A dependent territory, dependent area or dependency is a territory that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a State.
There are varying degrees and forms of dependence, commonly distinguished from other subnational entities in that they are not considered to be part of the motherland or mainland of the governing State. In most cases they also represent a different order of separation. A subnational entity typically represents a division of the State proper, while a dependent territory might be an overseas territory that enjoys a greater degree of autonomy. For instance, many of them have more or less separate legal systems from the governing States. Varies among different legal and constitutional traditions, these territories may or may not be considered part of the States.
The areas separately referred to as non-independent are territories that are disputed, are occupied, have a government in exile or have a non-negligible independence movement.
Currently there are 60 dependencies on this list, not including those listed as under China, Finland, and Russia. All claims south of 60 degrees south (in Antarctica) are not recognised or are disputed. They are italicised. Uninhabited territories or territories with no permanent population are marked with hash keys/number symbols (#).
The list includes several territories that are not included in the list of non-self-governing territories [1] listed by the General Assembly of the United Nations (which also includes Western Sahara, since 1990, the General Assembly reaffirmed that the question of Western Sahara was a question of decolonization which remained to be completed by the people of Western Sahara).
A number of political entities have a special position recognized by international treaty or agreement (i.e. Åland in Finland, Hong Kong & Macau in the Peoples Republic of China, and Svalbard in Norway). These are not dependent territories in the strict sense of the meaning, but have in some way a similar position. See List of special entities recognized by international treaty or agreement for more information.
The Netherlands Antilles were to be dissolved on 15 December 2008, but this has been put off to an later, undefined, date. Under that plan 
Curaçao and 
Sint Maarten will become autonomous regions in their own right. 
Bonaire, 
Saba and 
Sint Eustatius will become special municipalities of the Netherlands.
This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.
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