Majority is the age at which a citizen fully acquires all rights and obligations: to marry, to dispose of his income and property, to be accountable for his actions before the law, to vote in elections and referendums. All this is included in the legal concept of legal capacity.
The age at which a person was recognized as an adult changed from era to era and was not always the same for men and women. For example, in medieval Europe, the age of marriage for men was 14 years, and for women - at 12. Currently, the age of majority varies from state to state.
Russia
In the Russian Empire, there was no single concept of majority, but there were state rights, and for entry into each right, its own age was determined. From the age of 15, a Russian citizen could testify in court, from 16 - to enter the service, from 17 - to dispose of property and conclude contracts with the participation of his trustee (it was possible to do this independently only from the age of 21). At the age of 18, a young man received the right to marry; for girls, the age of marriage came a little earlier - at 16. From the age of 21 it was possible to participate in the assembly of the nobility, and from the age of 25 - in the city elections, as well as to occupy various positions in the volost or village administration.
In modern Russia, the age of majority comes at the age of 18. From 14 to 18 years old, a person is in the status of a minor, which differs from that of a minor under 14 years of age. A minor citizen has a passport and is partially criminally liable. A minor girl in case of pregnancy can get married with the permission of the local authorities.
Other countries
There is an International Declaration, according to which a person who has reached the age of 18 ceases to be considered a child. In many countries, as in the Russian Federation, the age of majority corresponds to this age: Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden, Romania, Slovakia, Lithuania, Estonia, South Africa, Venezuela and other states.
In Cuba, Egypt, Honduras and Bahrain, the age of majority is 16 years, in the Faroe Islands - 14, in the DPRK - 17, in South Korea - 19, in Tunisia and Japan - 20. It is noteworthy that in Japan on the second Monday of January they arrange a holiday for all boys and girls who this year will be or have already turned 20 years old.
There are states where the age of majority is set in different parts of the country - for example, Great Britain: in England, the age of majority comes at 18 years old, and in Scotland - at 16. In most US states, the age of majority comes at 18 years old, but in Alabama, Wyoming and Nebraska - at 19, in Mississippi and New York at 21.
In Brazil and Malaysia, the age of majority is not the same as attaining the right to vote. In both of these states, citizens become adults at the age of 18, but in elections Brazilians vote at 16, and Malaysians at 21.
