placed under the guardianship of adults known as "Curatores" whose permission was needed to engage in formal acts and sign contracts until the youth reached turned 30. This was later lowered down to 25, and eventually 21 became the common age of majority. In some places historically, 23 or 27 could have also been this age. It has also gone down to as low as 14 or 15 years of age. They are somewhat arbitrarily chosen, but have rarely been designated outside of this approximate age range. It has not always been 18 or 21 but rather a variety of ages. In Medieval England, the age of majority was 15 but further raised to 21. Since 2015, some countries have started to lower the voting age to 16. Some countries, like England and Wales, are even considering lowering the age of majority to 16, similar to how it already is in Cuba. The main arguments for lowering is that, on average, young people are much more educated currently (both because of better individual educational outcomes and being raised by more educated parents) than in the past (the same argument made in the 1970s when most countries lowered the age of majority from 21 to 18, which is the age still used presently for most countries). In addition, compared to the past, nowadays information is much more easily accessible as a result of the invention of the Internet, which can now be accessed through both a computer and also a smartphone. Civil law In many countries minors can be emancipated: depending on jurisdiction, this may happen through acts such as marriage, attaining economic self-sufficiency, obtaining an educational degree or diploma, or participating in a form of military service. In the United States, all states have some form of emancipation of minors. The following list the age of majority in countries (or administrative divisions) in the order of lowest to highest: Up to age 15 Iran Indonesia Yemen Age 16 Cambodia Cuba Myanmar Vietnam Age 17 North Korea Timor-Leste Age 18 Age 19 Algeria Canada Nova Scotia New Brunswick British Columbia Newfoundland and Labrador Northwest Territories Yukon Nunavut South Korea United States Alabama Nebraska Age 20 New Zealand Thailand Age 21 and above Religious law Religions have their own rules as to the age of maturity, when a child is regarded to be an adult, at least for ritual purposes: Islam: Males