As previously mentioned, the United States has the highest legal drinking age in the world besides a few states in India. Most countries allow a person to legally drink alcohol at the age of 18, including the countries of Spain, Russia, Mexico, Ireland, England, and Australia. Some countries like Italy, Greece, Germany, and Portugal allow people to legally consume certain alcoholic beverages at age 16. And some countries have no legal drinking age at all.
In the United States, the states are responsible for setting their own minimum drinking age. But every state has set their minimum drinking age at 21 years old, in order to be in compliance with the unfunded federal mandate of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. It is highly unlikely the US will ever go back to the years of prohibition, but there may come a time when ‘21’ is no longer the magic number.