List of dependent territories
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dependent areas are territories and overseas territories that do not possess full independence or sovereignty as states/countries. There are varying degrees and forms of such a dependence. They are commonly distinguished from subnational entities in that they are not considered to be part of the motherland or mainland of the governing state, and in most cases they also represent a different order of separation. A subnational entity typically represents a division of the country proper, while a dependent territory might be an overseas territory that enjoys a greater degree of autonomy. For instance, many of them have a more or less separate legal system from the governing body.
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.
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[edit] List of dependencies by Commonwealth sovereignty
All these are, as such or as part of a Commonwealth state in personal union under the same British Monarch.
[edit] 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
- Australian Antarctic Territory: territory administered from Canberra by the Australian Antarctic Division of the Department of the Environment and Heritage
[edit] British Crown
- Guernsey: British crown dependency
- Jersey: British crown dependency
- Isle of Man: British crown dependency
[edit] New Zealand
- Cook Islands: self-governing in free association with New Zealand; Cook Islands is fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains some responsibility for external affairs and defense, in consultation with the Cook Islands. As of 2005 the Cook Islands has diplomatic relations in its own name with 18 countries.
- 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 - Tokelau and New Zealand have agreed to a draft constitution as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand; a UN sponsored referendum on self-governance, in February 2006, did not produce the two thirds majority vote necessary for changing the current political status
- Ross Dependency: land and islands claimed in Antarctica
[edit] 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 (a non-self-governing territory as listed by the UN)
- Bermuda: overseas territory (a self-governing territory as defined by the UK. A non-self-governing territory as listed by the UN)
- British Antarctic Territory: land and islands claimed in Antarctica
- 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-government (a non-self-governing territory as listed by the UN)
- Cayman Islands: overseas territory (a non-self-governing territory as listed by the UN)
- Dhekelia: overseas territory administered by an administrator who is also the Commander of the British Forces, Cyprus
- Falkland Islands: overseas territory; also claimed by Argentina (a non-self-governing territory as listed by the UN)
- Gibraltar: overseas territory (a non-self-governing territory as listed by the UN)
- Montserrat: overseas territory (a non-self-governing territory as listed by the UN)
- Pitcairn Islands: overseas territory (a non-self-governing territory as listed by the UN)
- Saint Helena: overseas territory (a non-self-governing territory as listed by the UN); 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 (a non-self-governing territory as listed by the UN)
[edit] List of dependencies by other country
[edit] Denmark
- Faroe Islands: part of the Kingdom of Denmark, but not of the European Union; self-governing overseas administrative division since 1948
- Greenland: part of the Kingdom of Denmark, but not of the European Union; self-governing overseas administrative division since 1979
[edit] 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 collectivity since 2003 (designated as an 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 Adélie Land, the French-claimed sector of Antarctica (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 collectivity since 2003 (designated as a departmental collectivity since 2001)
- New Caledonia: territory with a unique status since 1999 (a non-self-governing territory as listed by the UN)
- Saint Pierre and Miquelon: overseas collectivity since 2003 (designated as a territorial collectivity since 1985)
- Tromelin Island: possession administered by a high commissioner of the Republic, resident in Réunion (no permanent population)
- Wallis and Futuna: overseas collectivity since 2003 (designated as a territory since 1961)
[edit] The Netherlands
- Aruba: part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but not of the European Union; 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, but not of the European Union; 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.
[edit] Norway
- Bouvet Island
- Peter I Island (Antarctica)
- Queen Maud Land (Antarctica)
[edit] United States
The smallest island entities belong to the United States Minor Outlying Islands
[edit] In the Caribbean
- Navassa Island: unincorporated territory of the U.S.; administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. 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
- Puerto Rico: unincorporated, organized territory of the US with commonwealth status; policy relations between Puerto Rico and the US conducted under the jurisdiction of the Office of the President
- U.S. Virgin Islands: organized, unincorporated territory with policy relations between the Virgin Islands and the U.S. under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior (a non-self-governing territory as listed by the UN)
[edit] In the Pacific
- American Samoa: unincorporated and unorganized territory administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior (a non-self-governing territory as listed by the UN)
- Guam: organized, unincorporated territory with policy relations between Guam and the U.S. under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior (a non-self-governing territory as listed by the UN)
- Northern Mariana Islands: commonwealth in political union with the U.S.; federal funds to the Commonwealth administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs
- Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef & Midway Islands: unincorporated territories of the US; 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
- Palmyra Atoll: incorporated Territory of the US; partly privately owned and partly federally owned; 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
- Wake Island: unincorporated territory administered from Washington, D.C., by the Department of the Interior; activities on the island are conducted by the US Air Force, the ownership of the territory is disputed with the Marshall Islands.
