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Dependency status

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This entry describes the formal relationship between a particular nonindependent entity and an independent state.

  • Akrotiri

    a special form of UK overseas territory; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus

  • American Samoa

    unincorporated, unorganized Territory of the US; administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior

  • Anguilla

    overseas territory of the UK

  • Aruba

    constituent country 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

  • Ashmore and Cartier Islands

    territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport

  • Bermuda

    overseas territory of the UK

  • Bouvet Island

    territory of Norway; administered by the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice and Oslo Police

  • British Indian Ocean Territory

    overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office in London

  • British Virgin Islands

    overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing

  • Cayman Islands

    overseas territory of the UK

  • Christmas Island

    non-self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities & Regional Development

  • Clipperton Island

    possession of France; administered directly by the Minister of Overseas France

  • Cocos (Keeling) Islands

    non-self governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities & Regional Development

  • 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

  • Coral Sea Islands

    territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport

  • Curacao

    constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 2010; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs

  • Dhekelia

    a special form of UK overseas territory; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus

  • Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)

    overseas territory of the UK; also claimed by Argentina

  • Faroe Islands

    part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1948

  • French Polynesia

    overseas country of France; note - overseas territory of France from 1946-2003; overseas collectivity of France since 2003, though it is often referred to as an overseas country due to its degree of autonomy

  • French Southern and Antarctic Lands

    overseas territory of France since 1955

  • Gibraltar

    overseas territory of the UK

  • Greenland

    part of the Kingdom of Denmark; self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark since 1979

  • Guam

    unincorporated organized territory of the US with policy relations between Guam and the Federal Government under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior, Washington, DC

  • Guernsey

    British crown dependency

  • Heard Island and McDonald Islands

    territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (Australian Antarctic Division)

  • Hong Kong

    special administrative region of the People's Republic of China

  • Isle of Man

    British crown dependency

  • Jan Mayen

    territory of Norway; since August 1994, administered from Oslo through the county governor (fylkesmann) of Nordland; however, authority has been delegated to a station commander of the Norwegian Defense Communication Service; in 2010, Norway designated the majority of Jan Mayen as a nature reserve

  • Jersey

    British crown dependency

  • Macau

    special administrative region of the People's Republic of China

  • Montserrat

    overseas territory of the UK

  • Navassa Island

    unorganized, 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 the Navassa Island Light, a 46-meter-tall lighthouse on the southern side of the island; Haiti has claimed the island since the 19th century

  • New Caledonia

    special collectivity (or a sui generis collectivity) of France since 1998; note - independence referenda took place on 4 November 2018, 4 October 2020, and 12 December 2021 with a majority voting in each case to reject independence in favor of maintaining the status quo; an 18-month transition period is now in place (ending 30 June 2023), during which a referendum on the new status of New Caledonia within France will take place 

  • Niue

    self-governing in free association with New Zealand since 1974; Niue is 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

  • Norfolk Island

    self-governing territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities & Regional Development

  • Northern Mariana Islands

    commonwealth in political union with and under the sovereignty of the US; federal funds to the Commonwealth administered by the US Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs, Washington, DC

  • Pitcairn Islands

    overseas territory of the UK

  • 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

  • Saint Barthelemy

    overseas collectivity of France

  • Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha

    overseas territory of the UK

  • Saint Martin

    overseas collectivity of France

    note: the only French overseas collectivity that is part of the EU

  • Saint Pierre and Miquelon

    overseas collectivity of France

  • Sint Maarten

    constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 2010; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs

  • South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

    overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina; administered from the Falkland Islands by a commissioner, who is concurrently governor of the Falkland Islands, representing King CHARLES III

  • 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

  • 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 October 2007 did not meet the two-thirds majority vote necessary for changing the political status

  • Turks and Caicos Islands

    overseas territory of the UK

  • United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges

    with the exception of Palmyra Atoll, the constituent islands are unincorporated, unorganized 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

    note: Palmyra Atoll is partly privately owned and partly federally owned; the federally owned portion is administered from Washington, DC, by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as an incorporated, unorganized territory of the US; 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

  • Virgin Islands

    unincorporated organized territory of the US with policy relations between the Virgin Islands and the US Federal Government under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior, Washington, DC

  • Wake Island

    unincorporated unorganized territory of the US; administered from Washington, DC, by the Department of the Interior; activities in the atoll are currently conducted by the 11th US Air Force and managed from Pacific Air Force Support Center

  • Wallis and Futuna

    overseas collectivity of France