United Nations list of non-self-governing territories
UN document listing places that are not self-governing and subject to decolonization
A non-self-governing territory (NSGT) as a territory without a full self-government. In practice, a NSGT is a territory considered by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to be "non-self-governing".
Current entries on the list of non-self-governing territories
changeThe following 17 territories are currently included on the list.[1]
Territory | Administering state | Domestic legal status | Other claimant(s) | Population | Area | Referendums | See also |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
American Samoa | United States | Unincorporated unorganized territory | None | 55,519 | 200 km2 (77 mi2) | No official referendum has been held. | Politics of American Samoa |
Anguilla | United Kingdom | Overseas Territory | None | 14,108 | 96 km2 (37 mi2) | No official referendum has been held. | Politics of Anguilla |
Bermuda | United Kingdom | Overseas Territory | None | 62,000 | 57 km2 (22 mi2) | A 1995 Bermudian independence referendum was held. 74% of votes cast were against independence. | Politics of Bermuda |
British Virgin Islands | United Kingdom | Overseas Territory | None | 28,103 | 153 km2 (59 mi2) | No official referendum has been held. | Politics of the British Virgin Islands |
Cayman Islands | United Kingdom | Overseas Territory | None | 55,500 | 264 km2 (102 mi2) | No official referendum has been held. | Foreign relations of the Cayman Islands |
Falkland Islands | United Kingdom | Disputed | Argentina | 2,500 | 12,173 km2 (4,700 mi2) | Two referendums have been held in 1986 and 2013 on whether the Falklands should join Argentina. On both occasions, voters chose overwhelmingly for continued British control. | Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute |
French Polynesia[A] | France | Overseas country | None | 271,000 | 4,000 km2 (1,544 mi2) | No official referendum has been held. | Politics of French Polynesia |
Gibraltar | United Kingdom | Disputed | Spain | 29,752 | 6 km2 (2 mi2) | There were referendums in 1967 and in 2002, both returning an overwhelming victory for the pro-British side. | Status of Gibraltar |
Guam | United States | Unincorporated organized territory | None | 159,358 | 540 km2 (208 mi2) | Three status referendums have been held, one in 1976 and two in 1982 (one in January and the other in September), with all three of them supporting an improved Commonwealth status under U.S. control. | Politics of Guam |
Montserrat | United Kingdom | Overseas Territory | None | 5,000 | 103 km2 (40 mi2) | No official referendum has been held. | Government of Montserrat |
New Caledonia | France | Sui generis collectivity | None | 252,000 | 18,575 km2 (7,172 mi2) | There were referendums in 1987, 2018, 2020, and 2021, all deciding against independence. | Politics of New Caledonia |
Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands | United Kingdom | Overseas Territory | None | 50 | 36 km2 (14 mi2) | No official referendum has been held. | Politics of the Pitcairn Islands |
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha | United Kingdom | Overseas Territory | None | 5,396 | 310 km2 (120 mi2) | No official referendum has been held. | Politics of Saint Helena |
Tokelau | New Zealand | Territory | None | 1,411 | 12 km2 (5 mi2) | There were two referendums on self-determination in Tokelau in 2006 and 2007, with both coming just shy of the required two-thirds "yes" margin. | Politics of Tokelau |
Turks and Caicos Islands | United Kingdom | Overseas Territory | None | 31,458 | 948 km2 (366 mi2) | No official referendum has been held. | Politics of the Turks and Caicos Islands |
Western Sahara | Spain (formerly) |
Disputed | Morocco Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic |
619,060 | 266,000 km2 (102,703 mi2) | The UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara has attempted to organize a referendum since 1991, but none has been held so far. | Political status of Western Sahara |
United States Virgin Islands | United States | Unincorporated organized territory | None | 106,405 | 352 km2 (136 mi2) | A 1993 United States Virgin Islands status referendum was held. The status quo was widely preferred among voters, but the result was invalidated because of the low turnout.[3] | Politics of the United States Virgin Islands |
References
change- ↑ "Non-Self-Governing Territories". United Nations.
- ↑ General Assembly adds French Polynesia to UN decolonization list
- ↑ United States Virgin Islands, 11 October 1993: Status Direct Democracy (in German)