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, 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 63 countries have claimed their independence.
Colonies
| Country | Pre-independence name | Date | Year of independence | Notes |
| 1919 | Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919 | |||
| Antigua, Leeward Islands | 1981 | |||
| 1901 | Statute of Westminster 1931 and Australia Act 1986 gained independence from Australia on 16 September 1975. | |||
| 1973 | ||||
| 1971 | ||||
| 1966 | The Queen signed the British House of Common's Barbados Independence Act 1966 thereby granting local political independence for Saint Andrew's Day. | |||
| British Honduras | 1981 | September Celebrations of Belize | ||
| Bechuanaland | 1966 | |||
| 1984 | ||||
| took in Southern Cameroons | 1961 | The Southern Cameroons became part of Cameroon on 1 October 1961. | ||
| 1867 British North America Act 1867, 1 July: Canada Day Statute of Westminster 1931 Constitution Act, 1982 Québec voted against independence from Canada in two referendums in 1980 and 1995. | - | |||
| 1960 | Cyprus Independence Day is commonly celebrated on 1 October. | |||
| Dominica, Windward Islands | 1978 | |||
| 1922 | True Egyptian independence only came in 1952; during the 1922–1952 period, the Egyptian rulers were forced by the UK to defer to British "advisers" in Cairo and the UK truly controlled Egypt's foreign policy and defense and at will stationed British troops on Egyptian territory. | |||
| Swaziland | 1968 | Gained independence as Swaziland. Renamed Eswatini in 2018. | ||
| 1970 | ||||
| Gambia | 1965 | |||
| Gold Coast, Togoland | 1957 | |||
| Grenada, Windward Islands | 1974 | Independence Day | ||
| British Guiana | 1966 | |||
| British Raj | 1947 | Independence Day | ||
| 1932 | ||||
| Mandatory Palestine | 1948 | Independence declared after League of Nations mandate ended, and reaffirmed by a UN resolution to divide Mandatory Palestine to a Jewish and an Arab states, Palestine independence has never materialized due to Israeli military occupation. | ||
| 1962 | Independence Day | |||
| Transjordan | 1946 | |||
| 1963 | ||||
| Gilbert and Ellice Islands | 1979 | |||
| 1961 | ||||
| Basutoland | 1966 | |||
| 1951 | Libya had been under the rule of the Ottoman Empire since the middle of the sixteenth century. Following the Italo-Turkish war of 1912, Libya became an Italian colony. With their defeat in World War II, the Italians lost control of Libya. The country came under UN administration. Control was split between France and Britain, with France administering the province Fezzan while the British administered the provinces of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania. In 1949, the UN General Assembly declared that Libya should become an independent country by 1 January 1952. On 24 December 1951, Libya declared its independence from France and Britain becoming the United Kingdom of Libya, a constitutional and hereditary monarchy under King Idris. | |||
| Nyasaland | 1964 | |||
| Four parts: Malaya, North Borneo, Singapore and Sarawak | 1957 | As the Federation of Malaya. North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore gained full independence and joined Malaysia on 16 September 1963 under the Malaysia Agreement. gained independence from Malaysia on 9 August 1965. | ||
| 1965 | ||||
| 1964 | ||||
| 1968 | ||||
| 1948 | Gained independence as Burma. Renamed Myanmar in 1989, but still officially known by the United Kingdom government as Burma. | |||
| 1968 | Independence from the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand on 31 January 1968. | |||
| 1931 | Dominion Day gained independence from New Zealand on 1 January 1962. New Zealand has responsibilities for two freely associated states: | |||
| took in Northern Cameroons | 1960 | |||
| British Raj | 1947 | Independence Day gained independence from Pakistan in 1971. | ||
| Mandate Palestine | Israeli Military Occupation | - | ||
| British Qatari Protectorate | 1971 | |||
| St Lucia, Windward Islands | 1979 | |||
| St Kitts–Nevis and Anguilla, Leeward Islands | 1983 | |||
| St Vincent, Windward Islands | 1979 | |||
| 1976 | ||||
| 1961 | ||||
| British Solomon Islands | 1978 | |||
| 1961 | 1931 adoption of Statute of Westminster. Not a public holiday. Union of South Africa formed on 31 May 1910 and Republic declared on 31 May 1961 and left the British Commonwealth on the same day. South Africa later rejoined the British Commonwealth in 1994. gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990. | |||
| British Somaliland Protectorate | 1960 | with the Trust Territory of Somalia on 1 July 1960 to form the Somali Republic later broke away to form the autonomous region of Somaliland. | ||
| Ceylon | 1948 | Gained independence as the Dominion of Ceylon. Renamed Sri Lanka in 1972. | ||
| 1956 | gained independence from Sudan on 9 July 2011. | |||
| took in Tanganyika | 1961 | Tanganyika became independent on 9 December 1961. It joined with Zanzibar on 25 April 1964 to form Tanzania. | ||
| 1970 | ||||
| 1962 | ||||
| Gilbert and Ellice Islands | 1978 | |||
| 1962 | ||||
| Trucial States | 1971 | National Day | ||
| Thirteen American Colonies | 1776 | Fourth of July. Declaration of Independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1776. Last major battle of the American Revolutionary War fought in 1781. British government recognized independence in 1783. | ||
| New Hebrides | 1980 | Independence from United Kingdom and France in 1980 | ||
| Aden Colony and Protectorate | 1967 | South Yemen 1967 | ||
| Northern Rhodesia | 1964 | |||
| Southern Rhodesia | 1980 | Southern Rhodesia declared independence from United Kingdom on 11 November 1965 |
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. | Other important dates |
| Australia Act 1986 | |||||
| Canada Act 1982 | |||||
| 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 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; the Republic of Ireland Act came into force on 18 April 1949 with Ireland formally leaving the British Commonwealth. Related UK statutes included the Éire Act 1938 and the Ireland Act 1949. | ||||
| — | Canada Act 1982 | Newfoundland voted to join Canada in 1948 in a 52-48 vote; this became effective on 31 March 1949. | |||
| South African Constitution of 1961 | |||||
| Constitution Act 1986 | Declaration of Independence of New Zealand 1835, Treaty of Waitangi 1840 |
Former British Crown Colonies that became part of another British Crown Colony then later restored previous status
| Country | Date | Year | Notes |
| July | 1971 | 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 returning in 1980. |
British Overseas Territories that have voted against another independent country sharing sovereignty over the territory with the British Crown
| Country | Date | Year | Notes |
| 7 November | 2002 | Gibraltar held a referendum on whether or not to share sovereignty with Spain. They rejected the proposal by 98.48% to 1.02% in favour of remaining solely a British overseas territory. |
British Overseas Territories that have voted to retain their British Overseas Territory status
| Country | Date | Year | Notes |
| 11 March | 2013 | Falkland Islanders voted in favour of remaining a British overseas territory by 99.8% to 0.2%. |
Territories formerly administered by the British [Colonial Service] that have gained independence
| Country | Pre-Independence name | Date | Year of Independence |
| Antigua, Leeward Islands | 1981 | ||
| 1973 | |||
| 1966 | |||
| Bechuanaland | 1966 | ||
| Northern Cameroons became part of Nigeria, 1 June 1961; Southern Cameroons became part of Cameroon, 1 October 1961 | 1961 | ||
| 1960 | |||
| Dominica, Windward Islands | 1978 | ||
| Swaziland | 1968 | ||
| Gambia | 1965 | ||
| Gold Coast | 1957 | ||
| Grenada, Windward Islands | 1974 | ||
| British Guiana | 1966 | ||
| became Special Administrative Region of China | 1997 | ||
| 1962 | |||
| 1963 | |||
| Gilbert and Ellice Islands | 1979 | ||
| Basutoland | 1966 | ||
| Nyasaland | 1964 | ||
| Four parts: Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore | 1957 | ||
| 1965 | |||
| 1960 | |||
| Mandate Palestine - Jordan Annexation - Israeli Military Occupation | 1967 | ||
| 1948 | |||
| St Lucia, Windward Islands | 1979 | ||
| St Kitts–Nevis and Anguilla, Leeward Islands | 1983 | ||
| St Vincent, Windward Islands | 1979 | ||
| 1976 | |||
| 1961 | |||
| British Somaliland Protectorate became part of Somalia | 1960 | ||
| Ceylon | 1948 | ||
| Tanganyika became independent on 9 December 1961. It joined with Zanzibar on 25 April 1964 to form Tanzania. | 1961 | ||
| 1962 | |||
| Gilbert and Ellice Islands | 1978 | ||
| 1962 | |||
| New Hebrides | 1980 | ||
| Aden Colony and Protectorate, became South Yemen 1967, then part of Yemen 1990 | 1967 | ||
| Northern Rhodesia | 1964 |
British Overseas Territories that have voted not to be an independent country
| Country | Date | Year | Notes |
| 16 August | 1995 | Bermudians voted against independence for the territory in a 1995 referendum by 73.6% to 25.7%. |
Countries or province forming part of the United Kingdom that have voted to remain part of the United Kingdom
| Country | Date | Year | Notes |
| 8 March | 1973 | In the 1973 Northern Ireland sovereignty 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. |
Countries forming part of the United Kingdom that have voted not to be an independent country
| Country | Date | Year | Notes |
| 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. |
Countries or region which did not vote to terminate British rule yet were relinquished
| Country | Date | Year | Notes |
| 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. It was never put forward to the people of the territory to decide in the form of a referendum, and neither was it ever agreed by an elected legislature. British rule ended on 30 June 1997, with China taking over at midnight, 1 July 1997. |