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. Varying among different legal and constitutional traditions, these territories may or may not be considered part of the States.
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
thumb|400px|World map of dependent territories
]]
Currently there are 60 dependencies on this list, not including those listed as under China, Finland, and Russia. 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 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.
See also
- Condominium, joint sovereignty over an area shared by two or more states.
![thumb|400px|World map of dependent territories]]Currently there are 60 dependencies on this list, not including those listed as under China, Finland, and Russia. All claims south of](http://reference.findtarget.com/search/File:Dependencies3.PNG/){kind=link}