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List of countries that have gained independence from the United Kingdom facts for kids

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Below are lists of the countries and territories that were 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 breakdown of dates further down. A total of 65 countries have claimed their independence from the British Empire/United Kingdom.

List of countries gained independence from the UK Flag version 3


Colonies, protectorates, and mandates

Country Pre-independence name
(if different)
Date Year of independence or first stage Notes
 Afghanistan 19 August 1919 Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919
 Antigua and Barbuda Antigua, Leeward Islands 1 November 1981 Antigua Termination of Association Order
 Bahrain 15 August 1971
 Barbados 30 November 1966 Barbados Independence Act 1966
 Belize British Honduras 21 September 1981 September Celebrations
 Botswana Bechuanaland 30 September 1966 Botswana Independence Act 1966
 Brunei 1 January 1984
 Cyprus 16 August 1960 Cyprus Independence Day is commonly celebrated on 1 October.
 Dominica Dominica, Windward Islands 3 November 1978
 Egypt 28 February 1922 Control over the Suez Canal Zone was maintained until 1956.
 Eswatini 6 September 1968 Initially called Swaziland, which was also its pre-independence name. Renamed itself Eswatini in 2018.
 Fiji 10 October 1970
 Ghana Gold Coast, Togoland (Togoland got absorbed into the Gold Coast in 1957) 6 March 1957
 Grenada Grenada, Windward Islands 7 February 1974 Independence Day (Grenada)
 Guyana British Guiana 26 May 1966
 India British India 15 August 1947 Indian Independence Act 1947
 Iraq 3 October 1932 Pursuant to the British Mandate for Mesopotamia
 Israel Mandatory Palestine 14 May 1948 End of British mandate
 Israel declared independence.
 Jamaica 6 August 1962 Independence Day (6 August)
 Jordan Transjordan 25 May 1946
 Kenya 12 December 1963
 Kiribati Gilbert and Ellice Islands 12 July 1979
 Kuwait 19 June 1961
 Lesotho Basutoland 4 October 1966
 Libya 24 December 1951 From 1943 to 1951 Libya was under the control of Britain and France. On 24 December 1951, Libya declared its independence and became the United Kingdom of Libya.
 Malawi Nyasaland 6 July 1964
 Malaya 31 August 1957 Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957.
 Maldives 26 July 1965
 Malta 21 September 1964 This occurred in spite of the 1956 Maltese United Kingdom integration referendum, but in accordance with 1964 Maltese constitutional referendum.
 Mauritius 12 March 1968
 Myanmar 4 January 1948 Gained independence as Burma. Renamed Myanmar in 1989, but still officially known by the United Kingdom government as Burma.
 Nauru 31 January 1968 Independence from the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand on 31 January 1968.
 Nigeria 1 October 1960 Took in Northern Cameroons
 Oman Sultanate of Muscat and Oman 20 December 1970
 Pakistan British India 14 August 1947 Partition of India
 Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan on 26 March 1971.
 Qatar British Qatari Protectorate 3 September 1971
 Saint Lucia St Lucia, Windward Islands 22 February 1979
 Saint Kitts and Nevis St Kitts–Nevis and Anguilla, Leeward Islands 19 September 1983
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines St Vincent, Windward Islands 27 October 1979
 Seychelles 29 June 1976
 Sierra Leone 27 April 1961
 Solomon Islands British Solomon Islands 7 July 1978
 Somaliland 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.
 South Yemen Protectorate of South Arabia
Federation of South Arabia
30 November 1967 Merged with  North Yemen to form  Yemen in 1990
 Sri Lanka Ceylon 4 February 1948 Gained independence as the Dominion of Ceylon. Renamed Sri Lanka in 1972.
 Sudan 1 January 1956  South Sudan gained independence from Sudan on 9 July 2011.
 Tanganyika 9 December 1961 Tanganyika became independent on 9 December 1961. It joined with Zanzibar on 25 April 1964 to form  Tanzania.
 The Bahamas 10 July 1973 Bahamas Independence Act 1973
 The Gambia Gambia 18 February 1965
 Tonga 4 June 1970
 Trinidad and Tobago 31 August 1962 Independence Day (August 31st)
 Tuvalu Gilbert and Ellice Islands 1 October 1978
 Uganda 9 October 1962
 United Arab Emirates Trucial States 2 December 1971 National Day (United Arab Emirates)
 United States Thirteen American Colonies 4 July 1776 Fourth of July. Declaration of Independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1776. British government recognized independence in 1783 with the Treaty of Paris.
 Vanuatu New Hebrides 30 July 1980 Independence from United Kingdom and France in 1980
 Zambia Northern Rhodesia 24 October 1964
 Zanzibar 10 December 1963 Zanzibar became independent on 10 December 1963. It joined with Tanganyika on 25 April 1964 to form  Tanzania.
 Zimbabwe Southern Rhodesia 18 April 1980 Southern Rhodesia declared independence from United Kingdom on 11 November 1965 as  Rhodesia, which was not internationally recognized. Rhodesia transitioned to majority rule as  Zimbabwe-Rhodesia on 1 June 1979 with a view to eventual international recognition, but instead returned to British control under the Lancaster House Agreement followed by internationally recognised independence in 1980 as  Zimbabwe.

Evolution of dominions to independence

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
 Australia 1 January 1901 9 October 1942 3 March 1986 Australia Act 1986  Papua New Guinea gained independence from Australia on 16 September 1975.
 Canada 1 July 1867 11 December 1931 17 April 1982 Canada Act 1982 Quebec Quebec voted against independence from Canada in two referendums in 1980 and 1995.
 Ireland 6 December 1922 12 November 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.
 Dominion of Newfoundland 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.
 New Zealand 26 September 1907 25 November 1947 13 December 1986 Constitution Act 1986 Declaration of Independence of New Zealand 1835, Treaty of Waitangi 1840
 South Africa 31 May 1910 11 December 1931 21 May 1961 South African Constitution of 1961  Namibia gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990.
 Dominion of India (excl. Sikkim)

1947

1950

 Ceylon

1948

1972

 Dominion of Pakistan (incl.  Bangladesh and excl. Gwadar)

1947

1956

†Adopted by Australia in 1942, but was backdated to confirm the validity of legislation passed by the Australian Parliament during World War II.

Military occupations that did not retain the pre-war central government

Country Pre-independence name
(different)
Date Year of independence or first stage Notes
 Iraq 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

Country Date Year Notes
 Anguilla 12 July 1967 The isles of Anguilla were a dependency of Saint Kitts alongside Nevis.[1] The ruling party administration for St. Kitts moved to make the Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla colony into a looser associated state status with the UK in 1967 much to the dismay of many in Anguilla, with agitation turning into the Anguillan Revolution;[2] Anguilla's population moved 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.
 Rhodesia 11 November 1965 Southern Rhodesia declared independence from United Kingdom on 11 November 1965 as  Rhodesia, which was not internationally recognized. Rhodesia transitioned to majority rule as  Zimbabwe-Rhodesia on 1 June 1979 with a view to eventual international recognition, but instead returned to British control under the Lancaster House Agreement followed by internationally recognised independence in 1980 as  Zimbabwe.

British overseas territories independence/sovereignty referendums

Territory Date Year Notes
 Bermuda 16 August 1995 Bermudians voted against independence for the territory in a 1995 referendum by 73.6% to 25.7%.
 Gibraltar 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.
 Falkland Islands 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 other sovereign states

Territory Recipient state Date Year Notes
Aden Colony Federation of South Arabia 18 January 1963
United Kingdom British Arctic Territories Canada Canada 31 July 1880 See Adjacent Territories Order 1880
Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Bay Islands  Honduras 30 April 1859 See Bay Islands § Colony of the Bay Islands and § Cession of the Colony to Honduras
British Columbia
Northern Cameroons  Nigeria 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).
Southern Cameroons  Cameroon 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).
Caprivi Strip
Straits Settlements Christmas Island  Australia 1 October 1958 See Christmas Island § Transfer to Australia
Straits Settlements Cocos (Keeling) Islands  Australia 23 November 1955 See Cocos (Keeling) Islands § Transfer to Australia
Cook Islands
Corsica
Dindings
 British Occupation zone in Germany  Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) 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. The territories of the former Soviet zone — which had established a central government of its own called the German Democratic Republic — joined the Federal Republic on 3 October 1990.
Heligoland
Heard Island and McDonald Islands
 Hong Kong  People's Republic of China 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. British rule ended on 30 June 1997, with China taking over at midnight, 1 July 1997 (at end of the 99-year lease over the New Territories, along with the ceded Hong Kong Island and Kowloon).
United States of the Ionian Islands
Labuan
Malacca
Unfederated Malay States
Minorca
Mosquito Coast
 North Borneo  Malaya 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.
Padang
Penang
Prince Edward Island
Providence Island colony
Ross Dependency
 Sarawak  Malaya 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.
 Singapore  Malaya 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.
Surinam
Tokelau
Weihaiwei

Countries of the United Kingdom that have voted against independence

Country Date Year Notes
 Northern Ireland 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.
 Scotland 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'. 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.

See also

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