In the modern world, there are about 250 countries. Most of them have state sovereignty. Others do not have full political or economic independence. These are the so-called dependent countries. You will find a list of such territorial entities in this article. In addition, we will talk about the most interesting of them in more detail.
Dependent Territory - what is it?
A territory that has clear boundaries, but does not have state sovereignty, is usually called dependent in political geography. As a rule, it is subject to the jurisdiction of some other state. Moreover, dependent countries can be located in hundreds, or even thousands of kilometers from their immediate metropolises.
Such territorial entities (the English term - dependent territory) may have the status of autonomies, but they do not have political independence. Territories with the status of “associated states” enjoy the highest degree of independence (examples are Niue, Cook Islands).
Most often, dependent countries are “fragments” of pre-existing empires. The population of the former colonies, as a rule, has the same civil rights as the residents of the metropolitan states. Local economic and political elites in such countries, as a rule, today are guided by their former colonialists.
Dependent countries of the world and their geography
Where are countries without state sovereignty located? And how many are there? Today in the world there are more than eight dozen dependent countries and territories. They have a variety of statuses: crown lands, overseas territories, special administrative regions, autonomous regions and others. The largest and most famous of them are listed below:
- Greenland.
- Puerto Rico.
- Gibraltar.
- Norfolk.
- Isle Of Man.
- Bermuda
- Turks and Caicos.
- Faroe islands.
- Canary Islands.
- Macau
- Hong Kong.
- Aruba.
- Tokelau.
- Cook Islands.
- Guam.
- Madeira
- French Guiana.
- Azores.
On the world map, all these territories are located extremely unevenly. Most of them are in Oceania and Central America, and least of all - in Asia. The largest number of dependent territories today are owned by such states as Great Britain, France, the USA, the Netherlands and Spain.
Greenland
Greenland is a huge island belonging to the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between Europe and North America and is washed by the waters of two oceans at once - the Atlantic and the Arctic. It is the largest island on the planet. It is 50 times larger than Denmark itself, but only 50 thousand people live here. The reason is in an extremely cold climate.
Three quarters of the island is covered with a powerful ice shell. If it had completely melted, then the level of the oceans would rise by seven meters! People live here only on a narrow southwestern strip of ice-free coast. These are mainly Inuit (local Greenland Eskimos), as well as Danes and other Europeans.
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is an overseas property of Great Britain, located on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. This territory occupies a strategically important position, since it controls the Strait of Gibraltar - the only way out of the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic. Today, there is a NATO naval base.
Gibraltar is located on a tiny piece of rocky sea coast. The area of the country is only 6.5 square kilometers. About 30 thousand people live on this territory, which makes Gibraltar one of the most densely populated countries in the world.
Azores
Azores - an autonomous region of Portugal. This is an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, consisting of nine small islands. Find the Azores on the map is easy. They are located 1,500 kilometers west of the city of Lisbon.
Today, the archipelago attracts the attention of divers, cyclists, as well as lovers of a relaxing beach holiday. About 245 thousand people live on the islands, half of which are on the “capital” island of San Miguel.
Puerto rico
Puerto Rico is a US dependent territory with the status of a “free associated state.” This is a fairly large island located in the Caribbean. Initially, it belonged to Spain, but in 1898 was recaptured by the American army. Today, every person born in Puerto Rico receives US citizenship. However, Puerto Ricans are not eligible to run for president.
Today in Puerto Rico, the petrochemical industry, pharmaceuticals and agricultural business are developed. An important component of the economy is tourism, which brings the "51st state" about $ 2 billion annually.
What else can be said about this island? All Puerto Ricans are "obsessed" with salsa and rum. In addition, it was in Puerto Rico that the legendary Pina Colada cocktail was invented.
Hong Kong
Talking about dependent countries and territories, one cannot but mention Hong Kong. This is a special administrative region within China, one of the main financial centers not only in Asia, but throughout the world. This country has its own monetary currency - the Hong Kong dollar.
In modern Hong Kong, over 7 million people live. These are mainly Chinese, although many Hong Kongers do not consider themselves as such. The local economy is based on low tax rates and free market principles. It was in Hong Kong that the very first skyscrapers in all of China were erected.
In general, Hong Kong is a city more European than Chinese. This is especially evident in the mentality of its inhabitants. The explanation for this phenomenon is simple - for almost a hundred years this territory has been leased by the British Kingdom. By the way, car traffic in Hong Kong is left-hand, as in distant England.