Sex outside marriage has been ruled illegal in Indonesia after parliament approved a new criminal code that bans anyone in the country from having extramarital sex.

Sex outside marriage will now carry a jail term of up to a year under the new laws, which take effect in three years.

The raft of changes come after a rise in religious conservatism in the Muslim-majority country. The law applies to both locals and tourists and further criminalizes couples who live together, who could face up to six months in jail.

Rights groups consisting mainly of young people protested against the legislation outside parliament in Jakarta and It is expected the new laws will be challenged in court.

Sex before marriage was already banned prior to the approval of this new criminal code, but the law was often not enforced.

The old law defined adultery as sex between a married man and someone who was not his wife, while the new law bans all sex outside of marriage, including between unmarried couples. The sentencing for those caught has also been increased from nine months to a year.

For prosecutions to start a complaint must be filed by the children, parents or spouse of the accused couple.