List of countries that have gained independence from the United Kingdom

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 from the British Empire or the United Kingdom.

Colonies, Protectorates, and Mandates

Country	Pre-independence name (if different)	Date	Year of independence or first stage	Notes
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919
Template:Flag	Antigua, Leeward IslandsTemplate:Efn	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Antigua Termination of Association Order
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Barbados Independence Act 1966
Template:Flag	British Honduras	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	September Celebrations
Template:Flag	Bechuanaland	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Botswana Independence Act 1966
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Cyprus Independence Day is commonly celebrated on 1 October.
Template:Flag	Dominica, Windward IslandsTemplate:Efn	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Control over the Suez Canal Zone was maintained until 1956.
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Initially called Swaziland, which was also its pre-independence name. Renamed itself Eswatini in 2018.
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag	Gold Coast, Togoland (Togoland got absorbed into the Gold Coast in 1957)	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag	Grenada, Windward IslandsTemplate:Efn	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Independence Day (Grenada)
Template:Flag	British Guiana	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag	British India	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Indian Independence Act 1947
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Pursuant to the British Mandate for Mesopotamia
Template:Flag	Mandatory Palestine	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	End of British mandate Independence Day (Israel) Template:Flag declared independence from Israel on 15 November 1988.
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Independence Day (6 August)
Template:Flag	Transjordan	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag	Gilbert and Ellice Islands	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag	Basutoland	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts	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.
Template:Flag	Nyasaland	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957.
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts	This occurred in spite of the 1956 Maltese United Kingdom integration referendum, but in accordance with 1964 Maltese constitutional referendum.
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Gained independence as Burma. Renamed Myanmar in 1989, but still officially known by the United Kingdom government as Burma.
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Independence from the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand on 31 January 1968.
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Took in Northern Cameroons
Template:Flag	Sultanate of Muscat and Oman	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag	British Qatari Protectorate	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag	St Lucia, Windward IslandsTemplate:Efn	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag	St Kitts–Nevis and Anguilla, Leeward IslandsTemplate:Efn	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag	St Vincent, Windward IslandsTemplate:Efn	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag	British Solomon Islands	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag	British Somaliland Protectorate	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	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.
Template:Flag	Protectorate of South Arabia Federation of South Arabia	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Merged with Template:Flag to form Template:Flag in 1990
Template:Flag	Ceylon	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Gained independence as the Dominion of Ceylon. Renamed Sri Lanka in 1972.
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Flag gained independence from Sudan on 9 July 2011.
Template:Flagcountry		Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Tanganyika became independent on 9 December 1961. It joined with Zanzibar on 25 April 1964 to form Template:Flag.
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Bahamas Independence Act 1973
Template:Flag	Gambia	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Independence Day (August 31st)
Template:Flag	Gilbert and Ellice Islands	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag	Trucial States	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	National Day (United Arab Emirates)
Template:Flag	Thirteen American Colonies	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	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.
Template:Flag	New Hebrides	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Independence from United Kingdom and France in 1980
Template:Flag	Northern Rhodesia	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
Template:Flag		Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Zanzibar became independent on 10 December 1963. It joined with Tanganyika on 25 April 1964 to form Template:Flag.
Template:Flag	Southern Rhodesia	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Southern Rhodesia declared independence from United Kingdom on 11 November 1965 as Template:Flag, which was not internationally recognized. Rhodesia transitioned to majority rule as Template:Flag 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 Template:Flag.

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
Template:Flag	Template:Dts	Template:Dts†Template:Efn	Template:Dts	Australia Act 1986	Template:Flag gained independence from Australia on 16 September 1975.
Template:Flag	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Canada Act 1982	Template:Flag voted against independence from Canada in two referendums in 1980 and 1995.
Template:Flag	Template:DtsTemplate:Efn	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	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.
Template:Flag	Template:Dts	—	Template:Dts	Canada Act 1982	Newfoundland voted to join Canada in 1948 in a 52–48 vote; this became effective on 31 March 1949.
Template:Flag	Template:Dts	Template:DtsTemplate:Efn	Template:Dts	Constitution Act 1986	Declaration of Independence of New Zealand 1835, Treaty of Waitangi 1840
Template:Flag	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	South African Constitution of 1961	Template:Flag gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990.

†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
Template:Flag	Coalition Provisional Authority	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	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
Template:Flag	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	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.
Template:Flag	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Southern Rhodesia declared independence from United Kingdom on 11 November 1965 as Template:Flag, which was not internationally recognized. Rhodesia transitioned to majority rule as Template:Flag 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 Template:Flag.

British Overseas Territories independence/sovereignty referendums

Territory	Date	Year	Notes
Template:Flag	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	Bermudians voted against independence for the territory in a 1995 referendum by 73.6% to 25.7%.
Template:Flag	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	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.
Template:Flag	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	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

Territory	Recipient state	Date	Year	Notes
Template:Flagicon image Northern Cameroons	Template:Flag	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	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).
Template:Flagicon image Southern Cameroons	Template:Flag	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	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).
Template:Flag	Template:Flag	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	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.
Template:Flag	Template:Flag	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	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).
Template:Flag	Template:FlagTemplate:Efn	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	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.
Template:Flag	Template:FlagTemplate:Efn	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	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.
Template:Flag	Template:FlagTemplate:Efn	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	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.

Countries of the United Kingdom that have voted against independence

Country	Date	Year	Notes
Template:Flag	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	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.
Template:Flag	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	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

• Self-determination
• Commonwealth of Nations
• List of national independence days
• Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
• Special Committee on Decolonization