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Speaking astatine the World Economic Forum successful Davos connected Wednesday, United States President Donald Trump said the US needs “ownership” of Greenland to support itself from adversaries similar China and Russia, but said helium “won’t usage force” to get the self-ruling island, which is portion of the Kingdom of Denmark.
Across the world, assorted nations support overseas territories which location strategical and subject installations, but besides for historical, economical and biology reasons. Many of them are remnants of assemblage empires. While galore erstwhile colonies astir the satellite gained independency successful the 20th century, they often chose to support their links for economical stability, information oregon due to the fact that they were excessively tiny to beryllium viable arsenic afloat autarkic nations.
From the British and French overseas territories to the US-owned regions successful the Caribbean and the Pacific, these territories workout varying degrees of self-government and autonomy.
Al Jazeera maps the 10 countries with the astir overseas territories.
United Kingdom – 14 territories
The UK has 14 overseas territories located crossed the Atlantic, Caribbean, Pacific and polar regions.
The inhabited territories see Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar and Montserrat. These are self-governing, with the UK liable for defence and overseas affairs.
The UK besides administers regions which are sparsely populated – the British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, Pitcairn Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, arsenic good arsenic Akrotiri and Dhekelia connected Cyprus. These are chiefly utilized for military, technological and biology purposes.
The UK precocious handed sovereignty of the Chagos Islands successful the British Indian Ocean Territory backmost to Mauritius aft a decades-long dispute. This week, Trump powerfully criticised this determination arsenic “an enactment of large stupidity”.
In a connection connected Monday, an authoritative UK authorities spokesperson said the determination had been made due to the fact that the UK-US subject basal connected Diego Garcia was “under menace aft tribunal decisions undermined our presumption and would person prevented it operating arsenic intended successful future”. The basal is leased to the US but operates arsenic a associated UK-US base.
The UK besides has 3 Crown Dependencies, which, dissimilar the British Overseas Territories, person ne'er been colonies and are not portion of the United Kingdom. They person their ain taxation systems and courts. The UK is lone liable for their defence and overseas affairs. Crown Dependencies are possessions of the British Crown, owing allegiance to the monarch alternatively than the UK government.
They see the self-governing Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey adjacent the French Normandy coast. The Isle of Man, located successful the Irish Sea betwixt the UK and Ireland, is besides a Crown Dependency.
United States – 14 territories
The US has 5 permanently inhabited territories and 9 which are uninhabited, located chiefly successful the Caribbean and the Pacific.
The inhabited territories are: Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands. Puerto Rico is the astir populous and is simply a self-governing commonwealth. These territories person section governments but constricted practice astatine the national level.
The US besides controls a radical of mostly uninhabited islands commonly referred to arsenic the US Minor Outlying Islands, which are chiefly utilized for subject oregon strategical purposes. These are: Baker Island, Howard Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Atoll, Navassa Island, Palmyra Atoll and Wake Island.
France – 13 territories
France has 13 overseas territories dispersed crossed the Atlantic, Caribbean, Indian Ocean, Pacific and South America. Unlike the UK and US territories, immoderate of these are afloat integrated into France arsenic administrative regions, portion others are overseas “collectives”.
Five territories – French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte and Reunion – are afloat integrated parts of France. They person representatives successful the French parliament and usage the euro arsenic their currency. French Guiana is location to the Guiana Space Station, wherever abstraction launches are conducted by respective European backstage companies and authorities agencies.
France administers French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Wallis and Futuna, Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy, and Clipperton Island, each of which person varying degrees of autonomy.
France besides claims the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, which are uninhabited and utilized chiefly for technological probe and biology protection. However, immoderate countries specified arsenic Mauritius, Madagascar and the Comoros quality France’s sovereignty implicit these islands.
Australia – 7 territories
Australia has 7 overseas territories, 3 of which are inhabited – Norfolk Island, Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Residents of these islands are Australian citizens, and the territories person assorted levels of governance.
The 4 mostly uninhabited territories that Australia controls are Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, the Coral Sea Islands Territory and the Australian Antarctic Territory. These are chiefly utilized for technological research, meteorological monitoring and the medication of Australia’s maritime jurisdiction.
The Netherlands – 6 territories
The Netherlands operates has six territories successful the Caribbean,
Three – Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten – person their ain governments, parliaments and premier ministers and are known arsenic “constituent” countries. Aruba gained this presumption successful 1986, with Curacao and Sint Maarten becoming constituent countries successful 2010.
The different 3 territories are Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. These are straight administered from The Hague, but person section governments and usage the US dollar.
Norway – 5 territories
Norway has 5 territories successful the Arctic and Antarctic.
Its 2 Arctic territories are Svalbard, which has a peculiar ineligible presumption nether the 1920 Svalbard Treaty, allowing planetary colony and restricting subject activity. The 2nd territory is Jan Mayen, an uninhabited volcanic land utilized for meteorological research, monitoring and defence.
Norway besides claims 3 uninhabited territories successful Antarctica: Bouvet Island, Peter I Island and Queen Maud Land. Bouvet Island and Peter I Island are mostly covered by glaciers, portion connected Queen Maud Land, determination is precise constricted ice-free onshore astatine the coast. It hosts the largest-known seabird colony successful Antarctica.
(Al Jazeera)New Zealand – 4 territories
New Zealand has 2 self-governing regions which are portion of it; 1 babelike territory; and 1 Antarctic claim.
The Cook Islands successful the South Pacific Ocean, located betwixt New Zealand and Hawaii, and Niue, located successful the South Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand and eastbound of Tonga, are some self-governing successful “free association” with New Zealand. This is simply a voluntary relation successful which a federation specified arsenic the Cook Islands oregon Niue assumes work for its ain home affairs, but defers to New Zealand for defence and overseas policy.
Tokelau came nether the power of New Zealand successful 1925 and is simply a non-self-governing territory. This means that the UN considers it a territory wherever the radical person “not yet attained a afloat measurement of self-government” but are being encouraged to enactment towards self-government.
Like respective different countries, New Zealand marque a assertion to portion of the Antarctic. The 1959 Antarctic Treaty System is an planetary statement which preserves Antarctica for peaceful purposes and technological research, portion freezing each territorial claims. Since 1923, New Zealand has maintained a close of sovereignty implicit the Ross Dependency successful Antarctica for probe purposes. It was primitively portion of the UK’s claim.
Denmark – 2 territories
The Kingdom of Denmark has 2 self-ruling territories, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
Greenland is astatine the centre of a transatlantic quality arsenic US President Donald Trump insists connected buying the resource-rich island, which is located successful the portion of North America, contempt it having its ain parliament and leader. Both Denmark and Greenland person repeatedly stated that the land is not for sale.
The Faroe Islands are located successful the North Atlantic Ocean betwixt Iceland, Norway and Scotland. Since 2005, the Faroes person had a self-government arrangement.
China – 2 territories
Unlike the UK oregon France, China does not person overseas territories successful the accepted sense. It has 2 Special Administrative Regions (SARs) – Hong Kong and Macau. These are mostly autonomous successful presumption of political, economical and ineligible systems, operating nether the rule of “One Country, Two Systems”.
Hong Kong, located connected the South China Sea, is simply a erstwhile British colony but was returned to China successful 1997. It has a colonisation of astir 7.5 cardinal radical and is 1 of the world’s astir important fiscal centres. According to Hong Kong’s Department of Justice, its ineligible strategy is antithetic from China’s and is based connected communal law.
Nearby Macau is simply a erstwhile Portuguese colony which was returned to China successful 1999. It has a colonisation of astir 680,000 and is known for its fiscal services manufacture arsenic good arsenic casinos. The ineligible strategy is based connected Portuguese civilian law, alternatively than China’s.
China besides has 5 autonomous regions wrong mainland China, which person a grade of governmental and taste autonomy.
Taiwan, which China considers a province, operates arsenic a self-governing territory with its ain government, system and ineligible system, but China insists it is portion of its sovereign territory and has not ruled retired utilizing unit to bring it nether Beijing’s control.
Portugal – 2 territories
Portugal has 2 autonomous regions: The Azores and Madeira, some located successful the Atlantic Ocean.
The Azores are an archipelago of 9 volcanic islands situated successful the North Atlantic Ocean, astir 1,400 to 1,600km (870-1,000 miles) westbound of mainland Portugal. The islands were claimed by Portugal successful 1439, but contiguous are autonomous with their ain determination authorities and a colonisation of astir 245,000 people.
In 2025, Portugal’s aviation regulator granted a five-year licence to the Atlantic Spaceport Consortium (ASC) to run a spaceport successful the Azores connected Santa Maria Island. The installation is Portugal’s archetypal licensed spaceport. Its determination successful the mid-Atlantic is seen arsenic advantageous for the motorboat of outer activities.
Madeira is astir 1,000km (600 miles) southwest of mainland Portugal, with a colonisation of astir 260,000. Madeira was officially discovered successful July 1419 by 2 sailors who had veered disconnected people owed to a storm. Madeira gained autonomy successful 1976 pursuing the Carnation Revolution.
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