There are a number of dependent territories of the United Kingdom throughout the world. As
dependencies they are not part of the UK proper, but nor are they independent states. Each has its own distinct legally defined relationship with the UK, with the
British monarch
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwi ...
as head of state. The phrase "British Dependent Territories" was formerly used specifically for what are as of 26 February 2002 termed the "British Overseas Territories".
These territories fall into two broad categories:-
British Overseas Territories
These former parts of the
British Empire are not part of the UK proper, but the British crown and parliament has full sovereignty over each. They have varying degrees of delegated internal self-governance. The UK counts a total of 14 such territories. This includes the UK's view that its Antarctic claim is a dependency, though internationally its legal status is governed by the
Antarctic Treaty.
*
Anguilla
*
Bermuda
*
British Indian Ocean Territory
The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean, halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia. The territory comprises the seven atolls of the Chagos Archipelago with over 1,000 ...
*
Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...
*
Falkland Islands
*
Gibraltar
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, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
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, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
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*
Montserrat
Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with r ...
*
Pitcairn Islands
The Pitcairn Islands (; Pitkern: '), officially the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, is a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the sole British Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean. The four isl ...
*
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
**
Saint Helena
Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...
**
Ascension Island
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is about from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory o ...
**
Tristan da Cunha
*
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
*
Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus
*
Turks and Caicos Islands
*
British Virgin Islands
* The
British Antarctic Territory
Crown Dependencies
The Crown Dependencies are self-governing possessions of the
British Crown
The Crown is the state (polity), state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories, overseas territories, Provinces and territorie ...
with their own legislative assemblies. They were not part of the British Empire, but have a much older relationship as subjects of the English Crown.
*Bailiwick of
Guernsey
Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency.
It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...
*Bailiwick of
Jersey
*
Isle of Man
See also
*
Crown colony
A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Counci ...
, an obsolete term for the Overseas Territories, and historically many others with a similar status.
*
Commonwealth of Nations, former parts of the British Empire which are now fully independent countries, many now republics.
*
Commonwealth realms, those of the above countries which retain the same monarch as the United Kingdom.
References
Sources
* {{cite book , author=Great Britain , title=The Overseas Territories: Security, Success and Sustainability , publisher=Stationery Office , series=Cm (Series) (Great Britain. Parliament) , year=2012 , isbn=978-0-10-183742-2 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NnwqRocyOA0C , access-date=2024-06-03
British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies