Dependency status

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

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