A dependent territory, dependent area or dependency is a territory that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a State.

There are varying degrees and forms of dependence, commonly distinguished from other subnational entities in that they are not considered to be part of the motherland or mainland of the governing State. In most cases they also represent a different order of separation. A subnational entity typically represents a division of the State proper, while a dependent territory might be an overseas territory that enjoys a greater degree of autonomy. For instance, many of them have more or less separate legal systems from the governing States. Varies among different legal and constitutional traditions, these territories may or may not be considered part of the States.

AUS

CHI

DAN

FRA

NED

NZL

NOR

GBR

USA

World map of dependent territories

The areas separately referred to as non-independent are territories that are disputed, are occupied, have a government in exile or have a non-negligible independence movement.

Lists of dependent territories

Currently there are 59 dependencies on this list, not including those listed as under China. Out of the list below, Australian, British and New Zealand territories are part of the Commonwealth realm - their governing States are in personal union under the same British monarch. All claims south of 60 degrees south (in Antarctica) are not recognised or are disputed. They are italicised. Uninhabited territories or territories with no permanent population are marked with hash keys/number symbols (#).

The list includes several territories that are not included in the list of non-self-governing territories [1] listed by the General Assembly of the United Nations (which also includes Western Sahara, since 1990, the General Assembly reaffirmed that the question of Western Sahara was a question of decolonization which remained to be completed by the people of Western Sahara).

A number of political entities have a special position recognized by international treaty or agreement (i.e. Åland in Finland, Hong Kong & Macau in the Peoples Republic of China, and Svalbard in Norway). These are not dependent territories in the strict sense of the meaning, but have in some way a similar position. See List of special entities recognized by international treaty or agreement for more information.

Australia

See also: States and territories of Australia

External territory	Administration
Ashmore and Cartier Islands #	From Canberra by the Attorney-General's Department.[2]
Australian Antarctic Territory #	From Canberra by the Australian Antarctic Division of the Department of the Environment and Heritage.
Christmas Island	From Canberra by the Attorney-General's Department.[2]
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Coral Sea Islands #
Heard Island and McDonald Islands #	From Canberra by the Australian Antarctic Division of the Department of the Environment and Heritage.
Norfolk Island	Commonwealth responsibilities administered from Canberra through the Attorney-General's Department.[2]

Denmark

Division	Administration
Faroe Islands	Self-governing overseas administrative division since 1948. Part of the Kingdom of Denmark but not of the European Union.
Greenland	Self-governing overseas administrative division since 1979. Part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Left the European Union in 1986.

France

See also: Overseas departments and territories of France

The Overseas regions of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Réunion are integral parts of the French Republic, and are therefore not dependencies.

Territory	Administration
Clipperton Island#	Atoll administered by the Minister for Overseas Territories. No permanent population.
French Polynesia	Overseas collectivity since 2003; Overseas country since 2004.
French Southern and Antarctic Lands #	Overseas territory since 1955, administered from Paris by an Administrateur Superieur (since May 2000, François Garde assisted by Secretary General Jean-Yves Hermoso). Includes Île Amsterdam, Île Saint-Paul, Îles Crozet and the Îles Kerguelen in the southern Indian Ocean, five islands in the Mozambique Channel and Indian Ocean, plus Adélie Land, the French-claimed sector of Antarctica. No permanent population.
Mayotte	Departmental collectivity since 2001; overseas collectivity since 2003.
New Caledonia	"Sui generis" collectivity since 1999; appears on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.
Saint Barthélemy	Overseas collectivity since 2007.
Saint Martin	Overseas collectivity since 2007.
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	Territorial collectivity since 1985; overseas collectivity since 2003.
Wallis and Futuna	Overseas territory since 1961; overseas collectivity since 2003.

Netherlands

See also: Kingdom of the Netherlands

Country	Administration
Aruba	Full autonomy in internal affairs obtained upon separation from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986; Government of the Netherlands responsible for defense and foreign affairs. Part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands but not of the European Union.
Netherlands Antilles	Full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 1954; Government of the Netherlands responsible for defense and foreign affairs. Part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but not of the European Union. The Netherlands Antilles will be dissolved on 15 December 2008.  Curaçao and  Sint Maarten will become autonomous regions in their own right.  Bonaire,  Saba and  Sint Eustatius will become special municipalities of the Netherlands.

New Zealand

See also: Realm of New Zealand

In free association	Administration
Cook Islands	Self-governing in free association with New Zealand since 1965. The Cook Islands are fully responsible for their internal affairs; New Zealand, in consultation, retains some responsibility for external affairs and defence. As of 2005, the Cook Islands have diplomatic relations in their own name with eighteen countries.
Niue	Self-governing in free association with New Zealand since 1974. Niue is fully responsible for its internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs and defence. New Zealand's responsibilities confer no rights of control and are only exercised at the request of the Government of Niue.
Territory	Administration
Tokelau	Self-administering territory of New Zealand. As it moves toward free association with New Zealand, Tokelau and New Zealand have agreed to a draft constitution. A UN-sponsored referendum on self-governance in February 2006 did not produce the two-thirds supermajority necessary for changing the current political status. Another one was in October 2007, which failed to reach the 2/3 margin.
Ross Dependency #	New Zealand's Antarctic claim.

Norway

See also: Possessions of Norway

United Kingdom

See also: British overseas territories, Crown dependency, and Sovereign Base Areas

Overseas territories	Administration
Anguilla	British overseas territory.
Bermuda	British overseas territory or self-governing territory as defined by the UK.
British Antarctic Territory #	The UK's Antarctic claim.
British Indian Ocean Territory #	British overseas territory administered by a commissioner resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London.
British Virgin Islands	British overseas territory with internal self-government.
Cayman Islands	British overseas territory.
Falkland Islands	British overseas territory, also claimed by Argentina.
Gibraltar	British overseas territory, also claimed by Spain.
Montserrat	British overseas territory.
Pitcairn Islands
Saint Helena	British overseas territory. Saint Helena also administers Ascension Island and the island group of Tristan da Cunha.
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands #	British overseas territory, also claimed by Argentina. Administered from the Falkland Islands by the Governor of the Falkland Islands as representative of the British monarch.
Turks and Caicos Islands	British overseas territory.
Sovereign Base Areas	Administration
Akrotiri and Dhekelia	British overseas territory administered by the Commander of British Forces, Cyprus. Note SBAs are primarily required as military bases and not ordinary dependent territories
Crown dependency	Administration
Guernsey	Crown dependency
Jersey
Isle of Man

United States

See also: Insular area and Territories of the United States

Under terms of treaties with Cuba, the United States leases Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. Thus it's not a dependent territory under the sovereignty of the United States.

Territory	Administration
American Samoa	Unincorporated and unorganized territory administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior. Appears on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.	taiwan #
Howland Island #
Jarvis Island #
Johnston Atoll #
Kingman Reef #
Midway Atoll #
Guam	Unincorporated organized territory; policy relations between Guam and the U.S. conducted under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior. Appears on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.
Navassa Island #	Unincorporated territory of the U.S. administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior from the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge in Boqueron, Puerto Rico. Also claimed by Haiti and privately via the Guano Islands Act.
Northern Mariana Islands	Commonwealth in political union with the U.S.; federal funding administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Palmyra Atoll #	Incorporated territory of the U.S., partly privately and partly federally owned. Administered from Washington, D.C. by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior; the Office of Insular Affairs of the U.S. Department of the Interior continues to administer nine excluded areas comprising certain tidal and submerged lands within the lagoon and 12 nm of surrounding sea.
Puerto Rico	Unincorporated organized territory of the U.S. with commonwealth status; policy relations between Puerto Rico and the U.S. conducted under the jurisdiction of the Office of the President.
U.S. Virgin Islands	Unincorporated organized territory; policy relations between the Virgin Islands and the U.S. conducted under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior. Appears on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.
Wake Island #	Unincorporated territory supervised by the U.S. Air Force and administered from Washington, D.C. by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Also claimed by the Marshall Islands.

See also

• List of current heads of government of dependencies
• Associated state
• Assymmetric federation
• Condominium, joint sovereignty over an area shared by two or more states.
• Federacy
• List of autonomous areas by country
• List of countries
• List of sovereign states
• List of subnational entities
• List of territorial disputes
• List of unrecognized countries
• Special member state territories and their relations with the EU
• Suzerainty
• Unclaimed Antarctic territories
• Colony
• Settler colonialism

References

This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.

• George Drower, Britain's Dependent Territories, Dartmouth, 1992
• George Drower, Overseas Territories Handbook, TSO, 1998

External links

• WorldStatesmen- includes former dependent states