List of autonomous areas by country

Countries with at least one autonomous area

This list of autonomous areas arranged by country gives an overview of autonomous areas of the world. An autonomous area is defined as an area of a country that has a degree of autonomy, or has freedom from an external authority. It is typical for it to be geographically distant from the country, or to be populated by a national minority. Countries that include autonomous areas are often federacies.^[1] The autonomous areas differ from federal units and independent states in the sense that they, in relation to the majority of other sub-national territories in the same country, enjoy a special status including some legislative powers, within the state (for a detailed list of federated units, see Federated state#List of federal units by federation).^[2]

This list includes areas that are internationally recognized, as well as some that are generally unrecognized. The definition of an autonomous area varies from country to country, so the native term as defined by the respective country's government is listed, and the English translation of the term is included.

Autonomous areas 1
- Created by international agreements 1.1
- Created by internal statutes 1.2
  - All territories called "autonomous" 1.2.1
  - Dependent territories with autonomy 1.2.2
Other entities called "autonomous" 2
- Capitals called "autonomous" 2.1
- Independent cities called "autonomous" 2.2
See also 3
Notes 4
References 5

Autonomous areas

Created by international agreements

Country	Native term Translation or equivalent	Instances (areas became autonomous in the treaty and year(s) indicated, if available)	References
China (PRC)	特別行政區 (Chinese, an official language of both Hong Kong and Macau) região administrativa especial (Portuguese, another official language of Macau) special administrative region (English, another official language of Hong Kong)	Hong Kong (1997) · Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984^[3] Macau (1999) · Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration of 1987^[4]	^[5]
Finland	itsehallinnollinen maakunta autonomous province	Åland (1922) · Åland Treaty^[6]^[7]	^[8]
United Kingdom	UK constituent country with devolution	Northern Ireland (1998) · Good Friday Agreement (1998)^[9]
West Bank and Gaza Strip (status to be determined)	interim administrative authority	Palestinian National Authority (1994) · Oslo Accords (1993)

Notes:

Svalbard, Norway: Although it doesn't fit the definition of autonomous area (not possessing partial internal sovereignty), Svalbard has the sovereignty of Norway limited by the Spitsbergen Treaty of 1920^[10] 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: 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.^[11]
Büsingen am Hochrhein, Germany and Campione d'Italia, Italy despite being integral parts of their respective countries, these two enclaves of Switzerland predominantly use Swiss franc as currency^[12]^[13] and are in customs union with it.^[14]

Created by internal statutes

Country	Native term Translation or equivalent	Instances (areas became autonomous in the year(s) indicated, if available)	References
Antigua and Barbuda	autonomous island	Barbuda
Australia	regional authority	Torres Strait Islands (1994)
Azerbaijan	muxtar respublika autonomous republic	Nakhchivan (1924)	^[15]^[16]
Burma	self-administered zones	Danu Self-Administered Zone · Kokang Self-Administered Zone · Naga Self-Administered Zone · Pa Laung Self-Administered Zone · Pa-O Self-Administered Zone · Wa Self-Administered Division (2011)
Chile	territorios especiales special territories	Easter Island (2007) · Juan Fernández Islands (2007)	^[17]
China (PRC)	自治区 (zìzhìqū) autonomous region	Guangxi (1949) · Inner Mongolia (1947) · Ningxia (1958) · Xinjiang (1955) · Tibet (1965)	^[5]
	自治州 (zìzhìzhōu) autonomous prefecture	Linxia · Gannan · Qiandongnan · Qiannan · Qianxinan · Enshi · Xiangxi · Yanbian · Haibei · Hainan · Huangnan · Golog · Gyêgu · Haixi · Ngawa · Garzê · Liangshan · Kizilsu · Bortala · Changji · Bayin'gholin · Ili · Dehong · Nujiang · Dêqên · Dali · Chuxiong · Honghe · Wenshan · Xishuangbanna	^[5]
	自治县 (zìzhìxiàn) autonomous county	over 110 (full list)	^[5]
	自治旗 (zìzhìqí) autonomous banner	Oroqin · Evenki · Morin	^[5]
Democratic Republic of Congo	interim administration	Ituri Interim Administration (2003)
Fiji	autonomous region	Rotuma	^[18]
France	collectivité territoriale territorial collectivity	Corsica (2003)
Georgia	avtonomiuri respublika autonomous republic	Abkhazia (1991) · Adjara (1991)	^[19]
Georgia	provisional administrative entity	South Ossetia (2007)	^[20]
Greece	aftonomi monastiki politia autonomous monastic state	Mount Athos (1913)	^[21]
India	autonomous district and territorial council	Bodoland (2003) · Chakma (1972) · Dima Hasao (1970) · Garo Hills (1952) · Gorkhaland (2011) · Jaintia Hills (1972) · Karbi Anglong (1970) · Kargil (1995) · Khasi Hills (1952) · Lai (1972) · Leh (1995) · Mara (1972) · Tripura Tribal Areas (1982) and de facto autonomous area - North Sentinel Island (1947)	^[22]
India	autonomous state	Jammu and Kashmir	^[23]^[24]
Indonesia	daerah istimewa special region	Yogyakarta (1950) · Aceh (2005)
Indonesia	daerah otonomi khusus special autonomous region	Papua (2000) · West Papua (2008)
Iraq	herema autonomous region	Kurdistan Region (1992)	^[25]
Italy	regione autonoma autonomous region	Aosta Valley (1948) · Friuli-Venezia Giulia (1963) · Sardinia (1948) · Sicily (1946) · Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol (1948)	^[8]`
Italy	provincia autonoma autonomous province	South Tyrol (1972) · Trentino (1972)
Mauritius	autonomous island	Rodrigues (2002)	^[26]
Moldova	unitate teritorială autonomă autonomous territorial unit	Găgăuzia (1995) · Transnistria (2005)	^[8]
Nicaragua	región autónoma autonomous region	Atlántico Norte (1986) · Atlántico Sur (1986)	^[27]
Pakistan	Islami-Jamhouriyat-e-Kashmir autonomous region of Pakistan	Azad Kashmir (1948)	^[19]
Panama	comarca indígena indigenous territory	Emberá-Wounaan (1983) · Kuna de Madugandí (1996) · Kuna de Wargandí (2000) · Kuna Yala (1938) · Ngöbe-Buglé (1997)	^[28]
Papua New Guinea	autonomous region	Bougainville (2000)	^[29]
Philippines	rehiyong awtonomus autonomous region	Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (1989)	^[30]
Portugal	região autónoma autonomous region	Azores (1976) · Madeira (1976)	^[8]
Russia	respublika (autonomous) republic	Adygea · Altai Republic · Bashkortostan · Buryatia · Chechnya · Chuvashia · Republic of Crimea^[31] · Dagestan · Ingushetia · Kabardino-Balkaria · Kalmykia · Karachay-Cherkessia · Karelia · Khakassia · Komi · Mari El · Mordovia · North Ossetia-Alania · Sakha Republic · Tatarstan · Tuva · Udmurtia	^[8]
	avtonomnaya oblast autonomous province	Jewish Autonomous Oblast (1934)	^[8]
	avtonomny okrug autonomous district	Chukotka · Khanty-Mansi · Nenets · Yamalo-Nenets	^[8]
Saint Kitts and Nevis	autonomous island	Nevis (1967)	^[32]
São Tomé and Príncipe	província (autonomous) province	Príncipe (1995)	^[33]
Serbia	autonomna pokrajina autonomous province	Kosovo and Metohija · Vojvodina (1945)	^[34]
South Korea	teukbyeol jachido autonomous province	Jeju-do (2006)	^[35]
Tajikistan	viloyat mukhtor autonomous province	Gorno-Badakhshan (1925)	^[36]
Tanzania	Serikali ya Mapinduzi Zanzibar revolutionary government	Zanzibar (1964)	^[37]
Trinidad and Tobago	autonomous island	Tobago
Ukraine	avtonomna respublika autonomous republic	Crimea (1992)^[38]	^[8]
United Kingdom	UK constituent country with devolution	Scotland (1999) · Wales (1999) · Northern Ireland	^[8]
Uzbekistan	respublika (autonomous) republic	Karakalpakstan

All territories called "autonomous"

In a number of countries, all territories or regions of a particular type are called "autonomous". Depending on the case, this may or may not reflect a special devolution of powers or freedom from external authority.

Country	Native term Translation or equivalent	Instances (areas became autonomous in the year indicated, if available)	References
Bolivia	departamento (autonomous) department	Beni (2006) · Pando (2006) · Santa Cruz (2006) · Tarija (2006) · La Paz (2009) · Cochabamba (2009) · Chuquisaca (2009) · Oruro (2009) · Potosi (2009)	^[39]
	provincia autónoma autonomous province	Gran Chaco	^[40]
	municipio autónomo autonomous municipality	Huacaya · Tarabuco · Mojocoya · Charazani · Jesús de Machaca · Pampas Aullagas · San Pedro de Totora · Chipaya · Salinas de Garci Mendoza · Chayanta · Charagua	^[41]
	territorio indígena indigenous territory	All native community lands (tierras comunitarias de origen): Asamblea del Pueblo Guaraní, Central de Pueblos Nativos Guarayos, Central de Pueblos Indigenas del Beni, Central Indigena de la Region Amazonica de Bolivia, Central Indigena de Pueblos Amazonicos de Pando, Central de Pueblos Indigenas del Tropico de Cochabamba, Central de Pueblos Indigenas de La Paz, Organizacion de la Capitania Wehenayek Tapiete.
Bosnia and Herzegovina	entitet entity	Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1994) · Republika Srpska (1992)	^[42]
Comoros	île autonome autonomous island	Anjouan (2002) · Grande Comore (2002) · Mohéli (2002)	^[43]
Spain	comunidad autónoma (in Spanish)^[44] autonomia erkidego (in Basque)^[45] comunautat autonòma (in Occitan)^[46] comunitat autònoma (in Catalan/Valencian)^[47] comunidade autónoma (in Galician)^[48] autonomous community (nationalities and regions of Spain)	Andalusia (1981) · Aragon (1982) · Asturias (1981) · Balearic Islands (1983) · Basque Country (1979) · Canary Islands (1982) · Cantabria (1982) · Castile–La Mancha (1982) · Castile and León (1983) · Catalonia (1979) · Extremadura (1983) · Galicia (1981) · La Rioja (1982) · Madrid (1983) · Murcia (1982) · Navarre (1982) · Valencian Community (1982)	^[8]
Spain	ciudad autónoma autonomous city	Ceuta (1995) · Melilla (1995)	^[8]

Dependent territories with autonomy

Country	Native term Translation or equivalent	Instances (areas became autonomous in the year(s) indicated, if available)	References
Australia	self-governant territory	Norfolk Island (1979)
Denmark	rigsfællesskabet autonomous region	Faroe Islands (1948) · Greenland (1979)	^[8]
France	sui generis collectivité collectivity sui generis	New Caledonia (1999)	^[49]
Netherlands	autonoom land autonomous country	Aruba (1986) · Curaçao (2010) · Sint Maarten (2010)
New Zealand	state in free-association	Cook Islands (1965) · Niue (1974)
New Zealand	self-administering territory	Tokelau (1948)	^[49]
Pakistan	self-governing semi-autonomous region	Gilgit–Baltistan (1970)	^[50]
United Kingdom	crown dependency	Guernsey · Isle of Man · Jersey	^[8]
United Kingdom	British Overseas Territories	Falkland Islands · Gibraltar · Bermuda · Cayman Islands · British Virgin Islands · Montserrat · Anguilla	^[8]
United States	commonwealth	Puerto Rico (1952) · Northern Mariana Islands (1978)	^[51]

Other entities called "autonomous"

A number of entities are also officially called "autonomous", though they do not have an exceptional freedom from external authority, and would not fall under the definition of autonomous area. They are listed here for clarity.

Capitals called "autonomous"

Country	Native term Translation or equivalent	Instances (areas became autonomous in the year indicated, if available)	References
Argentina	ciudad autónoma autonomous city	Buenos Aires (1994)	^[52]
Cambodia	krong autonomous municipality	Phnom Penh, along with independent cities under the same classification	^[53]
Central African Republic	commune autonome autonomous commune	Bangui	^[54]
Guinea-Bissau	sector autónomo autonomous sector	Bissau Region	^[55]
Indonesia	daerah khusus ibukota special capital region	Jakarta	^[56]
Uzbekistan	shahar autonomous city	Tashkent (1918)	^[57]

Independent cities called "autonomous"

Country	Native term Translation or equivalent	Instances (areas became autonomous in the year indicated, if available)	References
Cambodia	krong autonomous municipality	Phnom Penh · Sihanoukville · Pailin · Kep	^[53]

Notes

^ For example: "China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region". United Nations. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
^ See International recognition of Kosovo for states that do and do not recognize the Republic of Kosovo.

References

^ Lucas I. González (2008-02-11). "Political Power, Fiscal Crises, and Decentralization in Latin America: Federal Countries in Comparative Perspective (and some Contrasts with Unitary Cases)". Publius: the Journal of Federalism (Oxford University Press) 38 (2): 211.
^ Olausson, Pär M. (2007) Autonomy and Islands: A Global Study of the Factors that Determine Island Autonomy, Turku: Åbo Akademi University Press, pp. 21-25
^ "The Joint Declaration (and following pages)". Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, The Government of the HKSAR. 1 July 2007.
^ "Joint declaration of the Government of the People's Republic of China and The Government of the Republic of Portugal on the question of Macao". io.gov.mo.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Provinces of China". Statoids. 2006-06-26. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
^ (French) Edouard Gourdon, Histoire du Congrès de Paris, Paris, 1857, full text at google Print
^ Later confirmated by the Act on the Autonomy of Åland of 1920 (which was later replaced by new legislations by the same name in 1951 and 1991) and the League of Nations in 1922 following the Åland crisis.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ Benedikter, Thomas (2006-06-19). "The working autonomies in Europe". Society for Threatened Peoples. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
^ http://www.nio.gov.uk/agreement.pdf
^ "Treaty concerning the Archipelago of Spitsbergen, and Protocol [1925] ATS 10". austlii.edu.au.
^ Article 6 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 (as amended) on the common system of value added tax (OJ L 347, 11.12.2006, p. 1) Eur-lex.europa.eu.
^ NM Currency Converter. "Currency converter Swiss Franc, CHF". nm-devises.com.
^ It is legal tender in Campione d'Italia
^ "2.1.2 Erhebungsgebiet". admin.ch.
^ "Regions and territories: Nagorno-Karabakh". BBC News. 2008-01-15. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
^ Treaty of Moscow (1921) and Treaty of Kars (1921)
^ Constitucional act granting special status of Easter Island and Juan Fernández Islands. As the special charter is being discussed, they remain being governed as provinces of the Valparaíso Region
^ "Rotuma Act". Laws of Fiji (1978 ed.). Suva, Fiji: Government of Fiji. 1927. Retrieved 2010-07-10. .
^ ^a ^b "Regions of Georgia". Statoids. 2007-11-30. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
^ "Sanakoev Appointed as Head of S.Ossetia Administration". Civil.ge. 2007-05-10. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
^ "Departments of Greece". Statoids. 2007-09-01. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
^ "The World's Working Regional Autonomies, Thomas Benedikter". Anthem Press. 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
^ "Autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir". frontline.in.
^ Article 370
^ "Provinces of Iraq". Statoids. 2007-08-29. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
^ "Districts of Mauritius". Statoids. 2007-05-08. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
^ "Departments of Nicaragua". Statoids. 2005-04-12. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
^ "Panama Provinces". Statoids. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
^ "Provinces of Papua New Guinea". Statoids. 2005-06-01. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
^ "Provinces of the Philippines". Statoids. 2008-01-31. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
^ Recognized as a part of Ukraine by most of the international community
^ See section 3 and 4 about Nevis Island Legislature and Administration in The Saint Christopher and Nevis Constitution Order 1983. Published online by Georgetown University and also by University of the West Indies. Retrieved 8 August 2006.
^ "Sao Tome and Principe". Central Intelligence Agency. 2008-02-12. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
^ "Districts of Serbia". Statoids. 2008-02-17. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
^ "Jeju City". Galbijim. 2007-04-08. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
^ "Regions of Tajikistan". Statoids. 2005-10-16. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
^ "Regions and territories: Zanzibar". BBC News. 2007-08-16. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
^ Was annexed by the Russian Federation in March 2014
^ Doug Hertzler. "Debunking Myths Part II: Bolivia’s Autonomy Initiatives". Retrieved 2010-04-01.
^ "5 departamentos se suman a la autonomía; Gran Chaco la primera región autónoma". eju.tv. 2009-12-07. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
^ "Las autonomías indígenas avanzan a paso lento per seguro, entre consensos e interrogantes" Diálogos en Democracia, 21 March 2010 (Supplement to Pulso Bolivia).
^ "Bosnia and Herzegovina Government". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
^ "Autonomous Islands of Comoros". Statoids. 2005-10-16. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
^ Spanish (aka Castilian) is official in
^ Basque is official in the Spanish autonomous communities of Basque Country and Navarre.
^ Occitan is official in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia.
^ Catalan/Valencian is official in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, Balearic Islands Valencian Community.
^ Galician is official in the Spanish autonomous community of Galicia.
^ ^a ^b Included on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.
^ "Autonomy Order for Gilgit–Baltistan".
^ "December 2005 report of the President's Task Force on Puerto Rico's Status" (PDF). pfraa.com.
^ Pinduli, Irene; Spivacow, R; Del Valle, E; Vidal, S; Negri, AL; Previgliano, H; Farías Edos, R; Andrade, JH; Negri, GM (2006-01-20). "Prevalence of urolithiasis in the autonomous city of Buenos Aires, Argentina". Urological Research 34 (1): 8–11.
^ ^a ^b "Provinces of Cambodia". Statoids. 2005-05-13. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
^ "Prefectures of the Central African Republic". Statoids. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
^ "Regions of Guinea-Bissau". Statoids. 2006-09-14. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
^ "Jakarta". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
^ "Regions of Uzbekistan". Statoids. 2007-05-17. Retrieved 2008-02-25.

List of autonomous areas by country