted age of consent higher than 16: Cyprus (17), the Republic of Ireland (17), Turkey (18), and the Vatican City (18). Some countries have close-in-age exceptions, enabling partners close in age, one or both of whom may be below the standard unrestricted age of consent, to legally consent to engage in sexual acts with each other.

The highlighted age is that from which a young person can lawfully engage in a non-commercial sexual act with an older person, regardless of their age difference. If a participant in a sexual act is under 18 but above the age of consent then sexual acts with another person who is at or over the age of consent may still be illegal if the older participant is in a position of authority over the younger, as in the case of a teacher and their student or a police officer and a civilian. Sexual acts may not be legal if those engaging are blood relatives, regardless of age, though the legality of incest varies between European countries.

International obligations Neither the European Union nor the Council of Europe have suggested any specific age of consent, and there has not been any effort so far to standardise the age across member states. However, most countries in Europe now have binding legal obligations in regard to the sexual abuse of children under 18. The Lanzarote Convention, which was ratified, as of 2021, by all member states of the Council of Europe, and which came into effect in 1 July 2010, obliges the countries that ratify it to criminalise certain acts concerning children under 18, such as the involvement of such children in prostitution and pornography. Other acts that must be criminalised include:

The age of consent is called "the legal age for sexual activities" and must be chosen by states at the age they see fit. (No specific age is recommended.) As of February 2021, the convention has been ratified by all states of the Council of Europe. In the European Union (EU 27), there is a directive regarding the sexual abuse of children under 18, known as Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography.

Albania Since 2001, the age of consent in Albania is 14, regardless of gender and sexual orientation. In the case of a girl, however, sex is illegal if she is over 14 but has not reached "sexual maturity", as provided by article 100 of the criminal code.

Andorra The age of consent in Andorra is 16. On July 15, 2026, the General Council increased the age of consent from 14 to 16, and it was sanctioned and published in the BOPA on August 13. It is also illegalregardless of agefor a person occupying a position of authority or superiority over a person to engage in sexual activity with them, or when it involves abuse of trust, or a situation of need or dependence. The penalty is more severe when the subject is below the age of 18. Sexual acts with anyone younger than 16 is punishable with imprisonment between six months and four years. If the sexual act involved sexual penetration, then the punishment is imprisonment between four and ten years.

The age of consent of Andorra, its restrictions and its punishments are described in Article 162 and 163 of the Penal Code.

Armenia The age of consent in Armenia is 16.

Austria The general age of consent in Austria is 14, as specified by § 206 of the penal code. (The term unmündig is specified in § 74 of the penal code.) § 206 (4) defines a close-in-age exception, lowering the age of consent to 13 if the other party is not more than 3 years older and some additional conditions are met. § 207 (4) increases this exception to 4 years, with a minimum age of 12, for sexual acts not amounting to sexual intercourse or other acts "that can be equated with sexual intercourse" - essentially non-penetrative sexual contact. It is subject to the same additional conditions of § 206 (for example, that the act does not cause serious bodily harm).

However, § 207b of the penal code contains an exception to the general age of consent: if one of the partners is younger than 16 years of age and "not sufficiently mature to understand the significance of the act", then the act is punishable.

The offence "initiating sexual contacts with minors under 14 through the use of computer system" is punishable by two years' imprisonment (§ 208a Penal Code).

History

The Austrian Criminal Code previously specified 18 as the age of consent for male homosexual sex in which the other partner was aged 14 to 18, while no equivalent provision existed for heterosexual sexual conduct or in regards to female homosexuality; this was Section 209 of the Criminal Code. In November 1996, an amendment was put before the Austrian Parliament to remove Section 209; the vote ended in a draw, and the amendment failed to pass. In July 1998, a similar amendment was put forward; it was voted down by the conservative majority. Section 209 came into force when homosexuality between males became legal in 1971. On 24 June 2002, the Austrian Constitutional Court ruled that Section 209 was unconstitutional. The Section was later repealed on 14 August 2002. On 9 January 2003, the European Court of Human Rights held, in L & V v Austria, that Section 209 violated Articles 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Azerbaijan The age of consent in Azerbaijan is 16.

Belarus The age of consent in Belarus is 16, according to the Belarus Criminal Code.

Belgium The age of consent in Belgium is 16, as specified by Article 133 of the . There is a close-in-age exemption of three years’ age difference for sexual acts where at least one of the partners is 14 or 15.

History The Belgian Criminal Code previously specified an age of consent of 18 for homosexual sex. This provisionArticle 372biswas added in 1965 and repealed in 1985.

Bosnia and Herzegovina The age of consent is 15 since September 2025, when it raised from 14. Bulgaria The age of consent in Bulgaria is 16.

Croatia The age of consent for all sexual conduct in Croatia under the Criminal Code in force since 1 January 2013 is 15, regardless of gender and/or sexual orientation, and is regulated by Article 158

(1) Whoever performs sexual intercourse with a child under fifteen years of age or induces a child to commit sexual intercourse with a third person, shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of three to twelve years.

(2) Whoever commits a lewd act with a child under fifteen years of age or induces a child to commit a lewd act on itself or with a third person, shall be punished by imprisonment for a term between one and eight years. However, there is a close-in-age exemption of three years.

History Before the year 2013, the legal age of consent in Croatia was 14. Homosexual acts were illegal until 1977, when Croatia, then as a Yugoslav Federal Republic, changed its Penal Code. The age of consent was equalised in 1998.

Cyprus The age of consent for all sexual conduct in Cyprus under the 2002 Criminal Code is 17, regardless of sexual orientation or gender.

History Until 1998, homosexual acts between men were entirely forbidden under Section 171 (1929). In 1989, Alecos Modinos, president of the Cypriot Gay Liberation Movement, brought a case to the European Court of Human Rights. In 1993, the Court held that the prohibition of homosexual acts was a violation of Article 8. In January 1995, the Cypriot Government introduced a Bill in the Cypriot Parliament that would have abolished the ban. Strong opposition from the Eastern Orthodox Church meant the Bill stalled when referred to the Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee. The European Commission repeated its warning that Cyprus must follow the Court's ruling. In May 1997, again a government measure to repeal the ban failed because of the strength of the opposition. In April 1998, the Council of Europe set a deadline for compliance of 29 May 1998 and on 21 May 1998, the House of Representatives voted 36 to 8 in favour of legalising homosexual acts. However, it was set at 18 while heterosexual acts remained at 16.

In 2002, under pressure from the EU, the parliament finally ended the disparate provisions and changed the age of consent to 17 for both heterosexual and homosexual acts, under the revised Criminal Code.

Akrotiri and Dhekelia For both of these Sovereign Base Areas (British military enclaves) on the island of Cyprus, the age of consent is 16.

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus (areas of the Republic of Cyprus that are occupied by Turkey after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus) has an age of consent of 16 as designated in the Penal Code (Ceza Yasası, Art. 153 & 154).

Article 153 criminalizes penetrative sexual acts with anyone under 16, punishable by up to life imprisonment. Article 154 separately criminalizes non-penetrative sexual contact with a child under 16 by a person over 18, punishable by up to 6 years. Both articles include a close-in-age exception for offenders under 18: for non-penetrative contact (Art. 154), no offense is committed if the age gap is 2 years or less; for penetrative acts (Art. 153), the same age gap reduces the charge to a minor offense (up to 2 years or a fine) rather than clearing it entirely. These exceptions don't apply if force or threats were used.

History Prior to 2014, sodomy was illegal, the age of consent only applied to females and sexual contact with a female between the ages of 13 and 16 was a misdemeanor. As of 2014, the age of consent is 16 for both males and females, sexual contact with any child under 16 regardless of gender is a felony and the ban on sodomy is lifted, thereby legalising homosexual sex.

Czech Republic The age of sexual consent in the Czech Republic is 15.

Additionally, the section of the Czech penal code 40/2009 Sb. covering "crimes against family and children" contains § 202 which criminalises a "seduction to sexual intercourse" of any persons under 18 years by any promise or provision of payment, benefit, privilege or profit, for sexual intercourse, masturbation, exposure or similar behaviour. This regulation was added to the old Czechoslovak penal code (140/1961 Sb.) adopted by the Czech Republic as § 217a by the amendment Czech act No. 218/2003 Sb. effective from 2004 January 1. This also covers cases when there is any kind of trust or dependence, for example, teacher-student, employer-employee.

History