Autonomous administrative division

Other territories considered autonomous

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, Guadeloupe, 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.

New Zealand overseas territories

New Zealand maintains nominal sovereignty over three Pacific Island nations, the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau. The Chatham Islands—despite having the designation of Territory—is an integral part of the country, situated within the New Zealand archipelago; its 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.

United States unincorporated territories

Ethnic autonomous territories

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:

• Aboriginal (First Nation or Native American or Indian) Indian reserve and Indian reservation, in, respectively, Canada and the United States.
• the five comarcas indígenas ("indigenous regions") of Panama.

Ethiopian special woredas

In Ethiopia, "special woredas" are a subgroup of woredas (districts) that are organized around the traditional homelands of specific ethnic minorities, and are outside the usual hierarchy of a kilil, or region. These woredas have many similarities to autonomous areas in other countries.

Proposed autonomous administrative divisions

Formal proposals

The following autonomous regions have been proposed but not implemented following unsuccessful referendums or other political reasons:

• Cordillera Autonomous Region within the Philippines (1990, 1998)
• Special Autonomous Region of East Timor within Indonesia (1999)
• Corsica within France (2003)
• North East England within the United Kingdom (2004)
• Darfur Region within Sudan (2016)

The following autonomous regions were initially rejected in a referendum but were subsequently approved in a future referendum:

• Scotland within the United Kingdom (Rejected 1979, Approved 1997)
• Wales within the United Kingdom (Rejected 1979, Approved 1997)

The following autonomous regions have been proposed as part of peace agreements:

• Kosovo within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1999)
• Western Sahara Authority within Morocco (2003)
• Sahara Autonomous Region within Morocco (2007)
• Community of Serb Municipalities within Kosovo (2013)
• Taiwan within China

Campaigns

• Cornwall within the United Kingdom
• Yorkshire within the United Kingdom
• England within the United Kingdom
• Hungarian Autonomous Region within Serbia
• Corsica within France
• Occitania within France
• Savoie within France
• Veneto within Italy
• Silesia within Poland
• Székely Land within Romania
• Vilnius Region within Lithuania
• Assyria within Iraq

Historical autonomous administrative divisions

• Kunság within the Kingdom of Hungary (1279–1876)
• Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire (1809–1917)
• Autonomous Region of Catalonia within the Spanish Republic (1932–1939)
• Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship (1920–1939)
• Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in the Philippines (1989–2019)
• Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus in Albania (1914)
• Southern Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1921–1922)
• ASSRs of the Soviet Union (1922–1990)
• Carpathian Ruthenia and Slovakia within Czechoslovakia (1938–1939)
• Croatia within Yugoslavia (1938–1939)
• Eritrea within the Federation of Ethiopia and Eritrea (1952–1962)
• Bantustans in South West Africa (1968–1990) and South Africa (1956–1994)
• Magyar Autonomous Region of Socialist Republic of Romania (1952–1968)
• Singapore within Malaysia (1963–1965)
• Southern Sudan Autonomous Region (1972–1983) and Southern Sudan Autonomous Region (2005–2011) within Sudan
• Kokang Self-Administered Zone (2010-2024) within Myanmar
• Administration of South Ossetia (2007-2026) within Georgia although the entity have no South Ossetian territory under its control from 2008