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Autonomous administrative division

Designation for an administrative territorial entity

Note

subnational administrative divisions which enjoy some degree of autonomy under the national government

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

Division	State		Notes
Azad Kashmir 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](1947-poonch-rebellion), and the subsequent First Kashmir War. It is located within the historic Kashmir region, which is disputed between India, Pakistan and China.
{{plainlist		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.
{{plainlist		Denmark	url=https://www.gfbv.it/3dossier/eu-min/autonomy.html	title=The working autonomies in Europe	last=Benedikter	first=Thomas	date=2006-06-19	publisher=Society for Threatened Peoples	quote=Denmark has established very specific territorial autonomies with its two island territories	access-date=2019-08-30	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080309063149/http://www.gfbv.it/3dossier/eu-min/autonomy.html	archive-date=2008-03-09	url-status=dead}}
Tobago	Trinidad and Tobago	url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070710212503/http://www.visittobago.gov.tt/load_page.asp?id=41	date=2007-07-10 }}
Vojvodina	Serbia
Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija	Controlled by: Kosovo
Claimed by: Serbia	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
{{plainlist		Portugal	Although Portugal is a 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.
Flag of Bangsamoro.svg Bangsamoro	Philippines
Bougainville	Papua New Guinea
{{plainlist		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.
Flag of Region Autonoma del Atlantico Norte.svg North Caribbean Coast	Nicaragua
Flag of Region Autonoma Atlantico Sur.svg South Caribbean Coast
Rodrigues	Mauritius
De facto SA-NES Flag.svg Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria	Syria
Flag of Zanzibar.svg Zanzibar	Tanzania
Nakhchivan	Azerbaijan
Flag of Adjara.svg Adjara	Georgia
Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia	Claimed by: 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
Flag of Crimea (Latest version).svg Republic of Crimea /Flag of Crimea.svg 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.
Flag of Karakalpakstan.svg Karakalpakstan	Uzbekistan
Flag of Gagauzia.svg Gagauzia	Moldova
Administrative-Territorial Units of the 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.
{{plainlist		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 Council Flag.svg Barbuda (1976)	Antigua and Barbuda
Rotuma	Fiji
Kurdistan Region Kurdistan Region (2005)	Iraq	Semi-autonomous federal region 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. Regional law may take priority (in case of dispute) if the law falls within the remit of "shared authorities" and does not contradict with the provisions of the constitution of Iraq. The Federal Supreme Court of Iraq has the authority to repeal and amend regional law.
Nevis (1967)	Saint Kitts and Nevis
Flag of Príncipe Autonomous Region.svg 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.
DEU Büsingen am Hochrhein COA.svg 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.
Flag of Campione d'Italia.svg Campione d'Italia	Italy
Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional, Flag.svg Zapatista Territories	Mexico	a de facto autonomous region controlled or partially controlled by neo-Zapatista support bases in the Mexican state of Chiapas since the Zapatista uprising in 1994 and during the wider Chiapas conflict.
{{plainlist		Russia
Donetsk People's Republic	Controlled by: Russia
Claimed by: Ukraine	Sovereignty disputed by Ukraine as Donetsk Oblast
Luhansk People's Republic	Controlled by: Russia
Claimed by: Ukraine	Sovereignty disputed by Ukraine as Luhansk Oblast

Other territories considered autonomous

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
Flag of Alsace.svg Alsace (2021)	France	single territorial collectivity
Corsica (2018)	single territorial collectivity
Flag of French Guiana (Local).svg French Guiana	overseas region and department and single territorial collectivity
Flag of Guadeloupe (Local).svg Guadeloupe	overseas region and department
Flag-of-Martinique.svg Martinique	overseas region and department and single territorial collectivity
Mayotte	overseas region and department
Flag placeholder.svg Réunion	overseas region and department
French Polynesia	overseas collectivity
Saint-Barthélemy	overseas collectivity
Local flag of the Collectivity of Saint Martin.svg 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	The Cook Islands is a self-governing country in free association with New Zealand that maintains some international relationships in its own name.
Niue	Niue is a self-governing country in free association with New Zealand that maintains some international relationships in its own name.
Tokelau	Tokelau is an autonomous dependency of New Zealand.

New Zealand maintains nominal sovereignty over three Pacific Island nations, the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau. The Chatham Islands—despite having the designation of Territory—is an integral part of the country, situated within the New Zealand archipelago; its 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.

United States unincorporated territories

Main article: Insular area, Territories of the United States

Division	State	Notes
American Samoa	United States	All five insular areas are organized as unincorporated U.S. territories. Like U.S. states, they are subject to the sovereign jurisdiction of the U.S. federal government. Each territory has a local government headed by a democratically elected governor and legislature with powers within the territorial geographic boundaries.
Guam
Northern Mariana Islands
Puerto Rico
U.S. Virgin Islands

Ethnic autonomous territories

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
Flag of the Sac and Fox Nation.svg Sac and Fox Nation
Choctaw Nation
Pine Ridge Flag.svg Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
Navajo Nation
Haudenosaunee
Flag of the Colorado River Indian Tribes.svg Colorado River Indian Tribes
Emberá-Wounaan	Panama
Kuna de Madugandí
Kuna de Wargandí
Bandera de la Comarca Guna Yala.svg Guna Yala
Bandera de la Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé.svg Ngöbe-Buglé
Naso Tjër Di.gif 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.

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.

Proposed autonomous administrative divisions

Formal proposals

The following autonomous regions have been proposed but not implemented following unsuccessful referendums or other political reasons:

Cordillera Autonomous Region within the Philippines (1990, 1998)
Special Autonomous Region of East Timor within Indonesia (1999)
Corsica within France (2003)
North East England within the United Kingdom (2004)
Darfur Region within Sudan (2016)

The following autonomous regions were initially rejected in a referendum but were subsequently approved in a future referendum:

Scotland within the United Kingdom (1979)
Wales within the United Kingdom (1979)

The following autonomous regions have been proposed as part of peace agreements:

Kosovo within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1999)
Western Sahara Authority within Morocco (2003)
Sahara Autonomous Region within Morocco (2007)

Campaigns

Cornwall within the United Kingdom
Corsica within France
England within the United Kingdom
Hungarian Autonomous Region within Serbia
Occitania within France
Savoie within France
Veneto within Italy
Silesia within Poland
Székely Land within Romania

Historical autonomous administrative divisions

Kunság within the Kingdom of Hungary (1279–1876)
Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire (1809–1917)
Autonomous Region of Catalonia within the Spanish Republic (1932–1939)
Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship (1920–1939)
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in the Philippines (1989–2019)
Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus in Albania (1914)
Southern Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1921–1922)
ASSRs of the Soviet Union (1922–1990)
Carpathian Ruthenia and Slovakia within Czechoslovakia (1938–1939)
Croatia within Yugoslavia (1938–1939)
Eritrea within the Federation of Ethiopia and Eritrea (1952–1962)
Bantustans in South West Africa (1968–1990) and South Africa (1956–1994)
Magyar Autonomous Region of Socialist Republic of Romania (1952–1968)
Singapore within Malaysia (1963–1965)
Southern Sudan Autonomous Region (1972–1983) and Southern Sudan Autonomous Region (2005–2011) within Sudan

Notes

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, (pb)

References

"Azad Kashmir | Meaning, History, Population, & Government | Britannica".
link. (2007-07-10)
"Easter Islands now a "special territory" with more autonomy".
"Constitution of Iraq (Article 115)". Constitute.
"Constitution of Iraq (Article 93)". Constitute.
"The Federal Court issues a verdict revoking and amending some of the articles of the Kurdistan Parliament Election Law". Federal Supreme Court of Iraq.
Reyes Godelmann, Iker. (30 July 2014). "The Zapatista Movement: The Fight for Indigenous Rights in Mexico".
"Chatham Islands Council Act 1995 No 41 (as at 01 July 2013), Public Act Contents – New Zealand Legislation".

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