Autonomous administrative division

Countries with at least one area labelled "autonomous" or defined as such by law

An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subdivision or dependent territory of a country that has a degree of self-governance, or autonomy, from an external authority. Typically, it is either geographically distinct from the rest of the country or populated by a national minority. 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. Countries 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 autonomous subdivisions by designation

Designation Division State Notes
State  Azad Kashmir  Pakistan Azad Kashmir is a self-governing state under Pakistan, but under Pakistan's constitution the state is not formally a part of the country as the Kashmir conflict has not yet been resolved.
Banner Oroqen  People's Republic of China In effect, these are autonomous counties.
Evenk
Morin Dawa Daur
City Buenos Aires  Argentina Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina
 Ceuta  Spain The autonomous cities of Spain are two exclaves located on the north coast of North Africa surrounded by Morocco, separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar.
 Melilla
Tashkent  Uzbekistan Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan
Commune Bangui  Central African Republic Bangui is the capital and the largest city of the Central African Republic
Community
There are 17 autonomous communities of Spain
Nation  United Kingdom Three of the four constituent nations 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 retains sovereignty (the United Kingdom 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, by constitutional convention, without the agreement of the devolved legislature).
County
There are 117 autonomous counties of the People's Republic of China
District Council
There are 8 autonomous district councils of India
Island  Tobago  Trinidad and Tobago The Tobago House of Assembly is an autonomous legislature that is responsible for the island of Tobago.[1]
Okrug
There are 6 autonomous okrugs of Russia
Oblast Jewish Autonomous Oblast  Russia
Prefecture
There are 30 autonomous prefectures of the People's Republic of China
Province  Aceh  Indonesia
Jeju  South Korea
Kosovo and Metohija Claimed by:
 Serbia
In 2008, the Republic of Kosovo declared independence. While Serbia has not formally recognized Kosovo's independence and still has an administrative apparatus for the Autonomous Province, its independence is recognized by 113 UN member states.
Controlled by:
 Kosovo
Papua  Indonesia
 South Tyrol  Italy
 Trentino
Vojvodina  Serbia
West Papua  Indonesia
Yogyakarta
 Vanuatu The provinces of Vanuatu are autonomous units with their own popularly elected local parliaments.
Region  Åland Islands  Finland
Aosta Valley  Italy
 Azores  Portugal
 Bougainville  Papua New Guinea
 Friuli-Venezia Giulia  Italy
Guangxi  People's Republic of China
 Hong Kong
 Macau
 People's Republic of China
Hopi Reservation  United States
Cherokee Nation  United States
Oglala Lakota of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation  United States
Inner Mongolia  People's Republic of China
 Iraqi Kurdistan  Iraq Iraqi Kurdistan is the only region that has gained official recognition internationally as an autonomous regional entity.
 Madeira  Portugal
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao  Philippines
Mount Athos  Greece
Navajo Nation  United States
Ningxia  People's Republic of China
Nisga'a Nation  Canada
Nunatsiavut
RAAN  Nicaragua
RAAS
 Rodrigues  Mauritius
 Sardinia  Italy
 Sicily
Tibet  People's Republic of China
Tłı̨chǫ  Canada
Xinjiang  People's Republic of China
Zanzibar  Tanzania
There are 14 autonomous regions of India, one of which is a de facto area
Republic Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic Nakhchivan  Azerbaijan
Adjara  Georgia
Abkhazia Claimed by:
 Georgia
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 Autonomous Republic; its independence is recognized by Russia and three other U.N. member states.
Controlled by:
 Abkhazia
Gorno-Badakhshan  Tajikistan
Crimea Claimed by:
 Ukraine
Controlled by:
 Russia
Karakalpakstan  Uzbekistan
Sector Bissau  Guinea-Bissau
Territorial Unit Gagauzia  Moldova
Transnistria Claimed by:
 Moldova
In 1990, the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic declared its independence from the Soviet Union. While Moldova has not formally recognized Transnistria's independence and still has an administrative apparatus for the Autonomous Province, its independence is recognized by 3 other non-UN member states.
Controlled by:
 Transnistria
Entity  Bosnia and Herzegovina

List of other entities considered autonomous

Overseas territories

British Overseas Territories and Crown dependencies

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

New Zealand dependent territories

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.[2]

Danish constituent countries

The Faroe Islands and Greenland are two autonomous countries within the Kingdom of Denmark.

Dutch constituent countries

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

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, Guadaloupe, 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.

Ethiopian special woredas

In Ethiopia, "special woredas" are a subgroup of woredas (districts) that are organized around the traditional homelands of an ethnic minority, 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

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

List of historical autonomous administrative divisions

See also

References

Works cited

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