<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs to be updated . Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information . (April 2018) </Td> </Tr> <P> The legal drinking age is the age at which a person can legally consume alcoholic beverages . These laws cover a wide range of issues and behaviors, addressing when and where alcohol can be consumed . The minimum age alcohol can be legally consumed can be different from the age when it can be purchased in some countries . These laws vary between different countries and many laws have exemptions or special circumstances . Most laws apply only to drinking alcohol in public places, with alcohol consumption in the home being mostly unregulated (an exception being the UK, which has a minimum legal age of five for supervised consumption in private places). Some countries also have different age limits for different types of alcoholic drinks . </P> <P> Kazakhstan, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Paraguay, Solomon Islands, India (certain states), the United States (except U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico), Yemen (Aden and Sana'a), Japan, Iceland, Canada (certain Provinces and Territories), and South Korea have the highest set drinking ages; however, some of these countries do not have off - premises drinking limits . Austria, Antigua and Barbuda, Belgium, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cuba, Ethiopia, Gibraltar, Luxembourg and Nicaragua have the lowest set drinking ages . </P> <P> The most commonly known reason for the law behind the legal drinking age is the effect on the brain in adolescents . because the brain is still maturing, alcohol can have a negative effect on the memory and long - term thinking . Alongside that, it can cause liver failure, and create a hormone imbalance in teens due to the constant changes and maturing of hormones during puberty . </P>

Is america the only country with a drinking age of 21