BACKGROUND NOTE
BRITISH DEPENDENT OVERSEAS TERRITORIES
1. The remaining dependent territories are:-
2.
Belize
Bermuda
British Antartic Territory
British Indian Ocean Territory
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Falkland Islands & Dependencies
Gibraltar
Gilbert Islands
Hong Kong
Montserrat
Pitcairn
St Helena (including Ascension & Tristan da Cunha)
Tuvalu
Turks & Caicos Islands
Of these, Tuvalu will become independent on 1 October 1978, and the Gilbert Islands are expected to follow suit some time in
1979.
3. There are no plans at the moment for any of the other territories to become independent. In the case of Hong Kong, Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands and Belize this is because political considerations involving their relations with neighbouring countries make it impossible for them to contemplate independence under present circumstances.
4.
Certain territories would not be viable as independent states: these include the British Antartic Territory and the British Indian Ocean Territory, neither of which have any indigenous population, and Pitcairn which has a resident population of less than 100. St Helena and its dependencies, with a total population of about 5000, is also generally considered to come in this category.
15.