Legal Ages of Consent by Country in Africa

What is the legal Age of Consent in countries in Africa?

In Africa, the age of consent is the legal age at which an individual is considered mature enough to consent to sex. Sexual relations with someone under the Age of Consent are considered statutory rape, and can result in severe punishment under local laws.

The lowest age of consent in Africa is open-ended, due to marriage laws, and the highest age of consent in Africa is 18. For more information and a map, see age of consent laws around the world. Click on any country in the table below for details on the local age of consent.

	Continent	Age Of Consent	Close-In-Age Exemption
Libya	Africa	*Must be married*	No
Sudan	Africa	*Must be married*	No
Nigeria	Africa	11	No
Angola	Africa	12	No
Niger	Africa	13	No
Comoros	Africa	13	No
Burkina Faso	Africa	13	No
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic	Africa	13	No
Chad	Africa	14	No
Malawi	Africa	14	No
Mauritius	Africa	14	No
Cape Verde	Africa	14	No
Madagascar	Africa	14	No
Sao Tome and Principe	Africa	14	No
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Africa	14	No
Guinea	Africa	15	No
Togo	Africa	16	No
Ghana	Africa	16	No
Zambia	Africa	16	No
Algeria	Africa	16	No
Lesotho	Africa	16	No
Namibia	Africa	16	No
Senegal	Africa	16	No
Botswana	Africa	16	No
Cameroon	Africa	16	No
Zimbabwe	Africa	16	No
Swaziland	Africa	16	No
Mauritania	Africa	16	No
South Africa	Africa	16	No
Guinea Bissau	Africa	16	No
Mali	Africa	18	No
Benin	Africa	18	No
Egypt	Africa	18	No
Gabon	Africa	18	No
Kenya	Africa	18	No
Gambia	Africa	18	No
Rwanda	Africa	18	No
Uganda	Africa	18	No
Burundi	Africa	18	No
Eritrea	Africa	18	No
Liberia	Africa	18	No
Somalia	Africa	18	No
Tunisia	Africa	18	No
Djibouti	Africa	18	No
Ethiopia	Africa	18	No
Tanzania	Africa	18	No
Seychelles	Africa	18	No
Ivory Coast	Africa	18	No
South Sudan	Africa	18	No
Sierra Leone	Africa	18	No
Equatorial Guinea	Africa	18	No
Central African Verde	Africa	18	No
Republic of the Congo	Africa	18	No

View Age of Consent Laws Worldwide