# List of countries that have gained independence from the United Kingdom

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.

## Colonies, protectorates, and mandates

| Country | Pre-independence name (if different) | Date of independence or first stage | Date of independence or first stage | Notes |
| Country | Pre-independence name (if different) | Day & month | Year | Notes |
| Afghanistan | | 19 August | 1919 | Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Antigua, Leeward Islands | 1 November | 1981 | Antigua Termination of Association Order |
| The Bahamas | | 10 July | 1973 | Bahamas Independence Act 1973 |
| Bahrain | British Protectorate of Bahrain | 15 August | 1971 | Now an independent kingdom outside the Commonwealth. |
| Barbados | | 30 November | 1966 | Barbados Independence Act 1966 - now an independent republic in the Commonwealth of Nations since 30 November 2021. |
| 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 eSwatini by King Mswati III in April 2018. |
| Fiji | | 10 October | 1970 | Fiji has been a Commonwealth republic since 1997. |
| The Gambia | Gambia | 18 February | 1965 | Gained independence as a Dominion. Republic declared in 1970. Was temporarily a republic outside the Commonwealth from 2013 until it returned to the Commonwealth in 8 February 2018. |
| Ghana | Gold Coast, British Togoland (Togoland was absorbed into the Gold Coast in 1957.) | 6 March | 1957 | Became a Commonwealth republic on 1 July 1960. |
| Grenada | Grenada, Windward Islands | 7 February | 1974 | Independence Day (Grenada) |
| Guyana | British Guiana | 26 May | 1966 | Became a republic in 1970. |
| 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 Palestine declared independence from Israel on 15 November 1988. |
| Jamaica | | 6 August | 1962 | Independence Day (6 August) |
| Jordan | Transjordan | 25 May | 1946 | Now an independent monarchy outside the Commonwealth. |
| Kenya | | 12 December | 1963 | Dominion of Kenya declared in 1963. Republic declared exactly 1 year later. |
| Kiribati | Gilbert and Ellice Islands | 12 July | 1979 | |
| Kuwait | British Kuwaiti Protectorate | 19 June | 1961 | Now an independent monarchy outside the Commonwealth. |
| Lesotho | Basutoland | 4 October | 1966 | Now an independent monarchy inside the Commonwealth. |
| 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 | Dominion of Malawi declared in 1964. Republic declared exactly 2 years later. |
| Malaya | | 31 August | 1957 | Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957. |
| Maldives | | 26 July | 1965 | Became an independent kingdom outside the Commonwealth in 1965. Became a republic in 1968. Became a Commonwealth republic in 1982. Temporarily a republic outside the Commonwealth from 2016 until 1 February 2020, when the Maldives returned. |
| Malta | | 21 September | 1964 | This occurred in spite of the 1956 Maltese United Kingdom integration referendum, but in accordance with the 1964 Maltese constitutional referendum. Malta became a republic on 13 December 1974. |
| Mauritius | | 12 March | 1968 | Dominion of Mauritius declared in 1968. Republic declared in 1992. |
| Myanmar | | 4 January | 1948 | Gained independence as a republic outside the Commonwealth as Burma. Renamed Myanmar by the military dictatorship in 1989, but still officially known by the United Kingdom government as Burma. |
| Nauru | | 31 January | 1968 | Co-trustee with Australia and New Zealand; independence effected through Australian legislation (Nauru Independence Act 1967). |
| Nigeria | | 1 October | 1960 | Took in Northern Cameroons |
| Oman | Sultanate of Muscat and Oman | 20 December | 1970 | Now an independent monarchy outside the Commonwealth. |
| 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 | Now an independent monarchy outside the Commonwealth. |
| 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 | Dominion of Sierra Leone declared in 1961. Republic declared in 1971. |
| 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 and united with the Trust Territory of Somalia on 1 July 1960 to form the Somali Republic, but later broke away and unilaterally declared independence in 1991. It 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 upon being declared a republic. |
| 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. |
| Tonga | | 4 June | 1970 | |
| Trinidad and Tobago | | 31 August | 1962 | Independence Day (August 31) |
| 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 | British America | 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; the United States has subsequently expanded its territory, taking in the Red River Colony in 1818 and Columbia District in 1846, as well as gaining territory that was not a part of the British Empire, most prominently through the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, 1819 Florida Cession, 1845 Texas annexation, 1848 Mexican Cession, 1867 Alaska Purchase, 1898 Treaty of Paris, and 1900 Annexation of Hawaii. Cuba gained independence from the United States on 20 May 1902. The Philippines gained independence from the United States on 4 July 1946. |
| Vanuatu | New Hebrides | 30 July | 1980 | Independence from United Kingdom and France in 1980. Vanuatu is a Commonwealth republic. |
| Vermont Republic | New Hampshire Grants | 15 January | 1777 | Independence declared from the British colony of Quebec as well as from New York (which was contested between Britain and the newly-independent United States during the American Revolutionary War) and New Hampshire (which was fully under United States control). The Vermont Republic was admitted into the United States on 4 March 1791. |
| Zambia | Northern Rhodesia | 24 October | 1964 | |
| Zanzibar | | 10 December | 1963 | Zanzibar became independent on 10 December 1963. Sultanate of Zanzibar overthrown in the Zanzibar Revolution, which created a short-lived republic. It joined with Tanganyika on 25 April 1964 to form Tanzania. |
| Zimbabwe | Southern Rhodesia and 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. Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth, but withdrew in December 2003. Zimbabwe is in the process of returning to its membership of the Commonwealth. |

## 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 | Instrument of relinquishment | 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 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 were 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, which remained vested with King George VI; 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, Dominion of New Zealand declared on 26 September 1907 |
| 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. |
†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 | Date | Notes |
| Anguilla | 12 July | 1967 | The isles of Anguilla were a dependency of Saint Kitts alongside Nevis. 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; 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 | Date | 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 | Date | Notes |
| Bay Islands | Honduras | 30 April | 1859 | See Bay Islands § Colony of the Bay Islands and § Cession of the Colony to Honduras |
| 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). |
| Columbia District | United States | 15 June | 1846 | Under the Oregon Treaty, the existing border between the United States and British North America, set on the 49th parallel north between Lake of the Woods and the Rocky Mountains by the Treaty of 1818, was extended west of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific ocean, with the exception that all of Vancouver Island would remain British. |
| East Florida | Spanish Empire | 25 November | 1783 | Ceded to Spain as part of the 1783 Treaty of Paris; Spain subsequently ceded it to the United States in 1819. |
| West Florida | Spanish Empire | 25 November | 1783 | Ceded to Spain as part of the 1783 Treaty of Paris; Spain subsequently ceded it to the United States in 1819. |
| 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 | German Empire | 1 July | 1890 | |
| 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 | Kingdom of Greece | 28 May | 1864 | |
| 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. |
| Red River Colony | United States | 30 January | 1819 | Under the Treaty of 1818, the borders between the United States and British North America west of Lake of the Woods and east of the Rocky Mountains were set to follow the 49th parallel north. |
| 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. |

## 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. |