List of dependent territories
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This is a list of dependent territories and other dependencies.
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The count
Currently, there are 64 entities on this list. It corresponds to:
- 60 dependencies
- 3 areas without any clear sovereignty
- 1 international protectorate in the territory of a sovereign country.
List of dependencies by sovereignty
Australia
- Ashmore and Cartier Islands: territory administered by the Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services
- Christmas Island: territory administered by the Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services
- Cocos (Keeling) Islands: territory administered from Canberra by the Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services
- Coral Sea Islands: territory administered from Canberra by the Department of the Environment, Sport, and Territories
- Heard Island and McDonald Islands: territory administered from Canberra by the Australian Antarctic Division of the Department of the Environment and Heritage
- Norfolk Island: territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories
British Crown
- Guernsey: British crown dependency
- Jersey: British crown dependency
- Isle of Man: British crown dependency
People's Republic of China
The PRC doesn't have dependent territories, but the status of Hong Kong and Macau have some similarity with dependent territories.
- Hong Kong: special administrative region; under the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong signed on December 19, 1984, Hong Kong reverted to PRC's control on July 1, 1997; it is now an autonomous entity that exists pursuant to international agreement and maintains its own government apart from the People's Republic of China.
- Macau: special administrative region; under the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau signed in 1987, Macau reverted to PRC's control on December 20, 1999; it is now an autonomous entity that exists pursuant to international agreement and maintains its own government apart from the People's Republic of China.
Denmark
- Faroe Islands: part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division since 1948
- Greenland: part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division since 1979
France
- France includes also the overseas departments of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion, see notes
- Bassas da India: possession administered by a high commissioner of the Republic, resident in Réunion (no permanent population)
- Clipperton Island: possession administered by France from French Polynesia by a high commissioner of the Republic (no permanent population)
- Europa Island: possession administered by a high commissioner of the Republic, resident in Réunion (no permanent population)
- French Polynesia: overseas country since 2004
- French Southern and Antarctic Lands: overseas territory since 1955 administered from Paris by Administrateur Superieur François Garde (since 24 May 2000), assisted by Secretary General Jean-Yves Hermoso; includes Île Amsterdam, Île Saint-Paul, Îles Crozet, and Îles Kerguelen in the southern Indian Ocean, along with the French-claimed sector of Antarctica, "Terre Adélie." (no permanent population)
- Glorioso Islands: possession administered by a high commissioner of the Republic, resident in Réunion (no permanent population)
- Juan de Nova Island: possession administered by a high commissioner of the Republic, resident in Réunion (no permanent population)
- Mayotte: overseas departmental collectivity
- New Caledonia: collectivity sui generis since 1999
- Saint Pierre and Miquelon: overseas territorial collectivity
- Tromelin Island: possession administered by a high commissioner of the Republic, resident in Réunion (no permanent population)
- Wallis and Futuna: overseas territorial collectivity
The Netherlands
- Aruba: part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs obtained in 1986 upon separation from the Netherlands Antilles; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs
- Netherlands Antilles: part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 1954; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs; comprises two groupings of islands: Curaçao and Bonaire are located off the coast of Venezuela; Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (the Dutch two-fifths of the island of Saint Martin) lie 800 km to the north.
New Zealand
- Cook Islands: self-governing in free association with New Zealand; Cook Islands is fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs and defense, in consultation with the Cook Islands
- Niue: self-governing in free association with New Zealand since 1974; Niue fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs and defense; however, these responsibilities confer no rights of control and are only exercised at the request of the Government of Niue
- Tokelau: self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelauans are drafting a constitution and developing institutions and patterns of self-government as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand
Norway
- Bouvet Island: territory administered by the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice and Police from Oslo
- Jan Mayen: territory administered from Oslo through the county governor (fylkesmann) of Nordland since August 1994; however, authority has been delegated to a station commander of the Norwegian Defense Communication Service
- Svalbard: territory of Norway; administered by the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice, through a governor (sysselmann) residing in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen; by treaty (9 February 1920) sovereignty was awarded to Norway
United Kingdom
- See also British Crown
- Akrotiri: overseas territory administered by an administrator who is also the Commander of the British Forces, Cyprus
- Anguilla: overseas territory
- Bermuda: overseas territory
- British Indian Ocean Territory: overseas territory administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London
- British Virgin Islands: overseas territory with internal self-governing
- Cayman Islands: overseas territory
- Dhekelia: overseas territory administered by an administrator who is also the Commander of the British Forces, Cyprus
- Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas): overseas territory; also claimed by Argentina
- Gibraltar: overseas territory
- Montserrat: overseas territory
- Pitcairn Islands: overseas territory
- Saint Helena: overseas territory; it includes the Island group of Tristan da Cunha; Saint Helena also administers Ascension Island.
- South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands: overseas territory, also claimed by Argentina; administered from the Falkland Islands by a commissioner, who is concurrently governor of the Falkland Islands, representing Queen Elizabeth II; Grytviken, formerly a whaling station on South Georgia, is a scientific base
- Turks and Caicos Islands: overseas territory
United States
- American Samoa: unincorporated and unorganized territory administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior
- Baker Island: unincorporated territory administered from Washington, DC, by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system
- Guam: organized, unincorporated territory with policy relations between Guam and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior
- Howland Island: unincorporated territory administered from Washington, DC, by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system
- Jarvis Island: unincorporated territory administered from Washington, DC, by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system
- Johnston Atoll: unincorporated territory administered from Honolulu, HI, by Pacific Air Forces, Hickam Air Force Base, and the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system
- Kingman Reef: unincorporated territory administered from Washington, DC, by the US Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior: note: on 1 September 2000, the Department of the Interior accepted restoration of its administrative jurisdiction over Kingman Reef from the Department of the Navy; Executive Order 3223 signed 18 January 2001 established Kingman Reef National Wildlife Refuge to be administered by the Director, US Fish and Wildlife Service; this refuge is managed to protect the terrestrial and aquatic wildlife of Kingman Reef out to the 12-nautical-mile territorial sea limit
- Midway Islands: unincorporated territory formerly administered from Washington, DC, by the US Navy, under Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific Division; this facility has been operationally closed since 10 September 1993; on 31 October 1996, through a presidential executive order, the jurisdiction and control of the atoll was transferred to the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system
- Navassa Island: unincorporated territory of the US; administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service, US Department of the Interior, from the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge in Boqueron, Puerto Rico; in September 1996, the Coast Guard ceased operations and maintenance of Navassa Island Light, a 46-meter-tall lighthouse on the southern side of the island; there has also been a private claim advanced against the island
- Northern Mariana Islands: commonwealth in political union with the US; federal funds to the Commonwealth administered by the US Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs
- Palmyra Atoll: incorporated territory; privately owned, but administered from Washington, DC, by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior; the Office of Insular Affairs of the US Department of the Interior continues to administer nine excluded areas comprising certain tidal and submerged lands within the 12 nm territorial sea or within the lagoon
- Puerto Rico: commonwealth associated with the US
- Virgin Islands: organized, unincorporated territory with policy relations between the Virgin Islands and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior
- Wake Island: unincorporated territory administered from Washington, DC, by the Department of the Interior; activities on the island are conducted by the US Army under a caretaker permit from the US Air Force
No sovereignty, or disputed sovereignty
- Antarctica: Antarctica consists of the territory south of 60 degrees south latitude; this area includes claims by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the legal status of which remains in suspense under the terms of the Antarctic Treaty of 1959
- Liancourt Rocks: Liancourt Rocks, a name given by French whale hunters in 1849, consists of two small islands surrounded by a series of smaller rocks, located in the Sea of Japan (South Korea name : East Sea). The islands are administered by South Korea, which refers to them as "Dokdo". Japan also claims the territory and refers to it as "Takeshima". The islands are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and there have been indications, for example from a 1995 undersea survey, that there may be deposits of natural gas in the area. Japan has requested mediation in the dispute from the International Court of Justice
- Paracel Islands: group of small islands and reefs in the South China Sea occupied by the People's Republic of China, and claimed by the Republic of China (Taiwan), and Vietnam
- Spratly Islands: group of reefs and islets in the South China Sea claimed in entirety by the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and Vietnam and in part by Malaysia and the Philippines; Brunei has established a fishing zone that overlaps a southern reef, but has not made any formal claim
International protectorate
- Kosovo, part of Serbia and Montenegro developed into a UN protectorate.
Notes
France
French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion are departments (first-order administrative units) of France, and are therefore not dependencies or areas of special sovereignty. The Department of Guadeloupe includes the nearby islands of Marie-Galante, La Desirade, and Iles des Saintes, as well as Saint Barthelemy and the northern three-fifths of Saint Martin (the rest of which belongs to Netherlands Antilles). The islands of Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, and Tromelin Island are administered from Reunion; all these islands are claimed by Madagascar, and Tromelin Island is claimed by Mauritius.
France has not had colonies since the 1960s. All citizens of the listed territorial entities enjoy full French citizenship rights, including the right to vote for national elections. All the inhabited entities, whatever their status, are represented by deputies and senators to the national parliament.
French Polynesia (overseas country), New Caledonia (collectivity sui generis), and Wallis and Futuna (overseas territorial collectivity) enjoy some substantial legislative autonomy and have a separate currency (the CFP Franc). Whether they will choose independence in the future is an open question.
See Islands controlled by France in the Indian and Pacific oceans
Spratly Islands and Paracel Islands
Both the People's Republic of China and Republic of China (Taiwan) government regard the two groups of islands as part of the island province of Hainan.
United States
Citizens of U.S. overseas possessions, including Puerto Rico, do not have the right to vote in U.S. federal elections. The U.S. Department of State uses the term Insular areas to refer to the areas listed below (with the exception of Guantanamo Bay). Although the U.S. state of Hawaii is an island and is technically overseas from the rest of the U.S., it is fully a state of the Union and shares equal status under the U.S. constitution with all of the other states.
The U.S. does not claim sovereignty on Guantanamo Bay, but exercises permanent control and pays rent under terms of treaties with Cuba.
This article incorporates information from The World Factbook, which is in the public domain.
See also
- List of sovereign states
- List of subnational entities
- List of countries by area
- Dependent territories in the European Union
External link
- List of countries and dependencies in order of increasing population (http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-B/peo_pop&int=-1) - Nationmasterde:Liste abhängiger Gebiete
es:Territorios dependientes it:Elenco dei territori dipendenti pt:Lista de territórios dependentes uk:Залежні території