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There are a number ofdependent territories of the United Kingdom throughout the world. Asdependencies, they are not part of the UK proper, but nor are they independent states. Each has its own distinct legally defined relationship with the UK, with themonarchy of the United Kingdom as head of state. The remainingCrown colonies of theBritish Empire were renamed "British Dependent Territories" from 1 January 1983 under theBritish Nationality Act 1981, and were renamed again on 26 February 2002 to "British Overseas Territories" by theBritish Overseas Territories Act 2002.[1] These territories fall into two broad categories:British Overseas Territories andCrown Dependencies.
These former parts of theBritish Empire are not part of the UK proper, but the British crown and parliament has full sovereignty over each. They have varying degrees of delegated internal self-governance. The UK counts a total of 14 such territories.[2] This includes the UK's view that its Antarctic claim is a dependency, though internationally its legal status is governed by theAntarctic Treaty.
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The Crown Dependencies are self-governing possessions of theBritish Crown with their own legislative assemblies. They were not part of the British Empire, but have a much older relationship as subjects of the English Crown.