Dependent areas are territories that do not possess full political independence or sovereignty as states. There are varying degrees and forms of such a dependence. They are commonly distinguished from subnational entities in that they are not considered to be part of the motherland or mainland of the governing state, and in most cases they also represent a different order of separation. A subnational entity typically represents a division of the country proper, while a dependent territory might be an overseas territory that enjoys a greater degree of autonomy. For instance, many of them have a more or less separate legal system from the governing body.

The areas separately referred to as non-independent are territories that are disputed, are occupied, have a government in exile or have a non-negligible independence movement.

Entities on the lists

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Currently, there are 61 dependencies on these lists, including one international protectorate in the territory of a sovereign country.

More on [ List of dependent territories ]

USATODAY.com Nation - Top Stories

Dry heat expected to feed Calif. fires this weekend
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:01:59 -0000
Authorities ordered the remaining residents of this scenic coastal community to leave Wednesday because an out-of-control wildfire, ...
Police wnt u to fight crime w/txt msgs
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 06:00:00 -0000
Police in the 1970s urged citizens to "drop a dime" in a pay phone to report crimes anonymously. Now in an increasing number ...
A century ago, Americans witnessed aviation marvel
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 05:00:00 -0000
On a steamy Fourth of July evening a century ago, a wood-and-fabric biplane lifted off from Stony Brook Farm and stayed airborne ...
Heavy storms in Mich. and Ohio bring flooding, power outages
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:57:19 -0000
Severe thunderstorms swept across parts of Michigan, flooding streets and cutting power to many residents.
Dog euthanized after gnawing off diabetic owner's toe
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:07:13 -0000
An Illinois woman says her beloved miniature dachshund gnawed off her right big toe while she was asleep.
Father without baby sitter accused of caging kids
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:30:56 -0000
A Chicago man locked his daughters in a cage in his pickup because he didn't have a baby sitter, officials said Thursday.

The Economist: United States

White men can vote
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:02:45 -0000
And there are a lot of them, even if they can't danceIN A family restaurant with bottomless coffee, Paul Radaker chews on a battered fish. A retired carpenter, he has been a Democrat all his life. But this year, he is leaning towards John McCain. The Republican candidate is a war hero, he observes. Barack Obama may be intelligent, but "I don't really know what he stands for."Mr Obama's race "doesn't bother me at all", says Mr Radaker. The question sparks an anecdote about the Korean war. The southern guys Mr Radaker met when he served there "really didn't like blacks," he recalls, "But I guess that's changed now." Still, he reckons that plenty of people round here will not vote for Mr Obama because of his colour. ...
Needles in a haystack
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:02:45 -0000
Small family farmers in the new era of agricultureCORN blankets eastern Nebraska in the summer. Straight roads glide over the hills, dividing the fields like measuring tape--in the 19th century the Homestead Act sectioned the land into neat plots for new settlers. Patty Coady's family did not get their farm from the act, but they are hardly newcomers. They bought their land more than 100 years ago. In some ways little has changed. Ms Coady and her brother farm 280 acres (113 hectares), and have some cattle, sheep and goats. But this is a booming new era. Prices for commodities and land have shot up. The new farm bill is fat with subsidies. Farmers' average income is projected to rise to $89,434 in 2008, up 6.3% over last year. Most of the bonanza, though, is being scooped up by the big operators. Ms Coady sighs, leaning against a giant tractor tire. "Small farmers can hardly compete." ...
Could do better
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:02:45 -0000
Democrats in the House and the Senate have not been as green as their wordWANDER through the marble hallways of Washington's Capitol and look up. Screwed into the sconces and lanterns of one of the city's oldest buildings are the glowing helices of very 21st-century compact fluorescent bulbs. Downstairs, Hill staffers eat off compostable plates. And soon the spotlights that illuminate the Capitol's great dome--so inefficient that their heat requires workmen to wear special suits in order to handle them--will be replaced with more efficient LED bulbs. Nancy Pelosi, the speaker, came into office last year promising a slew of green initiatives, including an overhaul of her House of Representatives itself, which is on track to be carbon-neutral by December. More significant are the legislative achievements the Democratic majority proudly touts, particularly last year's passage of the first increase in car fuel-efficiency standards for three decades. Now Congress is moving to preserve millions of acres of wilderness, far more than it has done in preceding years, setting aside land in states from California to West Virginia. ...
Showdown
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:02:45 -0000
Gun owners are becoming emboldened. That may be prematureON JUNE 26th the Supreme Court overturned the District of Columbia's handgun ban and asserted that individuals have the right to own guns. Gun enthusiasts rejoiced. But as they move to capitalise on this favourable judgment, they may run into new problems. Consider two developing gun-rights controversies. On July 1st Florida became the fourth state to allow people to bring their guns to work. The gun has to stay locked in the car, and its owner must have a concealed-weapons permit. You cannot bring your gun if you work in a school, hospital, prison or power plant. ...
Valete
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:02:45 -0000
A tradition in decline ONE fixture of college life is rapidly disappearing. Yearbooks, those beloved annual publications recording the events and people of the academic year, are suffering from plummeting print-runs, or are even being dropped altogether, in colleges across the country. The phenomenon is due in part to the price of the hard-bound volumes, typically as high as $75. For cash-strapped students facing ever-rising tuition and living costs they are a luxury that many can't afford. But the main cause is not the cost so much as the replacement of print with electronic media by and for the Facebook and MySpace generation. With social networks linking hundreds of friends and offering digital photographs and videos the traditional yearbook looks like a bit of a dinosaur. ...
Michelle Obama's America
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:02:45 -0000
Is Barack Obama's wife his rock or his bitter half?THERE are two ways to be a political spouse. You can shun the limelight or you can grab it. Margaret Thatcher's late husband, Denis, exemplified the former approach. He never upstaged his wife and though intelligent and rich, he was content to be viewed as a golfing, gin-swilling duffer. At the opposite end of the spectrum are the Clintons. Hillary was Bill's closest adviser when he was president, and he would have done the same for her, had she been elected. Neither approach is right or wrong, but both have predictable consequences. If you keep your mouth shut, you are unlikely to stir up controversy. If you speak up, you may help your spouse, but you risk hurting him or her, too. John McCain's wife, Cindy, gazes adoringly at him on the stump but says little. If she has to introduce him, she says she loves him and hopes you will vote for him. She may favour pink skirt-suits over golfing trousers, but in her reluctance to say anything that might conceivably hurt her spouse she is unmistakably a (Denis) Thatcherite. Hostile bloggers half-heartedly accuse her of being a Stepford wife or make snide cracks about the fortune she inherited and her past addiction to painkillers. But she seldom captures the headlines and seems to like it that way. ...

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