Decol List
List of former Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territories
The following Territories have been subject to United Nations Trusteeship Agreements or were listed by the General Assembly as Non-Self-Governing. Dates show the year of independence or other change in a Territory’s status, after which information was no longer submitted to the United Nations. For more details concerning the International Trusteeship System and Trust Territories, please see under International Trusteeship System and Trust Territories page. For the current list of Non-Self-Governing Territories, see under Non-Self-Governing Territories page.
Administering States
| AUSTRALIA | BELGIUM | DENMARK | FRANCE | ITALY | NETHERLANDS |
| NEW ZEALAND | PORTUGAL | SOUTH AFRICA | SPAIN | UNITED KINGDOM |
UNITED STATES |
| Administering Power/ Authority | Territory | Status | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Cocos (Keeling) Islands | Change in status | 1984 | |
| Papua/Papua New Guinea[1] | Independence as Papua New Guinea | 1975 | ||
| Trust Territory of Nauru[2] | Independence as Nauru | 1968 | ||
| Trust Territory of New Guinea/Papua New Guinea1 | Independence as Papua New Guinea | 1975 | ||
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| Belgium | Belgian Congo | Independence as Congo-Leopoldville, later Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo[3] | 1960 | |
| Trust Territory of Ruanda-Urundi | Independence as Burundi | 1962 | ||
| Independence as Rwanda | 1962 | |||
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| Denmark | Greenland | Change in status | 1954[4] | |
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| France | French Equatorial Africa | French Equatorial Africa | Independence as Chad | 1960 |
| Independence as Gabon | 1960 | |||
| Middle Congo | Independence as Congo (Brazzaville), now the Republic of the Congo | 1960 | ||
| Ubangi Shari | Independence as the Central African Republic | 1960 | ||
| French Establishments in India | Change in status | 1948 | ||
| French Establishments in Oceania[5] | Change in status | 1947 | ||
| French Guiana | Change in status | 1947 | ||
| French Somaliland | Independence as Djibouti | 1977 | ||
| French West Africa | French West Africa | Independence as Dahomey, now Benin | 1960 | |
| Independence as Ivory Coast, now Côte d’Ivoire | 1960 | |||
| Independence as Mauritania | 1960 | |||
| Independence as Senegal | 1960 | |||
| Independence as Upper Volta, now Burkina Faso | 1960 | |||
| French Guinea | Independence as Guinea | 1958 | ||
| French Sudan | Independence as Mali | 1960 | ||
| Niger | Independence as Niger | 1960 | ||
| Guadeloupe and Dependencies | Change in status | 1947 | ||
| Indo-China | Independence as Cambodia | 1948 | ||
| Independence as Laos, now the Lao People’s Democratic Republic | 1949 | |||
| Independence as Viet Nam | 1948 | |||
| Madagascar and Dependencies | Independence as Madagascar | 1960 | ||
| Independence as the Comoros | 1975 | |||
| Martinique | Change in status | 1947 | ||
| Morocco | Independence as Morocco | 1956 | ||
| New Hebrides (Under Anglo-French Condominium) | Independence as Vanuatu | 1980 | ||
| Reunion | Change in status | 1947 | ||
| St. Pierre and Miquelon | Change in status | 1947 | ||
| Trust Territory of Cameroons under French administration | Independence as Cameroon | 1960 | ||
| Trust Territory of Togoland under French administration | Independence as Togo | 1960 | ||
| Tunisia | Independence as Tunisia | 1956 | ||
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| Italy | Trust Territory of Somaliland under Italian administration | Independence as Somalia (uniting with British Somaliland) | 1960 | |
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| Netherlands | Netherlands Antilles | Change in status | 1955[6] | |
| Netherlands Indies | Independence as Indonesia | 1949 | ||
| Netherlands New Guinea | Joined with Indonesia as Irian Jaya | 1963 | ||
| Suriname | Change in status (later independent as Suriname in 1975) | 19556 | ||
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| New Zealand | Cook Islands | Change in status | 1965 | |
| Niue Island | Change in status | 1974 | ||
| Trust Territory of Western Samoa | Independence as Western Samoa, now Samoa | 1962 | ||
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| Portugal | Angola, including the enclave of Cabinda | Independence as Angola | 1975 | |
| Cape Verde Archipelago | Independence as Cape Verde, now Cabo Verde | 1975 | ||
| Goa and Dependencies | Change in status | 1962 | ||
| Macau and Dependencies | Change in status | 1972 | ||
| Mozambique | Independence as Mozambique | 1975 | ||
| Portuguese Guinea | Independence as Guinea-Bissau | 1974 | ||
| São João Batista de Ajudá | Change in status | 1962 | ||
| São Tome and Principe | Independence as São Tome and Principe | 1975 | ||
| Timor/East Timor[7] | Independence as Timor-Leste | 2002 | ||
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| South Africa | South West Africa | Termination of the mandate of South Africa by the General Assembly[8] | 1966 | |
| Independence as Namibia | 1990 | |||
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| Spain | Fernando Póo and Río Muni | Independence as Equatorial Guinea | 1968 | |
| Ifni | Change in status | 1969 | ||
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| United Kingdom | Aden | Independence as South Yemen, later Yemen (uniting with Yemen Arab Republic) | 1967 | |
| Antigua (Leeward Islands) | Independence as Antigua and Barbuda | 1981 | ||
| Bahamas | Independence as the Bahamas | 1973 | ||
| Barbados | Independence as Barbados | 1966 | ||
| Basutoland | Independence as Lesotho | 1966 | ||
| Bechuanaland | Independence as Botswana | 1966 | ||
| British Guiana | Independence as Guyana | 1966 | ||
| British Honduras | Independence as Belize | 1981 | ||
| British Somaliland | Independence as Somalia (joining the Trust Territory of Somaliland under Italian administration) | 1960 | ||
| Brunei | Independence, now Brunei Darussalam | 1984 | ||
| Cyprus | Independence as Cyprus | 1960 | ||
| Dominica (Windward Islands) | Independence as Dominica | 1978 | ||
| Fiji | Independence as Fiji | 1970 | ||
| Gambia | Independence as The Gambia | 1965 | ||
| Gilbert and Ellice Islands | Independence as Kiribati | 1979 | ||
| Independence as Tuvalu | 1978 | |||
| Gold Coast | Independence as Ghana | 1957 | ||
| Grenada (Windward Islands) | Independence as Grenada | 1974 | ||
| Hong Kong | Change in status | 1972 | ||
| Jamaica | Independence as Jamaica | 1962 | ||
| Kenya | Independence as Kenya | 1963 | ||
| Malayan Union | Independence as the Federation of Malaya, now Malaysia[9] | 1957 | ||
| Malta | Independence as Malta | 1964 | ||
| Mauritius | Independence as Mauritius | 1968 | ||
| Nigeria | Independence as Nigeria | 1960 | ||
| North Borneo9 | Change in status | 1963 | ||
| Northern Rhodesia | Independence as Zambia | 1964 | ||
| Nyasaland | Independence as Malawi | 1964 | ||
| Sarawak9 | Change in status | 1963 | ||
| Seychelles | Independence as Seychelles | 1976 | ||
| Sierra Leone | Independence as Sierra Leone | 1961 | ||
| Singapore9 | Independence as Singapore | 1965 | ||
| Solomon Islands | Independence as Solomon Islands | 1978 | ||
| Southern Rhodesia | Independence as Zimbabwe | 1980 | ||
| St. Kitts- Nevis-Anguilla (Leeward Islands) | Independence as Saint Kitts and Nevis (separated from Anguilla) | 1983 | ||
| St. Lucia (Windward Islands) | Independence as Saint Lucia | 1979 | ||
| St. Vincent (Windward Islands) | Independence as Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 1979 | ||
| Swaziland | Independence as Swaziland, now Eswatini | 1968 | ||
| Trinidad and Tobago | Independence as Trinidad and Tobago | 1962 | ||
| Trust Territory of Cameroons under British administration | Northern part joined with Nigeria | 1961 | ||
| Southern part joined with Cameroon | 1961 | |||
| Trust Territory of Tanganyika | Independence as Tanganyika[10], now the United Republic of Tanzania | 1961 | ||
| Trust Territory of Togoland under British administration | United with the Gold Coast, a Non-Self-Governing Territory, to form Ghana | 1957 | ||
| Uganda | Independence as Uganda | 1962 | ||
| Zanzibar | Independence as Zanzibar10 , now the United Republic of Tanzania | 1963 | ||
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| United States | Alaska | Became a state of the United States | 1959 | |
| Hawaii | Became a state of the United States | 1959 | ||
| Panama Canal Zone | Change in status | 1947 | ||
| Puerto Rico | Change in status | 1952[11] | ||
| Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands | Change in status as the Federated States of Micronesia, fully self-governing in free association with the United States | 1990 | ||
| Change in status as the Marshall Islands, fully self-governing in free association with the United States | 1990 | |||
| Change in status as Northern Mariana Islands as a commonwealth of the United States | 1990 | |||
| Change in status as Palau, fully self-governing in free association with the United States | 1994 | |||
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[1] By its resolution 2865 (XXVI) of 20 December 1971, the General Assembly decided that, in accordance with the express desire of the people of the Territories, the name to be applied for the United Nations purposes to the Territory of Papua and the Trust Territory of New Guinea should henceforth be “Papua New Guinea”.
[2] The Trusteeship Agreement for Nauru was submitted by Australia, New Zealand and the UK and approved by General Assembly resolution 140 (II) of 1 November 1947. Nauru was under administration of Australia on behalf of Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
[3] At the time of joining the United Nations in 1960, the name of the State was Zaire, and on 17 May 1997, its name was changed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
[4] The Government of Denmark sent a communication dated 3 September 1953 informing the Secretary-General that, as a result of the constitutional amendment adopted on 5 June 1953, Greenland has become an integral part of the Danish Realm with a constitutional status equal to that of other parts of Denmark and that, as a consequence of this constitutional change, the Danish Government regarded its responsibility under Chapter XI of the Charter in respect of Greenland as terminated and had, therefore, decided to bring to an end the transmission of information under Article 73 e of the Charter (A/AC.35/L.155 and Corr.1). By resolution 849 (IX) of 22 November 1954, the General Assembly, inter alia, considered it appropriate that the transmission of information in respect of Greenland under Article 73 e of the Charter should now cease.
[5] See also French Polynesia under Non-Self-Governing Territories page.
[6] By the communication dated 30 March 1955, the Government of the Netherlands transmitted to the Secretary-General the constitutional provisions embodied in the Charter of the Kingdom of the Netherlands promulgated on 29 December 1954 (A/AC.35/L.206). By resolution 945 (X) of 15 December 1955, the General Assembly, inter alia, expressed the opinion that cessation of the transmission of information under Article 73 e of the Charter in respect of the Netherland Antilles and Suriname was appropriate. In 1975 Suriname became independent.
[7] Initially administered by Portugal, and under Indonesian control between 1975 and 1999, East Timor attained independence in May 2002 and joined the United Nations in September 2002 as Timor-Leste.
[8] By resolution 2145 (XXI), the General Assembly, inter alia, decided that South Africa had no other right to administer the Territory and that henceforth South West Africa came under the direct responsibility of the United Nations.
[9] In 1963, the Federation of Malaya became Malaysia, following the admission to the new federation of Singapore, Sabah (North Borneo) and Sarawak. Singapore became independent in 1965.
[10] Following the ratification on 26 April 1964 of Articles of Union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar, the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar continued as a single Member of the United Nations, changing its name to the United Republic of Tanzania on 1 November 1964.
[11] By the communications dated 19 January and 20 March 1953 informing the United Nations of the establishment of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as a result of the entry into force on 25 July 1952 of the Constitution of Puerto Rico, and stating that, in consequence of those constitutional changes, the Government of the United States of American would cease to transmit information under Article 73 e of the Charter (A/AC.35/L.121). By resolution 748 (VIII) of 27 November 1953, the General Assembly, inter alia, considered that, due to those circumstances, the Declaration regarding Non-Self-Governing Territories and the provisions established under Chapter XI of the Charter could no longer applied to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and considered it appropriate that the transmission of that information should cease.