The government in Norway has proposed extending the right of its citizens to change their legal gender to children.

Under the proposal, children aged seven and up would be allowed to choose which gender to be legally recognised by, as long as they had parental support.

Those aged 16 and above would be allowed to legally change their gender.

If accepted, Norway’s legal protections would cover the some of the youngest trans people in the world.

“Today’s rules in this area are unacceptable and have been unchanged for almost 60 years,” Health Minister Bent Hoie said in a statement on the plan, to be debated by experts before any formal bill goes to parliament.

“The proposal is historic in that it will no longer be the health service but the individual who decides if he or she has changed sex,” he said.

The changes affect social security numbers, passports and other legal documentation.

Those wishing to undergo gender reassignment surgery would still need to wait until they are 18-years-old.