An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of autonomy—self-governance—under the national government. Autonomous areas are distinct from the constituent units of a federation (e.g. a state, or province) in that they possess unique powers for their given circumstances. Typically, it is either geographically distinct from the rest of the state or populated by a national minority. Decentralization of self-governing powers and functions to such divisions is a way for a national government to try to increase democratic participation or administrative efficiency or to defuse internal conflicts. States that include autonomous areas may be federacies, federations, or confederations. Autonomous areas can be divided into territorial autonomies, subregional territorial autonomies, and local autonomies.

List of major autonomous areas

Division	State	Notes
Azad Kashmir	Pakistan	Azad Kashmir is a self-governing polity which has not been formally annexed by Pakistan. It was established after a rebellion against the Maharajah of Kashmir, and the subsequent First Kashmir War.[1] It is located within the historic Kashmir region, which is disputed between India, Pakistan and China.
Northern Ireland  Scotland  Wales	United Kingdom	Three of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom, namely Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, each have an elected, devolved legislature which has the ability to legislate in devolved matters. The Parliament of the United Kingdom which retains sovereignty (the United Kingdom is a unitary state), can dissolve the devolved legislatures at any time, and legislates in matters that are not devolved, as well as having the capacity to legislate in areas that are devolved (by constitutional convention, without the agreement of the devolved legislature). Formerly, both Scotland and England were fully sovereign states.
Faroe Islands  Greenland[2]	Kingdom of Denmark	The two autonomous territories[2] (Danish: land, Faroese: land, Greenlandic: nuna) of the realm of the Kingdom, the Faroe Islands and Greenland, each have an elected devolved legislature which has the ability to legislate in devolved matters. The Kingdom Parliament 'Folketinget' retains sovereignty (The Kingdom of Denmark is a unitary state) and legislates in matters that are not devolved, as well as having the capacity to legislate in areas that are devolved (this does not normally occur without the agreement of the devolved legislature).
Tobago	Trinidad and Tobago	The Tobago House of Assembly is a devolved legislature that is responsible for the island of Tobago.[3]
Jeju	South Korea
Vojvodina	Serbia
Kosovo / Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija	Claimed by:  Serbia Controlled by:  Kosovo	In 2008, Kosovo unilaterally declared itself as an independent state. Its international recognition is split between those who recognize it as an independent state and those who recognize it as an autonomous province of Serbia under United Nations administration.
Åland	Finland
Azores  Madeira	Portugal
Bangsamoro	Philippines
Bougainville	Papua New Guinea
Hong Kong  Macau	People's Republic of China
Puntland  Jubaland Hirshabelle  Galmudug  Somaliland Koofur Orsi	Somalia	Somaliland is a self-declared independent state, although it is internationally considered an autonomous region in northwestern Somalia.
Atlántico Norte	Nicaragua
Atlántico Sur
Rodrigues	Mauritius
Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria	Syria
Zanzibar	Tanzania
Nakhchivan	Azerbaijan
Adjara	Georgia
Abkhazia / Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia	Claimed by:  Georgia Controlled by:  Abkhazia	In 1999, the Republic of Abkhazia declared its independence from Georgia after the 1992–1993 war. Georgia and most of the U.N. member states have not recognized Abkhazia's independence and still has an administrative apparatus for the claimed Autonomous Republic; its independence is recognized by Russia and three other U.N. member states.
Gorno-Badakhshan	Tajikistan
Republic of Crimea / Autonomous Republic of Crimea	Claimed by:  Ukraine Controlled by:  Russia	The 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia is not recognized by most countries, including Ukraine.
Karakalpakstan	Uzbekistan
Gagauzia	Moldova
Transnistria / Left Bank of the Dniester	Claimed by:  Moldova Controlled by:  Transnistria	In 1990, the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR, commonly known as Transnistria) declared its independence from the Soviet Union. While Moldova has not formally recognized Transnistria's independence and still has an administrative apparatus for the claimed Autonomous Territorial Unit, its independence is recognized by 3 other non-UN member states.
Republika Srpska Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Easter Island Juan Fernández Islands	Chile	In 2007, the Chamber of Deputies of Chile passed a law designating both as "special territories", granting them more autonomy.[4] Additionally, the Juan Fernandez Islands archipelago is a commune, while Easter Island is both a commune and a province.
Barbuda (1976)	Antigua and Barbuda
Rotuma	Fiji
Kurdistan Region (1970)	Iraq
Nevis (1967)	Saint Kitts and Nevis
Autonomous Region of Príncipe (1995)	São Tomé and Príncipe
Svalbard	Norway	Although it does not fit the definition of autonomous area (not possessing partial internal sovereignty), Svalbard has the sovereignty of Norway limited by the Spitsbergen Treaty of 1920 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	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.
Büsingen am Hochrhein	Germany	Despite being integral parts of their respective countries, these two enclaves of Switzerland predominantly use the Swiss franc as currency and are in customs union with Switzerland.
Campione d'Italia	Italy

Other territories considered autonomous

British Crown Dependencies

Division	State	Notes
Guernsey	United Kingdom
Isle of Man
Jersey

Guernsey, the Isle of Man, and Jersey are self-governing Crown Dependencies which are not part of the United Kingdom; however, the UK is responsible for their defence and international affairs.

British Overseas Territories

Division	State	Notes
Anguilla	United Kingdom
Bermuda
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Falkland Islands
Gibraltar
Montserrat
Pitcairn
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Turks and Caicos Islands

Gibraltar is a self-governing overseas territory of the UK. Most of the other 13 British Overseas Territories also have autonomy in internal affairs through local legislatures.

Dutch constituent countries

Division	State	Notes
Aruba	Kingdom of the Netherlands
Curaçao
Sint Maarten
Netherlands

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

Division	State	Notes
Alsace (2021)	France	single territorial collectivity
Corsica (2018)		single territorial collectivity
French Guiana		overseas collectivity
Guadeloupe		overseas region and department
Martinique		overseas collectivity
Mayotte		overseas region and department
Réunion		overseas region and department
French Polynesia		overseas collectivity
Saint-Barthélemy		overseas collectivity
Saint-Martin		overseas collectivity
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon		overseas collectivity
Wallis and Futuna		overseas collectivity
New Caledonia		sui generis collectivity

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

Division	State	Notes
Cook Islands	New Zealand
Niue
Tokelau

New Zealand maintains nominal sovereignty over three Pacific Island nations. The Cook Islands and Niue are self-governing countries in free association with New Zealand that maintain some international relationships in their own name. Tokelau remains an autonomous dependency of New Zealand. The Chatham Islands—despite having the designation of Territory—is an integral part of the country, situated within the New Zealand archipelago. The territory's 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.^[5]

Ethnic autonomous territories

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.

Areas designated for indigenous peoples

Division	State	Notes
Nisga'a	Canada
Nunatsiavut
Tłı̨chǫ
Haida Nation
Hopi Reservation	United States
Cherokee Nation
Choctaw Nation
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
Navajo Nation
Emberá-Wounaan	Panama
Kuna de Madugandí
Kuna de Wargandí
Kuna Yala
Ngöbe-Buglé
Naso Tjër Di Comarca

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.^[discuss]
• the five comarcas indígenas ("indigenous regions") of Panama.

List of historical autonomous administrative divisions

• Autonomous region of Catalonia within the Spanish Republic (1932–1939)
• Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship
• Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in the Philippines (1989–2019)
• Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus in Albania (1914).
• Autonomous republics of the Soviet Union (1922–1990)
• Bantustans in South West Africa (1968–1990) and South Africa (1956–1994)
• Carpathian Ruthenia and Slovakia within Czechoslovakia (1938–1939).
• Grand Duchy of Finland of the Russian Empire.
• Magyar Autonomous Region of Socialist Republic of Romania (1952–1968)
• Southern Ireland (1921–22) within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
• Southern Sudan Autonomous Region (1972–1983) and Southern Sudan Autonomous Region (2005–2011)