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List of countries that have gained independence from the United Kingdom

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Below are lists of the countries and territories that were formerly ruled or administered by the United Kingdom or part of the British Empire (including military occupations that did not retain the pre-war central government), with their independence days. Some countries did not gain their independence on a single date, therefore the latest day of independence is shown with a breakdown of dates further down. A total of 65 countries have claimed their independence from the British Empire/United Kingdom.

Colonies, protectorates, and mandates

Country	Pre-independence name
(if different)	Date of independence
or first stage	Notes	Day & month	Year
Afghanistan		{{dts	08	19	format=dm}}		Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919
Antigua and Barbuda	Antigua, Leeward Islands	{{dts	11	01	format=dm}}		Antigua Termination of Association Order
The Bahamas		{{dts	07	10	format=dm}}		Bahamas Independence Act 1973
Bahrain	British Protectorate of Bahrain	{{dts	08	15	format=dm}}		Now an independent kingdom outside the Commonwealth.
Barbados		{{dts	11	30	format=dm}}		Barbados Independence Act 1966 - now an independent republic in the Commonwealth of Nations since 30 November 2021.
Belize	British Honduras	{{dts	09	21	format=dm}}		September Celebrations
Botswana	Bechuanaland	{{dts	09	30	format=dm}}		Botswana Independence Act 1966
Brunei		{{dts	01	01	format=dm}}
Cyprus		{{dts	08	16	format=dm}}		Cyprus Independence Day is commonly celebrated on 1 October.
Dominica	Dominica, Windward Islands	{{dts	11	03	format=dm}}
Egypt		{{dts	02	28	format=dm}}		Control over the Suez Canal Zone was maintained until 1956.
Eswatini		{{dts	09	06	format=dm}}		Initially called Swaziland, which was also its pre-independence name. Renamed Eswatini by King Mswati III in April 2018.
Fiji		{{dts	10	10	format=dm}}		Fiji has been a Commonwealth republic since 1987.
The Gambia	Gambia	{{dts	02	18	format=dm}}		Gained independence as a Dominion. Republic declared in 1970. Was temporarily a republic outside the Commonwealth from 2013 until it returned to the Commonwealth in 8 February 2018.
Ghana	Gold Coast, British Togoland (Togoland was absorbed into the Gold Coast in 1957.)	{{dts	03	06	format=dm}}		Became a Commonwealth republic on 1 July 1960.
Grenada	Grenada, Windward Islands	{{dts	02	07	format=dm}}		Independence Day (Grenada)
Guyana	British Guiana	{{dts	05	26	format=dm}}		Became a republic in 1970.
India	British India	{{dts	08	15	format=dm}}		Indian Independence Act 1947
Iraq		{{dts	10	03	format=dm}}		Pursuant to the British Mandate for Mesopotamia
Israel	Mandatory Palestine	{{dts	05	14	format=dm}}		End of British mandate
Jamaica		{{dts	08	06	format=dm}}		Independence Day (6 August)
Jordan	Transjordan	{{dts	05	25	format=dm}}		Now an independent monarchy outside the Commonwealth.
Kenya		{{dts	12	12	format=dm}}		Dominion of Kenya declared in 1963. Republic declared exactly 1 year later.
Kiribati	Gilbert and Ellice Islands	{{dts	07	12	format=dm}}
Kuwait	British Kuwaiti Protectorate	{{dts	06	19	format=dm}}		Now an independent monarchy outside the Commonwealth.
Lesotho	Basutoland	{{dts	10	04	format=dm}}		Now an independent monarchy inside the Commonwealth.
Libya		{{dts	12	24	format=dm}}		From 1943 to 1951 Libya was under the control of Britain and France. On 24 December 1951, Libya declared its independence and became the United Kingdom of Libya.
Malawi	Nyasaland	{{dts	07	06	format=dm}}		Dominion of Malawi declared in 1964. Republic declared exactly 2 years later.
Malaya		{{dts	08	31	format=dm}}		Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957.
Maldives		{{dts	07	26	format=dm}}		Became an independent kingdom outside the Commonwealth in 1965. Became a republic in 1968. Became a Commonwealth republic in 1982. Temporarily a republic outside the Commonwealth from 2016 until 1 February 2020, when the Maldives returned.
Malta		{{dts	09	21	format=dm}}		This occurred in spite of the [1956 Maltese United Kingdom integration referendum](1956-maltese-united-kingdom-integration-referendum), but in accordance with the [1964 Maltese constitutional referendum](1964-maltese-constitutional-referendum). Malta became a republic on 13 December 1974.
Mauritius		{{dts	03	12	format=dm}}		Dominion of Mauritius declared in 1968. Republic declared in 1992.
Myanmar		{{dts	01	04	format=dm}}		Gained independence as a republic outside the Commonwealth as Burma. Renamed Myanmar by the military dictatorship in 1989, but still officially known by the United Kingdom government as Burma.
Nauru		{{dts	01	31	format=dm}}		Co-trustee with Australia and New Zealand; independence effected through Australian legislation (Nauru Independence Act 1967).
Nigeria		{{dts	10	01	format=dm}}		Took in Northern Cameroons
Oman	Sultanate of Muscat and Oman	{{dts	12	20	format=dm}}		Now an independent monarchy outside the Commonwealth.
Pakistan	British India	{{dts	08	14	format=dm}}		Partition of India
Qatar	British Qatari Protectorate	{{dts	09	03	format=dm}}		Now an independent monarchy outside the Commonwealth.
Saint Lucia	St Lucia, Windward Islands	{{dts	02	22	format=dm}}
Saint Kitts and Nevis	St Kitts–Nevis and Anguilla, Leeward Islands	{{dts	09	19	format=dm}}
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	St Vincent, Windward Islands	{{dts	10	27	format=dm}}
Seychelles		{{dts	06	29	format=dm}}
Sierra Leone		{{dts	04	27	format=dm}}		Dominion of Sierra Leone declared in 1961. Republic declared in 1971.
Solomon Islands	British Solomon Islands	{{dts	07	07	format=dm}}
Somaliland	British Somaliland Protectorate	{{dts	06	26	format=dm}}		The British Somaliland Protectorate gained independence on 26 June 1960 and united with the Trust Territory of Somalia on 1 July 1960 to form the Somali Republic, but later broke away and unilaterally declared independence in 1991. It is internationally unrecognised.
South Yemen	Protectorate of South Arabia
Federation of South Arabia	{{dts	11	30	format=dm}}		Merged with North Yemen to form Yemen in 1990
Sri Lanka	Ceylon	{{dts	02	04	format=dm}}		Gained independence as the Dominion of Ceylon. Renamed Sri Lanka in 1972 upon being declared a republic.
Sudan		{{dts	01	01	format=dm}}		Termination of dual Anglo-Egyptian condominium.
Tanganyika (1961–1964)		{{dts	12	09	format=dm}}		Tanganyika became independent on 9 December 1961. It joined with Zanzibar on 25 April 1964 to form Tanzania.
Tonga		{{dts	06	04	format=dm}}
Trinidad and Tobago		{{dts	08	31	format=dm}}		Independence Day (August 31)
Tuvalu	Gilbert and Ellice Islands	{{dts	10	01	format=dm}}
Uganda		{{dts	10	09	format=dm}}
United Arab Emirates	Trucial States	{{dts	12	02	format=dm}}		National Day (United Arab Emirates)
United States	British America	{{dts	07	04	format=dm}}		Declaration of Independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1776. British government recognized independence in 1783 with the Treaty of Paris.
Vanuatu	New Hebrides	{{dts	07	30	format=dm}}		Independence from United Kingdom and France in 1980. Vanuatu is a Commonwealth republic.
Vermont Republic	New Hampshire Grants	{{dts	01	15	format=dm}}		Independence declared from the British colony of Quebec as well as from New York (which was contested between Britain and the newly-independent United States during the American Revolutionary War) and New Hampshire (which was fully under United States control).
The Vermont Republic was admitted into the United States on 4 March 1791.
Zambia	Northern Rhodesia	{{dts	10	24	format=dm}}
Sultanate of Zanzibar		{{dts	12	10	format=dm}}		Zanzibar became independent on 10 December 1963. Sultanate of Zanzibar overthrown in the Zanzibar Revolution, which created a short-lived republic. It joined with Tanganyika on 25 April 1964 to form Tanzania.
Zimbabwe	Southern Rhodesia and Rhodesia	{{dts	04	18	format=dm}}		Southern Rhodesia declared independence from United Kingdom on 11 November 1965 as Rhodesia, which was not internationally recognized. Rhodesia transitioned to majority rule as Zimbabwe-Rhodesia on 1 June 1979 with a view to eventual international recognition, but instead returned to British control under the Lancaster House Agreement followed by internationally recognised independence in 1980 as Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth, but withdrew in December 2003. Zimbabwe is in the process of returning to its membership of the Commonwealth.

Evolution of dominions to independence

Country	Date of Dominion status	Date of adoption of the Statute of Westminster
relinquishment
of British powers	Instrument of
relinquishment	Notes
Australia		†	Australia Act 1986
Canada			Canada Act 1982
Ireland			Republic of Ireland Act and Ireland Act 1949	The 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic and 1919 Irish Declaration of Independence were never recognised by the UK but were given symbolic priority by post-1922 Irish leaders. From the [1932 Irish election](1932-irish-general-election), successive governments unilaterally amended the state's status:
		—	Canada Act 1982	Newfoundland [voted to join Canada](1948-newfoundland-referendums) in 1948 in a 52–48 vote; this became effective on 31 March 1949.
New Zealand			Constitution Act 1986	Declaration of Independence of New Zealand 1835, Treaty of Waitangi 1840, Dominion of New Zealand declared on 26 September 1907
South Africa			South African Constitution of 1961

†Adopted by Australia in 1942, but was backdated to confirm the validity of legislation passed by the Australian Parliament during World War II.

Military occupations that did not retain the pre-war central government

Country	Pre-independence name
(different)	Date	Year of independence or first stage	Notes
Iraq	Coalition Provisional Authority	{{dts	06	28	format=dm}}

Former British crown colonies that declared independence then later restored British rule

Country	Date of independence	Date of restoration
of British rule	Notes	Day & month	Year	Day & month	Year
Republic of Anguilla	{{dts	07	12	format=dm}}		{{dts	03	19	format=dm}}	The isles of Anguilla were a dependency of Saint Kitts alongside Nevis. The ruling party administration for St. Kitts moved to make the Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla colony into a looser associated state status with the UK in 1967 much to the dismay of many in Anguilla, with agitation turning into the Anguillan Revolution; Anguilla's population moved in favour of returning to British authority in 1971 with full British Crown Colony status (renamed in 2002 as British Overseas Territory status) returning in 1980.
Rhodesia	{{dts	11	11	format=dm}}		{{dts	12	21	format=dm}}	Southern Rhodesia declared independence from United Kingdom on 11 November 1965 as Rhodesia, which was not internationally recognized. Rhodesia transitioned to majority rule as Zimbabwe-Rhodesia on 1 June 1979 with a view to eventual international recognition, but instead returned to British control under the Lancaster House Agreement followed by internationally recognised independence in 1980 as Zimbabwe.

British overseas territories independence/sovereignty referendums

Territory	Date	Notes
Bermuda	{{dts	08	16	format=dm}}
Gibraltar	{{dts	11	07	format=dm}}
Falkland Islands	{{dts	03	11	format=dm}}

Territories which were relinquished to other sovereign states

Territory	Recipient state	Date	Year	Notes
Flag of the Governor of British Honduras (1884%E2%80%931981).svg Bay Islands	Honduras			See Bay Islands § Colony of the Bay Islands and § Cession of the Colony to Honduras
Flag of British Cameroon.svg Northern Cameroons	Nigeria	{{dts	10	01	format=dm}}
Flag of British Cameroon.svg Southern Cameroons	Cameroon	{{dts	10	01	format=dm}}
Columbia District	United States	{{dts	06	15	format=dm}}
	Spanish Empire	{{dts	11	25	format=dm}}
	Spanish Empire	{{dts	11	25	format=dm}}
		{{dts	05	23	format=dm}}
Heligoland	German Empire	{{dts	07	01	format=dm}}
British Hong Kong		{{dts	06	30	format=dm}}
Flag of the United States of the Ionian Islands.svg United States of the Ionian Islands	Kingdom of Greece
Malacca	Malaya
Crown Colony of North Borneo	Malaya	{{dts	09	16	format=dm}}
Penang	Malaya
Red River Colony	United States	{{dts	01	30	format=dm}}
Crown Colony of Sarawak	Malaya	{{dts	09	16	format=dm}}
Colony of Singapore	Malaya	{{dts	09	16	format=dm}}

Countries of the United Kingdom that have voted against independence

Country	Date	Year	Notes
Northern Ireland	{{dts	03	08	format=dm}}
Scotland	{{dts	09	18	format=dm}}

Notes

References

"Most countries to have gained independence from the same country".
Foschini, Fabrizio. (21 September 2019). "The 1919 War of Independence (or third Anglo-Afghan War): a conflict the Afghans started (and ended)". Afghanistan Analysts Network.
Staff Writer. (5 November 2021). "Happy 40th Independence Anniversary Antigua and Barbuda". CARICOM.
"Bahamas Independence Act 1973".
Dyde, James. (21 September 2021). "Belize Independence Day - 40 Images of Belize at 40". CentralAmerica.com.
"Botswana Independence Act 1966".
(23 February 2018). "A look back at Brunei's first National Day".
"United Nations Member States". UN.org.
"Indian Independence Act 1947".
"INDEPENDENCE DAY".
"Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 (Cth)". National Archives of Australia.
"Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942". ComLaw.
"St Kitts, Nevis And Anguilla - Hansard - UK Parliament".
"ANGUILLA BILL (Hansard, 16 July 1971)".
(10 May 2018). "Singapore profile — Timeline". BBC News.
Torrance, David. (21 November 2019). "'Taking the border out of politics' – the Northern Ireland referendum of March 1973".
Arnett, George. (22 September 2014). "Scottish independence referendum: the result in three maps". The Guardian.
Swann, Sean. (28 October 2016). "Scottish independence and the polls: why Brexit is not a game changer".

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