Autonomous administrative division

This article is about subnational administrative divisions which enjoy some degree of autonomy under the national government. For external territories which enjoy a greater degree of autonomy from their parent state and function as de facto independent political entities, see Dependent territory.

An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, zone, entity, unit, region, subdivision, province, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of autonomy — self-governance — under the national government. Autonomous areas are distinct from other constituent units of a federation (e.g. a state, or province) in that they possess unique powers for their given circumstances. Typically, it is either geographically distinct from the rest of the state or populated by a national minority, which may exercise home rule. Decentralization of self-governing powers and functions to such divisions is a way for a national government to try to increase democratic participation or administrative efficiency or to defuse internal conflicts. States that include autonomous areas may be federacies, federations, or confederations. Autonomous areas can be divided into territorial autonomies, subregional territorial autonomies, and local autonomies.

List of major autonomous areas

See also: List of autonomous areas by country

Division	State	Notes
Azad Kashmir	Controlled by: Pakistan Claimed by: India	Azad Kashmir is a self-governing polity which has not been formally annexed by Pakistan. It was established after a rebellion against the Maharajah of Kashmir, and the subsequent First Kashmir War. It is located within the historic Kashmir region, which is disputed between India, Pakistan and China.
Northern Ireland Scotland Wales	United Kingdom	Three of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom, namely Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, each have an elected, devolved legislature which has the ability to legislate in devolved matters. The Parliament of the United Kingdom which retains sovereignty (the United Kingdom is a unitary state), can dissolve the devolved legislatures at any time, and legislates in matters that are not devolved, as well as having the capacity to legislate in areas that are devolved (by constitutional convention, without the agreement of the devolved legislature). Formerly, both Scotland and England were fully sovereign states.
Faroe Islands Greenland	Denmark	The two autonomous territories (Danish: land, Faroese: land, Greenlandic: nuna) of the realm of the Kingdom, the Faroe Islands and Greenland, each have an elected devolved legislature which has the ability to legislate in devolved matters. The Kingdom Parliament 'Folketinget' retains sovereignty (The Kingdom of Denmark is a unitary state) and legislates in matters that are not devolved, as well as having the capacity to legislate in areas that are devolved (this does not normally occur without the agreement of the devolved legislature).
Tobago	Trinidad and Tobago	The Tobago House of Assembly is a devolved legislature that is responsible for the island of Tobago.
Vojvodina	Serbia
Kosovo / Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija	Claimed by: Serbia Controlled by: Kosovo	In 2008, Kosovo unilaterally declared itself as an independent state. Its international recognition is split between those who recognize it as an independent state and those who view it as an autonomous province of Serbia under United Nations administration.
Åland	Finland
Azores Madeira	Portugal	Although Portugal is an unitary state, its two autonomous regions have elected, devolved legislatures (Regional Legislative Assemblies of the Azores and Madeira) and local government (Governments of the Azores and Madeira) which have the ability to legislate in devolved matters.
Bangsamoro	Philippines
Bougainville	Papua New Guinea
Hong Kong SAR Macao SAR Guangxi Zhuang AR Inner Mongolia AR Ningxia Hui AR Tibet–Xizang AR Xinjiang Uygur AR	People's Republic of China	The special administrative regions have the highest degree of autonomy from the central government in Beijing. Autonomous regions contain a large minority ethnic group.
Puntland Jubaland Hirshabelle Galmudug Somaliland Koofur Orsi	Somalia	Somaliland is a self-declared independent state, although it is internationally considered an autonomous region in northwestern Somalia.
Atlántico Norte	Nicaragua
Atlántico Sur
Rodrigues	Mauritius
Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria	Syria
Zanzibar	Tanzania
Nakhchivan	Azerbaijan
Adjara	Georgia
Abkhazia / Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia	De jure: Georgia Controlled by: Abkhazia	In 1999, the Republic of Abkhazia declared its independence from Georgia after the 1992–1993 war. Georgia and most of the U.N. member states have not recognized Abkhazia's independence and still has an administrative apparatus for the claimed Autonomous Republic; its independence is recognized by Russia and three other U.N. member states.
Gorno-Badakhshan	Tajikistan
Republic of Crimea / Autonomous Republic of Crimea	De jure: Ukraine Controlled by: Russia	The 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia is not recognized by most countries, including Ukraine.
Karakalpakstan	Uzbekistan
Gagauzia	Moldova
Transnistria / Left Bank of the Dniester	Claimed by: Moldova Controlled by: Transnistria	In 1990, the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR, commonly known as Transnistria) declared its independence from the Soviet Union. While Moldova has not formally recognized Transnistria's independence and still has an administrative apparatus for the claimed Autonomous Territorial Unit, its independence is recognized by 3 other non-UN member states.
Republika Srpska Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Easter Island Juan Fernández Islands	Chile	In 2007, the Chamber of Deputies of Chile passed a law designating both as "special territories", granting them more autonomy. Additionally, the Juan Fernandez Islands archipelago is a commune, while Easter Island is both a commune and a province.
Barbuda (1976)	Antigua and Barbuda
Rotuma	Fiji
Kurdistan Region (2005)	Iraq	Semi-autonomous federal subject of Iraq; the constitution of Iraq gives a degree of autonomy to administrative divisions, such as regions and provinces, in matters that are not within the exclusive remit of the federal government of Iraq. Furthermore, in matters that are not within the federal government’s exclusive jurisdiction, regional or provincial law may take priority (in case of dispute) as long as it is in accordance with the provisions of the constitution of Iraq. The authority to interpret the provisions of the constitution, and oversee the constitutionality of all laws and regulations, and settle disputes that arise between the federal, regional, and provincial governments—including by repealing any regional or provincial law that is deemed unconstitutional—belongs exclusively to the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq. In a verdict issued in February 2024, the Supreme Court of Iraq simultaneously revoked as well as amended Kurdistan Region’s legislation, setting a legal precedent for the latter.
Nevis (1967)	Saint Kitts and Nevis
Autonomous Region of Príncipe (1995)	São Tomé and Príncipe
Svalbard	Norway	Although it does not fit the definition of autonomous area (not possessing partial internal sovereignty), Svalbard has the sovereignty of Norway limited by the Spitsbergen Treaty of 1920 and therefore is considered as having special status (as it is considered fully integrated with Norway, and not a dependency, it is a sui generis case).
Heligoland	Germany	Heligoland, Germany: Although it is part of a German state, Schleswig-Holstein, it has been excluded of some European Union normatives, such as customs union and the Value Added Tax Area.
Büsingen am Hochrhein		Despite being integral parts of their respective countries, these two enclaves of Switzerland predominantly use the Swiss franc as currency and are in customs union with Switzerland.
Campione d'Italia	Italy

Other territories considered autonomous

British Crown Dependencies

Division	State	Notes
Guernsey	United Kingdom	Guernsey, the Isle of Man, and Jersey are self-governing Crown Dependencies which are not part of the United Kingdom; however, the UK is responsible for their defence and international affairs.
Isle of Man
Jersey

Main articles: British Overseas Territories, Crown Dependencies, and British Islands

British Overseas Territories

Division	State	Notes
Anguilla	United Kingdom
Bermuda
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Falkland Islands
Gibraltar
Montserrat
Pitcairn
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Turks and Caicos Islands

Gibraltar is a self-governing overseas territory of the UK. Most of the other 13 British Overseas Territories also have autonomy in internal affairs through local legislatures.

Dutch constituent countries

Division	State	Notes
Aruba	Kingdom of the Netherlands
Curaçao
Sint Maarten
Netherlands

Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten are autonomous countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, each with their own parliament. In addition they enjoy autonomy in taxation matters as well as having their own currencies.

French overseas collectivities, New Caledonia, and Corsica

Division	State	Notes
Alsace (2021)	France	single territorial collectivity
Corsica (2018)		single territorial collectivity
French Guiana		overseas region and department and single territorial collectivity
Guadeloupe		overseas region and department
Martinique		overseas region and department and single territorial collectivity
Mayotte		overseas region and department
Réunion		overseas region and department
French Polynesia		overseas collectivity
Saint-Barthélemy		overseas collectivity
Saint-Martin		overseas collectivity
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon		overseas collectivity
Wallis and Futuna		overseas collectivity
New Caledonia		sui generis collectivity

Main article: Overseas collectivity

The French Constitution recognises three autonomous jurisdictions. Corsica, a region of France, enjoys a greater degree of autonomy on matters such as tax and education compared to mainland regions. New Caledonia, a sui generis collectivity, and French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity, are highly autonomous territories with their own government, legislature, currency, and constitution. They do not, however, have legislative powers for policy areas relating to law and order, defense, border control or university education. Other smaller overseas collectivities have a lesser degree of autonomy through local legislatures. The five overseas regions, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Réunion, are generally governed the same as mainland regions; however, they enjoy some additional powers, including certain legislative powers for devolved areas.

New Zealand overseas territories

Division	State	Notes
Cook Islands	New Zealand
Niue
Tokelau

New Zealand maintains nominal sovereignty over three Pacific Island nations. The Cook Islands and Niue are self-governing countries in free association with New Zealand that maintain some international relationships in their own name. Tokelau remains an autonomous dependency of New Zealand. The Chatham Islands—despite having the designation of Territory—is an integral part of the country, situated within the New Zealand archipelago. The territory's council is not autonomous and has broadly the same powers as other local councils, although notably it can also charge levies on goods entering or leaving the islands.

Ethnic autonomous territories

Ethiopian special woredas

In Ethiopia, "special woredas" are a subgroup of woredas (districts) that are organized around the traditional homelands of specific ethnic minorities, and are outside the usual hierarchy of a kilil, or region. These woredas have many similarities to autonomous areas in other countries.

Areas designated for indigenous peoples

Division	State	Notes
Nisga'a	Canada	Created by the Nisga'a Final Agreement in 2000. The Nisga'a Territory runs semi-autonomously from the rest of Canada. Located in Northwestern British Columbia, within kilometres of the Alaska Panhandle.
Nunatsiavut
Tłı̨chǫ
Haida Nation
Toquaht
Ucluelet
Tsawwassen
Tla'amin Nation
Huu-ay-aht
Kyuquot/Cheklesahht
Uchucklesaht
Hopi Reservation	United States
Cherokee Nation
Choctaw Nation
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
Navajo Nation
Emberá-Wounaan	Panama
Kuna de Madugandí
Kuna de Wargandí
Kuna Yala
Ngöbe-Buglé
Naso Tjër Di Comarca

Other areas that are autonomous in nature but not in name are areas designated for indigenous peoples, such as those of the Americas:

• Aboriginal (First Nation or Native American or Indian) Indian reserve and Indian reservation, in, respectively, Canada and the United States.
• the five comarcas indígenas ("indigenous regions") of Panama.

List of historical autonomous administrative divisions

• Autonomous Region of Catalonia within the Spanish Republic (1932–1939)
• Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship
• Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in the Philippines (1989–2019)
• Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus in Albania(1914).
• ASSRs of the Soviet Union (1922–1990)
• Bantustans in South West Africa (1968–1990) and South Africa (1956–1994)
• Carpathian Ruthenia and Slovakia within Czechoslovakia (1938–1939).
• Grand Duchy of Finland existed as an autonomous state under the rule of the Russian Empire (1809-1917).
• Magyar Autonomous Region of Socialist Republic of Romania (1952–1968)
• Southern Ireland (1921–22) within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
• Southern Sudan Autonomous Region (1972–1983) and Southern Sudan Autonomous Region (2005–2011)

See also

• Devolution
• List of autonomous areas by country
  • Autonomous administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China
  • Autonomous administrative divisions of India
  • Autonomous administrative divisions of Russia
  • Autonomous administrative divisions of Spain
• List of autonomous regions leaders
• Personal union
• Region (administrative)
• Regional state
• Imperial immediacy
• Dependent territory
• Vassal state
• Protectorate
• Countries of the United Kingdom

References

Works cited

• M. Weller and S. Wolff (eds), Autonomy, Self-governance and Conflict Resolution: Innovative Approaches to Institutional Design in Divided Societies. Abingdon, Routledge, 2005
• From Conflict to Autonomy in Nicaragua: Lessons Learnt, report by Minority Rights Group International
• P.M. Olausson, Autonomy and Islands, A Global Study of the Factors that determine Island Autonomy. Åbo: Åbo Akademi University Press, 2007.
• Thomas Benedikter (ed.), Solving Ethnic Conflict through Self-Government - A Short Guide to Autonomy in Europe and South Asia, EURAC Bozen 2009,
• Thomas Benedikter, 100 Years of Modern Territorial Autonomy - Autonomy around the World, Berlin/Zürich, LIT 2021, ISBN 978-3-643-91401-9 (pb)
• Benedikter, Thomas (2010). "The World's Modern Autonomy Systems". Bozen: EURAC – via Academia.edu.