List of countries that have gained independence from the United Kingdom
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Below are lists of the countries and territories formerly ruled or administered by the United Kingdom or part of the British Empire (including military occupations that did not retain the pre-war central government), with their independence days. Some countries did not gain their independence on a single date, therefore the latest day of independence is shown with a break down of dates further down. A total of 65 countries have claimed their independence.
Colonies, Protectorates and Mandates[edit]
Country | Pre-independence name (different) |
Date | Year of independence or first stage | Notes |
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Northern Persia | 19 August | 1919 | Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919 |
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Antigua, Leeward Islands; UK-West Indies Associated State (WIAS) | 1 November | 1981 | |
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10 July | 1973 | Bahamas Independence Act 1973[1] | |
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15 August | 1971 | ||
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30 November | 1966 | The United Kingdom's Barbados Independence Act 1966 thereby granted local political independence for Saint Andrew's Day. | |
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British Honduras | 21 September | 1981 | September Celebrations of Belize |
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Bechuanaland | 30 September | 1966 | Botswana Independence Act 1966[2] |
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1 January | 1984 | ||
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16 August | 1960 | Cyprus Independence Day is commonly celebrated on 1 October.[3] | |
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Dominica, Windward Islands; UK-West Indies Associated State (WIAS) | 3 November | 1978 | |
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28 February | 1922 | Control over the Suez Canal Zone was maintained until 1952. | |
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6 September | 1968 | Initially called Swaziland, which was also its pre-independence name. Renamed itself Eswatini in 2018. | |
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10 October | 1970 | ||
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Gambia | 18 February | 1965 | |
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Gold Coast, Togoland (Togoland got absorbed into the Gold Coast in 1957) | 6 March | 1957 | |
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Grenada, Windward Islands; UK-West Indies Associated State (WIAS) | 7 February | 1974 | Independence Day (Grenada) |
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British Guiana | 26 May | 1966 | |
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British India | 15 August | 1947 | Independence Day (India) |
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3 October | 1932 | Pursuant to the British Mandate for Mesopotamia | |
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Mandatory Palestine | 14 May | 1948 | End of British mandate Independence Day (Israel) ![]() |
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6 August | 1962 | Independence Day (6 August) | |
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Transjordan | 25 May | 1946 | |
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12 December | 1963 | ||
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Gilbert and Ellice Islands | 12 July | 1979 | |
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19 June | 1961 | ||
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Basutoland | 4 October | 1966 | |
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24 December | 1951 | Libya had been under the rule of the Ottoman Empire since the middle of the sixteenth century. Following the Italo-Turkish war of 1912, Libya became an Italian colony. With their defeat in World War II, the Italians lost control of Libya. The country came under UN administration. Control was split between France and Britain, with France administering the province Fezzan while the British administered the provinces of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania. In 1949, the UN General Assembly declared that Libya should become an independent country by 1 January 1952. On 24 December 1951, Libya declared its independence from France and Britain becoming the United Kingdom of Libya, a constitutional and hereditary monarchy under King Idris. | |
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Nyasaland | 6 July | 1964 | |
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31 August | 1957 | As the Federation of Malaya (Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957). North Borneo (now Sabah), Sarawak and Singapore joined with the Federation of Malaya to form ![]() ![]() | |
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26 July | 1965 | ||
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21 September | 1964 | This occurred in spite of the 1956 Maltese United Kingdom integration referendum, but in accordance with 1964 Maltese constitutional referendum. | |
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12 March | 1968 | ||
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4 January | 1948 | Gained independence as Burma. Renamed Myanmar in 1989, but still officially known by the United Kingdom government as Burma. | |
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31 January | 1968 | Independence from the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand on 31 January 1968. | |
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1 October | 1960 | Took in Northern Cameroons | |
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Sultanate of Muscat and Oman | 20 December | 1970 | |
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British India | 14 August | 1947 | Partition of India![]() |
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British Qatari Protectorate | 3 September | 1971 | |
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St Lucia, Windward Islands; UK-West Indies Associated State (WIAS) | 22 February | 1979 | |
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St Kitts–Nevis and Anguilla, Leeward Islands; UK-West Indies Associated State (WIAS) | 19 September | 1983 | |
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St Vincent, Windward Islands; UK-West Indies Associated State (WIAS) | 27 October | 1979 | |
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29 June | 1976 | ||
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27 April | 1961 | ||
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British Solomon Islands | 7 July | 1978 | |
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British Somaliland Protectorate | 26 June | 1960 | The British Somaliland Protectorate gained independence on 26 June 1960 then united with the Trust Territory of Somalia on 1 July 1960 to form the Somali Republic, but later broke away and unilaterally declared independence, which is internationally unrecognised. |
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Protectorate of South Arabia Federation of South Arabia |
30 November | 1967 | Merged with ![]() ![]() |
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Ceylon | 4 February | 1948 | Gained independence as the Dominion of Ceylon. Renamed Sri Lanka in 1972. |
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1 January | 1956 | ![]() | |
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9 December | 1961 | Tanganyika became independent on 9 December 1961. It joined with Zanzibar on 25 April 1964 to form ![]() | |
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4 June | 1970 | ||
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31 August | 1962 | Independence Day (August 31st) | |
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Gilbert and Ellice Islands | 1 October | 1978 | |
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9 October | 1962 | ||
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Trucial States | 2 December | 1971 | National Day (United Arab Emirates) |
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Thirteen American Colonies | 4 July | 1776 | Fourth of July. Declaration of Independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1776. Last major battle of the American Revolutionary War fought in 1781. British government recognized independence in 1783.![]() ![]() ![]()
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New Hebrides | 30 July | 1980 | Independence from United Kingdom and France in 1980 |
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Northern Rhodesia | 24 October | 1964 | |
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10 December | 1963 | Zanzibar became independent on 10 December 1963. It joined with Tanganyika on 25 April 1964 to form ![]() | |
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Southern Rhodesia | 18 April | 1980 | Southern Rhodesia declared independence from United Kingdom on 11 November 1965 as ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Evolution of Dominions to independence[edit]
Country | Date of Dominion status | Date of adoption of the Statute of Westminster | Date of final relinquishment of British powers | Final event in question. | Notes |
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1 January 1901 | 9 October 1942 (effective from 1939) | 3 March 1986 | Australia Act 1986 | ![]() |
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1 July 1867 | 11 December 1931 | 17 April 1982 | Canada Act 1982 | ![]() |
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6 December 1922 | 11 December 1931 | 18 April 1949 | Republic of Ireland Act and Ireland Act 1949 | The 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic and 1919 Irish Declaration of Independence were never recognised by the UK but given symbolic priority by post-1922 Irish leaders. From the 1932 Irish election, successive governments unilaterally amended the state's status: the Constitution (Removal of Oath) Act on 3 May 1933 implicitly abrogated the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty; the 27th amendment and External Relations Act, both on 12 December 1936, attenuated the role of the monarchy; the enactment of the Constitution on 29 December 1937 established the office of President and definitively abolished all British powers over Ireland except diplomatic functions; the Republic of Ireland Act, which transferred diplomatic functions to the President of Ireland, came into force on 18 April 1949 with Ireland formally leaving the British Commonwealth. Related UK statutes included the Éire (Confirmation of Agreements) Act 1938 and the Ireland Act 1949. |
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26 September 1907 | — | 17 April 1982 | Canada Act 1982 | Newfoundland voted to join Canada in 1948 in a 52–48 vote; this became effective on 31 March 1949. |
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31 May 1910 | 11 December 1931 | 21 May 1961 | South African Constitution of 1961 | ![]() |
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26 September 1907 | 25 November 1947 | 13 December 1986 | Constitution Act 1986 | Declaration of Independence of New Zealand 1835, Treaty of Waitangi 1840
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Military occupations that did not retain the pre-war central government[edit]
Country | Pre-independence name (different) |
Date | Year of independence or first stage | Notes |
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Coalition Provisional Authority | 28 June | 2004 | Jointly with the United States and Poland, as part of the Multi-National Force – Iraq which operated under United States leadership |
Former British Crown Colonies that declared independence then later restored British rule[edit]
Country | Date | Year | Notes |
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12 July | 1967 |
Anguilla declared independence from St Kitts and Nevis in 1967, following the Anguillan Revolution; in favour of returning to British authority in 1971 with full British Crown Colony status (renamed in 2002 as British Overseas Territory status) returning in 1980. |
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11 November | 1965 | Southern Rhodesia declared independence from United Kingdom on 11 November 1965 as ![]() ![]() ![]() |
British Overseas Territories independence/sovereignty referendums[edit]
Territory | Date | Year | Notes |
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16 August | 1995 | Bermudians voted against independence for the territory in a 1995 referendum by 73.6% to 25.7%. |
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7 November | 2002 | Gibraltar held a referendum on whether or not to share sovereignty with Spain. 98.48% of voters rejected the proposal in favour of remaining solely a British overseas territory with only 1.02% supporting the proposal. |
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11 March | 2013 | Falkland Islanders voted in favour of remaining a British overseas territory by 99.8% to 0.2%. |
Territories which were relinquished to another sovereign state[edit]
Territory | Recipient state | Date | Year | Notes |
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1 October | 1961 | British Mandate territory in West Africa. In the 1961 British Cameroons referendum, the Northern Cameroons voted to join Nigeria (which itself gained independence from the United Kingdom), while the Southern Cameroons voted to join the Republic of Cameroun (which itself gained independence from France). |
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1 October | 1961 | British Mandate territory in West Africa. In the 1961 British Cameroons referendum, the Northern Cameroons voted to join Nigeria (which itself gained independence from the United Kingdom), while the Southern Cameroons voted to join the Republic of Cameroun (which itself gained independence from France). |
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23 May | 1949 | Nazi Germany occupied by Britain, France, the United States and the Soviet Union in 1945. Unlike in Austria, no German central government was retained in any of the occupation zones. The British and American occupation zones were merged in 1947 to form the Bizone, and the French zone was added into it in 1948. The resulting Trizone became host to a new German central government on 23 May 1949, with which the former Soviet zone - which had established a central government of its own called the German Democratic Republic - reunified on 3 October 1990. |
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30 June | 1997 | In 1984 the British government signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration with China and agreed to turn over Hong Kong and its dependencies in 1997. It was never put forward to the people of the territory to decide in the form of a referendum, and neither was it ever agreed by an elected legislature. British rule ended on 30 June 1997, with China taking over at midnight, 1 July 1997 (at end of 99-year lease). |
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16 September | 1963 | British protectorate established in 1881. Proclaimed a Crown Colony in 1946, and became a part of Malaysia on 16 September 1963 as the state of Sabah. |
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16 September | 1963 | Independent Raj of Sarawak 1841-1946. Annexed by Britain as a Crown Colony in 1946, and became a part of Malaysia on 16 September 1963. |
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16 September | 1963 | Became self-governing on 3 June 1959, and became a part of Malaysia on 16 September 1963. Subsequently gained independence from Malaysia on the 9 August 1965.[5] |
Countries of the United Kingdom that have voted against independence[edit]
Country | Date | Year | Notes |
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8 March | 1973 | In a 1973 Northern Ireland referendum, voters in Northern Ireland were asked to decide if they wanted to remain in the United Kingdom or to leave and join with the Republic of Ireland. They voted in favour of the United Kingdom by 98.9% to 1.1%, although Irish Nationalists boycotted the vote.[6] |
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18 September | 2014 | In the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, 55.3% of voters who qualified as residents of Scotland, chose 'No' to the question: 'Should Scotland be an independent country?' 44.7% of voters chose 'Yes'.[7] In March 2017, preliminary negotiations to begin to prepare an agreement to run a second referendum were proposed by the Scottish Parliament but were rejected out of hand by the Prime Minister. The proposal of preliminary negotiations was triggered by the Brexit vote, which saw a majority of voters in England and Wales vote to leave the EU while a majority in Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain.[8] |
See also[edit]
- Self-determination
- Commonwealth of Nations
- List of national independence days
- Foreign relations of the United Kingdom
- Foreign and Commonwealth Office
- Special Committee on Decolonization
References[edit]
- ^ https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1973/27/enacted
- ^ https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1966/23/body
- ^ "United Nations Member States". Un.org. Retrieved 4 November 2008.
- ^ Louis A. Pérez (1998). Cuba Between Empires: 1878–1902. University of Pittsburgh Pre. p. xv. ISBN 978-0-8229-7197-9. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
- ^ "Singapore profile - Timeline". 10 May 2018 – via www.bbc.com.
- ^ Torrance, David (21 November 2019). "'Taking the border out of politics' – the Northern Ireland referendum of March 1973". The Constitution Unit Blog. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ^ Arnett, George (22 September 2014). "Scottish independence referendum: the result in three maps". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ^ Swann, Sean (28 October 2016). "Scottish independence and the polls: why Brexit is not a game changer". London School of Economics. Retrieved 16 November 2021.