Talk:List of autonomous areas by country

Untitled

Just some questions: why is Barbuda not autonomous (see article 123 of the constitution)? Why is Rotuma not autonomous (see special position in Fiji constitution)? Why are Carriacou and Petit Martiniquenot autonomous?(see article 107 of the Constitution) -- Gangulf 21:24, 6 Oct 2004 (UTC)

China

IMO Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR should be added, not just mentioned Ybgursey 01:00, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Denmark

A link to this page is provided in the Faroe Islands page, they are an autonomous entity of Denmark. Yet Denmark doesn't appear on the list anywhere.

Iraq

Kurdish region? Ybgursey 01:05, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Philippines

The Republic of the Philippines should be added with one region (at least) linked to ARMM the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao on the southern big island. L Hamm 23:38, 9 August 2005 (UTC)

Nicaragua

I added the two autonomous regions in Nicaragua based on this website [1]. Obviously, I'd like to have more evidence and create entries for those - linked to the Nicaragua article, please post any help here.L Hamm 05:43, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

UK

Should Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland be added to this list? sjorford (talk) 10:05, 12 January 2006 (UTC)

I do not think so as they are just standard sub-national entities. The entities that should be listed here are sub-national entities that has more/different/special powers than the standard sub-national entity of that country. The list here is incomplete and has some errors that should be corrected, but a criteria needs to be determined before editing should take place. Shocktm | Talk | Contributions 00:33, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

They're not standard at all, that's precisely my point - all three have different levels of devolution from the UK government (and England has no devolution at all). I'm just not sure if they have the same sort of autonomy as the other places on this list. It seems to me this list currently is just a list of places with the word "autonomous" in their description, irresective of their actual status. sjorford (talk) 10:57, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

I think they should be added. Ybgursey 01:02, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have substantial autonomy over devolved areas (both executive and legislative) . They should qualify for this list for that reason. They are also not standard sub-national entities for the following two reasons; one constituent country (England) does not have devolved institutions and the standard sub-national entities of the UK are the Council Areas. I agree with Sjorford, just because they don't have the word "autonomous" in their name does not mean that they are not autonomous.—Preceding unsigned comment added by Dn9ahx (talk • contribs) 14:30, 25 November 2007 (UTC)

Are but the question is, are they autonomous, I personally would argue not. I do not think there is any reference by the British Government to them being autonomous they are devolved, and that can be taken away by a simple act of parliament. Similarly if we are to do this then why not have all the regions of France. If they are never referred to as autonomous then why are they placed on a page entirely devoted to autonomous areas, despite the comment above. Could someone find a reference to the being autonomous after all we can not just decide if it is not correct. --Lemonade100 19:30, 17 November 2010 (UTC)

Palestinian autonomy?

Any particular reason why it's missing? It's still not sovereign but under Israeli rule, although this might change due to Israel's withdrawal policy.--84.188.161.247 10:26, 16 April 2006 (UTC)

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires seem to simply be autonomous from the surrounding province, not from the country. It's like Washington, DC or Canberra, ACT, and therefore, despite its designation as "autonomous," it doesn't fit the bill for this list. OzLawyer 17:25, 15 June 2006 (UTC)

I'm going to take it out. OzLawyer 15:52, 19 June 2006 (UTC)

Tokelau

Tokelau has 1,392 people and three autonomous regions according to this page. That makes four areas either geographically distinct from the country or populated by a national minority.

So has Tokelau got four separate and distinct cultures in less than 1 400 people or has it just got several islands? If an island makes an autonomous region, how many are there in Indonesia? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Herne nz (talk • contribs) 06:58, 1 February 2007 (UTC).

I think this information originated here, a site I've seen referenced in various country subdivision articles. I've added this link on the page. Regards, David Kernow (talk) 03:44, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Speaking of Tokelau, shouldn't it be New Zealand that has the ARs, as Tokelau is a non self governing territory? Furthermore, don't the Cook Islands and Niue count as autonomous? Anon 02:30, 9 June 2007 (UTC)

Southern Sudan

How about southern Sudan, i read from your pages about Southern Sudan, it is an autonomous region

Rio

• Have added to list. David Kernow (talk) 21:38, 30 May 2007 (UTC)

South Sudan has since become independent. You couldn't call that a success story, though. 2001:8003:AD87:D400:4422:2C82:447B:A463 (talk) 04:50, 9 December 2018 (UTC)

Good link

http://www.gfbv.it/3dossier/eu-min/autonomy.html —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Gaidmas (talk • contribs) 13:00, 27 April 2007 (UTC).

• Have added to External links. David Kernow (talk) 21:38, 30 May 2007 (UTC)

Proposal to divide autonomies into territorial, cultural and local

1.List of territorial autonomies:

2.Cultural autonomies: Sami people,some First nation reserves,Northern territory (Australia), etc….

3.Local autonomies: over 110 China autonomous counties,Toress Strait Islanders,Tokelou autonomous comunities,etc….

• Am intrigued by idea, but not sure how rigorous the distinctions may be or whether they could be upheld... Anyone else...?  Regards, David Kernow (talk) 21:32, 30 May 2007 (UTC)
• I agree that it is problematic so far especially for local autonomies.

Regarding autonomous provinces of Madagaskar , new Constitution into force on 27 April 2007, the autonomous provinces are deleted, info:...wiki/Madagaskar Gaidmas

List of autonomous areas by country is up as a Featured List!

The article, List of autonomous areas by country, is currently up for nomination as a Featured List at Wikipedia:Featured list candidates/List of autonomous areas by country. If you have the time, please vote on the article so that it can be improved if necessarily or promoted if it deserves it. Thanks! Gary King (talk) 16:22, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

A question on Native American reservations in the US

Does anyone know what the status of "Indian" / "Native American" (or what ever the correct term on wikipedia is) reservations in the United States is? Legaly (ie in reguards to legal matters) they are seperate from the States they are located in, but I don't know if they qualify as "Automonus". I know that the Iroquois Nation fields a Lacross team in international competition, and issue their own passports for limited use when traveling as a team (at times recognized as legit, at others not recognized). I am not suggesting they be added to this list... just curious. Blueboar (talk) 22:58, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

What's the Urdu transliteration for 'autonomous region'?

If anyone knows Urdu, could you post the transliteration of the Urdu name of what an autonomous region is called in Pakistan? We have "Islami-Jamhouriyat-e-Kashmir" right now but that doesn't seem right. Thanks! Gary King (talk) 16:19, 4 March 2008 (UTC)

I asked the same thing during the nomination, but I wasn't convinced with the answer. Eklipse (talk) 21:22, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

Buenos Aires

Just because they use the word "autonomous" in the name does not mean that it belongs on this list. BA is neither "geographically distant from the country, or [...] populated by a national minority". And Buenos Aires#Government and politics suggests that BA's "autonomy is less than any province in the country". I can see no reason for the inclusion of BA here.--Pharos (talk) 20:12, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

Actually, it should be there & as the link to the city says "Recent political history

In 1996, under the 1994 reform of the Argentine Constitution, the city gained autonomous status..."

So it is under the type of system used for governing itself. That-Vela-Fella (talk) 01:09, 14 March 2008 (UTC)

"Autonomous status" as applied to Buenos Aires just means a city-province (similar to the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen among the German Bundesländer), that in this case is actually less autonomous than the other provinces. It's certainly not an "autonomous area" by the definition of this list.--Pharos (talk) 01:30, 14 March 2008 (UTC)

Reorganization

OK, I've done a massive reorganization now of the entities that are called "autonomous", without actually meeting the definition of autonomous areas.--Pharos (talk) 01:57, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

Flag icons

Many of these autonomous areas have their own flags. Why aren't they displayed similarly to the flags of the countries they are part of? Id would be nice to use these flag icons. Is there any reason why not to? Rayhou (talk) 10:38, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

This can be done easily and i will start the process - i strongly feel that we should only use a flag if it has some legal status or is in common use by the autonomous institutions themselves. An anonymous user is making a mess of a similar article by using flags of independence movements etc to represent autonomous regions. They have also left unpleasent comments when their "work" is undone. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dn9ahx (talk • contribs) 23:20, 4 April 2008

Belgium

Shouldn't the regions of Belgium not be included in this list? (Flemish Region - Walloon Region - Brussels) Dirk math (talk) 17:32, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

New Discussion

A discussion has been started at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Countries/Lists of countries which could affect the inclusion criteria and title of this and other lists of countries. Editors are invited to participate. Pfainuk talk 11:53, 17 December 2008 (UTC)

Rotuma

I think you have to include Fiji with his autonomous region: Rotuma. Stanza13 (talk) 16:02, 19 January 2009 (UTC)

Azad Jammu and Kashmir should not be here

It is not constitutionally part of Pakistan. I understand it functions more like a protectorate. It should not be on this page. Ladril (talk) 18:08, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

Internationally Recognized

"This list includes areas that are internationally recognized, as well as some that are generally unrecognized" seems unnecessary. The list does not distinguish between those that are "internationally recognized" and those that are not. CK6569 (talk) 21:56, 9 November 2009 (UTC)

Seems to me it does, although if there is a better way to say so, then feel free to adjust it. That-Vela-Fella (talk) 23:57, 9 November 2009 (UTC)

Puerto Rico

Why is puerto rico listed as an autonomous area of the united states? It is an unincorporated territory of the united states and is no more autonomous than any of the other major unincorporated territories.XavierGreen (talk) 16:31, 20 April 2010 (UTC)

Well, as an associated state, it has a special status just like Northern Mariana (for example, the other unincorporated territories are still on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories). But I agree with the last update that dependent territories should be listed in a different table.Gvogas (talk) 12:30, 13 July 2010 (UTC)

Corsiga (France)

In the article of Corsiga it is said: "As a territorial collectivity, it enjoys greater powers than other French régions, but for the most part its status is quite similar." Shouldn't it be added here? Regards. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 187.36.133.160 (talk) 12:12, 4 July 2010 (UTC)

Agreed. Unlike the overseas collectivities, Corsiga has a special status with (eventhough being a little) more autonomy. Gvogas (talk) 21:22, 6 July 2010 (UTC)

Still France: Oversea France

I think none of the French overseas territories should be listed here. They are dependent territories (and are on the list of dependent teritories) and is specified on the "Overseas departments and territories of France" Article that the name Overseas Country of French Polynesia do not differ it from the other overseas collectivities: "the Constitutional Council of France judged that it was just a designation, not a particular status". Gvogas (talk) 21:20, 6 July 2010 (UTC)

Comment about another article (List of autonomous territories)

In case you didn't came across this article yet, it is quite similar to this one, only that ordered alphabetically by autonomous region. I bring the link to this talk page because I'm sure that it has some factual errors, and I'd like some regular editor from this page to take a look over there. Salut, --IANVS (talk | cont) 18:03, 13 July 2010 (UTC)

I agree that it brings factual errors, but actually, I think it should be merged with this one. The order of the areas is the only difference, and is not that relevant.Gvogas (talk) 18:26, 13 July 2010 (UTC)

Created by internal judge?

There is a section entitled “created by internal judge.” Does this mean that the autonomy was recognized or granted by court order? Or is the use of the word “judge” a mistake? (Or neither?) Bwrs (talk) 21:08, 27 July 2010 (UTC)

Page duplicity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_autonomous_territories

I believe that page and this one ought to be merged. Any takers? Ladril (talk) 17:29, 15 October 2010 (UTC)

At a first look, I think the page in question should be eliminated, because it is a mess and is the same subject that is treated here. But, without being radical, I agree with merging it.Gvogas (talk) 16:33, 25 October 2010 (UTC)

The idea behind proposing a merge is to see if there's some info from that other page which may be useful here. As you say, there is no use for two pages on the same topic. Ladril (talk) 18:42, 25 October 2010 (UTC)

Status of Åland

I changed the placement of Åland (in the lists) based on following facts:

1. 1856 Treaty of Paris guaranteed only demilitarization (original treaty page 27)
2. 1920 Act on Autonomity of Åland ([2]), major revisions 1951 and 1993.
3. October 20, 1921 League of Nations decisions about sovereignity of Finland over Åland as well as confirming (again) the 1856 treaty about demilitarization. This led to minor changes in the Act of Autonomity after Finland ratified it January 28, 1922.

Fact remains - based on historical documents - that autonomity was given by an Act of Finnish Parliament. There are no international agreements that formed it (although it was - at least indirectly - confirmed by them).--Nedergard (talk) 12:03, 25 August 2011 (UTC)

Flags?

How do you add flags inside the table? — Preceding unsigned comment added by GeographDF (talk • contribs) 12:02, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Flags are usually added in text using flag templates, for example type in "{{flag|Australia}}" and "Australia" is shown. Chipmunkdavis (talk) 12:58, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

'West Bank and Gaza Strip'

The article includes the West Bank and Gaza Strip under 'country' as having recognized the Palestinian National Authority. Surely the country listed should have been Israel as neither the West Bank nor the Gaza Strip are independent states. Thanks, Thenextpm (talk) 20:19, 22 June 2012 (UTC)

Isle of Man

The list of UK antonymous regions in the first section seems strange: Scotland (1999) · Wales (1999) · Isle of Man · Northern Ireland. I can see why Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are on this list but the Isle of Man? It isn't part of the UK so can't be a devolved region of the UK (but rather of the British Crown). If it is to be included because of its status as a Crown Dependency then the same would be true for Jersey and Guernsey but they're not listed. Shouldn't the Isle of Man (and JE and GU) be added to the later list along with Gibraltar, Falklands, etc. with an indication stating that it's a Crown Dependency?--37.182.250.245 (talk) 21:05, 30 October 2013 (UTC)

Noticed that it was already listed in the second list under Crown Dependencies so I've now moved it from the first list.--37.182.250.245 (talk) 21:08, 30 October 2013 (UTC)

Mount Athos

Mount_Athos is self-governed region in Greece, according to the Decree passed by the Holy Community on 3 October 1913 and according to the international agreements:

• London (1913),
• Bucharest (1913),
• Neuilly (1919),
• Sèvres (1920) and
• Lausanne (1923)

This means that autonomy isn't - Created by internal statutes ?! CarRadovan (talk) 01:34, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

Ukraine

Since the article no longer lists Ukraine as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea no longer exists, can I have an agreement to remove it from the map. --Leftcry (talk) 00:50, 2 November 2014 (UTC)

I would not want to make that decision but since you mention Crimea I'd like to say that I recently met a woman who is from Sevastopol and still has relatives there. She was very happy and proud to have finally received her Russian passport, but lives here in Australia. She said "What do people not understand about autonomous region? Crimea was an autonomous region." Which led me to ask what exactly is the definition of an autonomous area, which rights and duties do they have? Did Crimea's autonomous status allow them to have this (valid) referendum without permission from Kiev? Even if all autonomous areas have their own definitions and features, these things should be clarified one day. The land titles for Australian indiginous seem to be very close to autonomous status, whatever that might be in detail. 2001:8003:AD87:D400:4422:2C82:447B:A463 (talk) 05:01, 9 December 2018 (UTC)

Canada error

Canada is highlighted on the map but does not appear on the list. Mattximus (talk) 02:09, 7 December 2014 (UTC)

Kallankarit in Finland

Kallankarit islands are missing from this list. See https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kallankarit They're two islands with peculiar autonomy given by the King of Sweden 250 years ago. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.251.51.162 (talk) 13:16, 1 July 2015 (UTC)

Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan

Recently, a couple of IPs have added Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan as autonomous areas in Pakistan. This is by no means certain. WP:RS either don't agree or hedge it by various means. For example:

• Sumantra Bose: Azad Kashmir - "Free Kashmir," the more populated and nominally self-governing part of Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. Obviously, "nominally" means "only in name". Gilgit and Baltistan - remote and sparsely populated mountainous parts of Pakistani-controlled Kashmir directly governed by Islamabad as the "Northern Areas".
• Human Rights Watch: In practice, the Pakistani government in Islamabad, the Pakistani army and the Pakistani intelligence services (Inter-Services Intelligence, ISI) control all aspects of political life in Azad Kashmir—though “Azad” means “free,” the residents of Azad Kashmir are anything but.
• PILDAT review:Christopher Snedden, in an upcoming book, critically reexamines Azad Kashmir's internal politics by a survey of former administrative structures, economic and political systems, and subordinate relationship with Pakistan. He notes, contrary to expectations of the Azad Kashmiris' ruling entire J&K after reunification, Azad Kashmir effectively, if not legally, became a (dependent) part of Pakistan. Therefore, long disenchantment with Islamabad, some Azad Kashmiris now favor independence for Jammu and Kashmir and hope to prosper without help from their neighbors, he concludes.
• Shabir Choudhary (a Kashmiri activist): Of course Azad Kashmir is not Azad or independent. It is a ‘colony’ of Pakistan, in which they have established a political set up that is more interested in promoting and protecting national interests of Pakistan than the interests of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

In the light of these sources, I don't think Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan can be named here as being "autonomous areas". -- Kautilya3 (talk) 19:00, 12 November 2016 (UTC)

References

U.K. sub-units but no others on this list?

I noticed that United Kingdom sub-regions (England, Scotland, etc.) are on this list, but not others. I understand that they have their own governments with granted powers, but so does basically every sub-region!

Here's a snippet from the Wiki article on devolution:

"Devolution differs from federalism in that the devolved powers of the subnational authority may be temporary and are reversible, ultimately residing in the central government. Thus, the state remains de jure unitary. Legislation creating devolved parliaments or assemblies can be repealed or amended by central government in the same way as any statute. In federal systems, by contrast, sub-unit government is guaranteed in the constitution, so the powers of the sub-units cannot be withdrawn unilaterally by the central government (i.e. without the consent of the sub-units being granted through the process of constitutional amendment). The sub-units therefore have a lower degree of protection under devolution than under federalism."

Basically ... Federated State >>> Devolution.

My understanding is that the U.K. sub-regions are much less autonomous than an entity like a U.S. State (California, Texas, etc.), since the areas of autonomy are specifically granted to them from above versus the powers being a constitutional right (as in the U.S. and other nations with federated states). Am I missing something here? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mdawgmike (talk • contribs) 01:59, 13 November 2016 (UTC)

Removal of the "Former self-declared entities called "autonomous"" section

I think that the aforementioned section doesn't really fit well into the article, noting that it only has a single entry and the rest of the sections all describe current autonomous areas.

Mexico City

Why is Mexico City listed only in the "Created by internal statutes" section but not "Capitals called "autonomous"", while Jakarta is listed in both? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jonas1015119 (talk • contribs) 20:54, 26 November 2021 (UTC)

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Native American reservations

Are Native American reservations considered to be autonomous areas? https://www.voanews.com/amp/native-americans-enjoy-autonomy-but-land-use-sovereignty-questions-persist--87268067/113879.html 2600:100C:A203:FD7F:24B5:A364:FEF3:8705 (talk) 04:36, 10 October 2022 (UTC)

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Why is Canada on the map?

Why is Canada on the map? Canada is not listed in any of the lists in this article. Nor is Canada a federacy, as that term is being used here. Mr Serjeant Buzfuz (talk) 00:35, 20 March 2023 (UTC)

Map

The map showing countries with at least one autonomous region is from 2009 and should be replaced with a more updated map. Flaming Hot Mess of Confusion (talk) 20:52, 22 May 2024 (UTC)