Territory that does not possess full political independence as a sovereign state
This article is about external territories which have a greater degree of autonomy from their parent state and function asde facto independent political entities. For subnational administrative divisions which have some degree of autonomy under the national government, seeAutonomous administrative division.
Adependent territory,dependent area, ordependency (sometimes referred as anexternal territory) is aterritory that does not possess full politicalindependence orsovereignty as asovereign state and remains politically outside the controlling state's integral area.
A dependent territory is commonly distinguished from acountry subdivision by being considered not to be a constituent part of a sovereign state. An administrative subdivision, instead, is understood to be a division of a state proper. A dependent territory, conversely, often maintains a great degree of autonomy from its controlling state. Historically, most colonies were considered to be dependent territories. Not all autonomous entities are considered to be dependent territories.[1][failed verification] Most inhabited, dependent territories have their ownISO 3166 country codes.
Some political entities inhabit a special position guaranteed by an international treaty or another agreement, thereby creating a certain level of autonomy (e.g. a difference in immigration rules). Those entities are sometimes considered to be, or are at least grouped with, dependent territories,[2] but are officially considered by their governing states to be an integral part of those states.[2] Such an example isÅland, anautonomous region of Finland.
Two states in free association, one dependent territory, and one Antarctic claim in thelisting for New Zealand
One uninhabited territory and two Antarctic claims in thelisting for Norway
13 overseas territories (ten autonomous, two used primarily as military bases, and one uninhabited), three Crown dependencies, and one Antarctic claim in thelisting for the United Kingdom
13 unincorporated territories (five inhabited and eight uninhabited) and two claimed but uncontrolled territories in thelisting for the United States
Two self-governing territories with autonomy in internal affairs in thelisting for Denmark
One autonomous region governed according to an act and international treaties in thelisting for Finland
Five autonomous overseas collectivities, onesui generis collectivity, and two uninhabited overseas territories (one of which includes an Antarctic claim) in thelisting for France
One internal territory with limited sovereignty in thelisting for Norway
Aruba, a dependent territory of the Netherlands inthe CaribbeanDependent territories and their sovereign states. All territories are labeled according toISO 3166-1[note 1] or with numbers.[note 2] Coloured areas without labels are integral parts of their respective countries.Antarctica is shown as acondominium instead ofindividual claims.
Self-governing state in free association with New Zealand since 1965. Cook Islands' status is considered to be equivalent to independence for international law purposes, and the country exercises full sovereignty over its internal and external affairs.[5] Under the terms of the free association agreement, however, New Zealand retains some responsibility for the foreign relations and defence of the Cook Islands. These responsibilities confer no rights of control and are exercised only at the request of the Cook Islands Government. The government of New Zealand does not consider it appropriate for the Cook Islands to have a separate seat at the United Nations, due to its continued use of the right of Cook Islanders to haveNew Zealand citizenship.[6]
Self-governing state in free association with New Zealand since 1974. Niue's status is considered to be equivalent to independence for international law purposes, and the country exercises full sovereignty over its internal and external affairs.[5] Under the terms of the free association agreement, however, New Zealand retains some responsibility for the foreign relations and defence of Niue. These responsibilities confer no rights of control and are exercised only at the request of the Government of Niue. The government of New Zealand does not consider it appropriate for Niue to have a separate seat at the United Nations, due to its continued use of the right of Niueans to haveNew Zealand citizenship.[6]
This is New Zealand'sAntarctic claim. Unlike Tokelau and the associated states (Cook Islands and Niue), the Ross Dependency is, according to the New Zealand government, constitutionally part of New Zealand.[8]
Norway has one dependent territory and two Antarctic claims. Norway also possesses the inhabited islands ofSvalbard where Norwegian sovereignty is limited (see below).
TheUnited Kingdom has three "Crown Dependencies", thirteen "Overseas Territories" (ten autonomous, two used primarily as military bases, and one uninhabited), and one Antarctic claim.
Two sovereign base areas administered as a single British overseas territory by the Commander ofBritish Forces Cyprus, reporting to theMinistry of Defence. Permanent Cypriot population, as well as British military personnel and their families.
TheUnited States has 13 "unincorporated" dependent territories under its administration and two claimed territories outside its control.[13] The uninhabitedPalmyra Atoll is administered similarly to some of these territories, and is usually included on lists of U.S. overseas territories, but it is excluded from this list because it is classified in U.S. law as an incorporated territory.[14] TheU.S. Constitution does not apply in full to the insular areas.[15]
Unincorporated organized territory of the U.S. withCommonwealth status; federal funding administered by the Office of Insular Affairs of the Department of the Interior
Unincorporated organized territory of the U.S. Policy relations conducted by the Office of Insular Affairs of the Department of the Interior. Appears on theDepartment of the Interior
Administered byColombia. Claimed by the United States (under the Guano Islands Act) andJamaica. A claim byNicaragua was resolved in 2012 in favor of Colombia by theInternational Court of Justice, although the U.S. was not a party to that case and does not recognize the court's compulsory jurisdiction.[16]
Administered byColombia; site of a naval garrison. Claimed by the United States (since 1879 under the Guano Islands Act) andJamaica. A claim byNicaragua was resolved in 2012 in favor of Colombia by the International Court of Justice, although the United States was not a party to that case and does not recognize the court's compulsory jurisdiction.[16] A claim byHonduras was settled in a 1986 treaty over maritime boundaries with Colombia.[17]
The following entities are, according to the law of their state, integral parts of the state but exhibit many characteristics of dependent territories. This list is generally limited to entities that are either subject to an international treaty on their status, uninhabited, or have a unique level of autonomy and are largely self-governing in matters other than international affairs. It generally does not include entities with no unique autonomy, such as thefive overseas departments and regions (French Guiana,Guadeloupe,Martinique,Mayotte, andRéunion) of France; theBES islands (Bonaire,Sint Eustatius, andSaba) of the Netherlands;Jan Mayen of Norway; andPalmyra Atoll of the United States.
Australia has six external territories in its administration and one Antarctic claim.
Debate remains as to whether the external territories are integral parts of Australia,[citation needed] due to their not being part of Australia in 1901, when its constituent states federated (with the exception of theCoral Sea Islands, which was a part ofQueensland).[18] Norfolk Island was self-governing from 1979 to 2016.[19] The external territories are often grouped separately from Australia proper for statistical purposes.[citation needed]
ThePeople's Republic of China (PRC) has two special administrative regions (SARs) that are governed according to theconstitution and respective basic laws. The SARs greatly differ fromMainland China in administrative, economic, legislative, and judicial terms including by currency,left-hand versus right-hand traffic, official languages, and immigration control. Although the PRC does claim sovereignty overTaiwan (governed by theRepublic of China), it is not listed here as the PRC government does not havede facto control of the territory.
FormerPortuguese colony. Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China since 1999 according to theSino-Portuguese Joint Declaration, an international treaty registered with the United Nations. TheMacao Basic Law provides for the territory to enjoy a high degree of autonomy per the "one country, two systems" model under the central government of China. Although the territory is not part of mainland China, it is officially considered an integral part of the People's Republic of China.
Autonomous since 1948.[24] A constituent part of the Kingdom of Denmark, but not of theEuropean Union. Although it is not part of metropolitanDenmark, it is officially considered an integral part of theKingdom of Denmark.
Autonomous since 1979.[24] A constituent part of the Kingdom of Denmark, but withdrew from theEuropean Economic Community in 1985. Although it is not part of metropolitanDenmark, it is officially considered an integral part of theKingdom of Denmark.
Åland is governed according to theAct on the Autonomy of Åland and international treaties. These laws guarantee the islands' autonomy in Finland, which has ultimate sovereignty over them, as well as a demilitarised status.
France has overseas six autonomous collectivities and two uninhabited territories (one of which includes an Antarctic claim). This does not include its "standard"overseas regions (which are also overseasdepartments) ofFrench Guiana,Guadeloupe,Martinique,Mayotte, andRéunion. Although also located overseas, they have the same status as the regions ofmetropolitan France. Nonetheless, all of France's overseas territory is considered an integral part of theFrench Republic.
Defined as a "country" ("land") within the Kingdom by theStatute of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Aruba obtained full autonomy in internal affairs upon separation from theNetherlands Antilles in 1986. Part of the Kingdom but not in Europe, itscitizenship nonetheless includes status as citizens of the European Union (the Kingdom government coincides almost exactly with theGovernment of the Netherlands, and is responsible for defence, foreign affairs, and nationality law).
Defined as a "country" ("land") within the Kingdom by the Statute of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Curaçao and Sint Maarten were part of the Netherlands Antilles until it was dissolved in October 2010. Part of the Kingdom but not in Europe, their citizenship nonetheless includes status as citizens of the European Union (the Kingdom government coincides almost exactly with the Government of the Netherlands, and is responsible for defence, foreign affairs, and nationality law).
Norway has, in the Arctic, one inhabited archipelago with restrictions placed on Norwegian sovereignty —Svalbard.[31][32] Unlike the country's dependent territory (Bouvet Island) and Antarctic claims (see above), Svalbard is a part of the Kingdom of Norway.[33] Norway also has one uninhabited remote archipelago located in the Arctic,Jan Mayen, but it is excluded in this list as the island is directly administered by theNordland County Municipality and none of the considerations established for Svalbard Treaty are attributed to it.
This Arctic archipelago is the northernmost permanent civilian settlement in the world. Not incorporated into any county, it is administered by agovernor appointed by the Norwegian government. Since 2002, its main settlement ofLongyearbyen haselected a local government. Other settlements include the Russian mining community ofBarentsburg, the research station ofNy-Ålesund, and the mining outpost ofSveagruva. TheSvalbard Treaty of 1920 recognises Norwegian sovereignty (administered since 1925 as a sovereign part of the Kingdom of Norway) but established Svalbard as afree economic zone[31] and ademilitarised zone.
ThreeCrown Dependencies are in a form of association with the United Kingdom. They are independently administrated jurisdictions, although theBritish Government is solely responsible for defence and international representation and has ultimate responsibility for ensuring good government. They do not have diplomatic recognition as independent states, but neither are they integrated into the UK. TheUK Parliament retains the ability to legislate for the crown dependencies even without the agreement of their legislatures. No crown dependency has representation in the UK Parliament.
Although they areBritish Overseas Territories,Bermuda andGibraltar have similar relationships to the UK as do the Crown Dependencies. While the United Kingdom is officially responsible for their defence and international representation, these jurisdictions maintain their own militaries and have been granted limited diplomatic powers, in addition to having internal self-government.
Puerto Rico (since 1952) and theNorthern Mariana Islands (since 1986) are non-independent states freely associated with the United States. The mutually negotiated Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) in Political Union with the United States was approved in 1976. The covenant was fully implemented on November 3, 1986, under Presidential Proclamation no. 5564, which conferredU.S. citizenship on legally qualified CNMI residents.[34] Under theConstitution of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico is described as a Commonwealth and Puerto Ricans have a degree ofadministrative autonomy similar to that of a citizen of aU.S. state. Puerto Ricans "were collectively madeU.S. citizens" in 1917, as a result of theJones–Shafroth Act.[35][36] The commonly used name in Spanish of theCommonwealth of Puerto Rico,Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, literally "Associated Free State of Puerto Rico", which sounds similar to "free association" particularly when loosely used in Spanish, is sometimes erroneously interpreted to mean that Puerto Rico's relationship with the United States is based on aCompact of Free Association and at other times is erroneously held to mean that Puerto Rico's relationship with the U.S. is based on anInterstate compact. This is a constant source of ambiguity and confusion when trying to define, understand, and explain Puerto Rico's political relationship with the United States. For various reasonsPuerto Rico's political status differs from that of the Pacific Islands that entered into Compacts of Free Association with the United States. As sovereign states, these islands have the full right to conduct their foreign relations, while the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has territorial status subject to U.S. congressional authority under the Constitution's Territory Clause, "to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory… belonging to the United States."[37] Puerto Rico does not have the right to unilaterally declare independence, and at the last referendum (1998), the narrow majority voted for "none of the above", which was a formally undefined alternative used by commonwealth supporters to express their desire for an "enhanced commonwealth" option.[37]
This kind of relationship can also be found in theKingdom of the Netherlands, which is termed afederacy. The Europeancontinental part is organised like a unitary state. However, the status of its "constituent countries" in the Caribbean (Aruba,Curaçao, andSint Maarten) can be considered akin to dependencies[38][39] or "associated non-independent states."
TheKingdom of Denmark also operates similarly, akin to another federacy. TheFaroe Islands andGreenland are two self-governing territories or regions within the Kingdom. The relationship between Denmark proper and these two territories is semi-officially termed theRigsfællesskabet ("Unity of the Realm").
^Midway Atoll andWake Island have a few people, but these territories are not permanently inhabited.
^Willis Island is permanently staffed and occupied by a small team of meteorologists.
^The Antarctic claim ofAdélie Land (a district of theTAAF)[28] is not included within the ISO 3166 designation. The ISO designates the remainder of the TAAF the "French Southern Territories".[29]
^abcd"Territories of Australia". The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications. 2020-02-28. Retrieved2020-04-25.The Australian Government, through the department, administers the Indian Ocean Territories of Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Norfolk Island, the Jervis Bay Territory, the Ashmore and Cartier Islands, and the Coral Sea Islands. The department also manages the Government's interests in the Australian Capital Territory, and the Northern Territory.
^Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty, U.S. Department of State. "Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius now fall under the direct administration of the Netherlands". Retrieved 17 June 2016.
^Skagestad, Odd Gunnar (2004). "The Scope for Norwegian Commitments Related to International Research on Jan Mayen Island". In Skreslet, Stig (ed.).Jan Mayen Island in Scientific Focus(PDF). Springer Netherlands. p. 272.ISBN978-1-4020-2955-4. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 4 January 2014. Retrieved15 November 2020.
^The Louisiana Purchase and American Expansion: 1803–1898. By Sanford Levinson and Bartholomew H. Sparrow. New York: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers. 2005. Page 166, 178. "U.S. citizenship was extended to residents of Puerto Rico under the Jones Act, chap. 190, 39 Stat. 951 (1971) (codified at 48 U.S.C. § 731 (1987)")
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