Overseas Territories - 'Partnership for progress and prosperity' Britain's 14 Overseas Territories, spread throughout the globe, are diverse communities. They range from the tiny island of Pitcairn with its 47 inhabitants, set in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, to Bermuda, which has a population of over 62,000 and is one of the world's major financial centres.

The Overseas Territories are:

Anguilla, British Antarctic Territory, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, St Helena and Dependencies (Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha), Turk and Caicos Islands, Pitcairn Island, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus.

For general information on each of the Overseas Territories please go to Overseas Territories Country Profiles. For advice on travelling to any of the Overseas Territories, please go to Travel Advice.

The 1999 White Paper Partnership for Progress and Prosperity: Britain and the Overseas Territories sets out the policy on the Overseas Territories.

The White Paper in 2006 expanded the set of Strategic International Priorities of the FCO Strategy. OTD is responsible for the delivery of International Strategic Priority 10 (SIP 10): the security and good governance of the Overseas Territories, for 12 of the 14 UK Overseas Territories.

Other aims that form part of this priority are to:

• Improve the environment of the Territories
• Encourage more economic diversity
• Maintain a balance in the constitutional relationship, which reflects the rights and responsibilities of both the UK and the Overseas Territories.
• Manage the effect of new international obligations on the Overseas Territories
• Minimise the vulnerability of the Territories to economic changes, international crime, natural disasters and other developments.
• Work closely with other government departments to fulfill the UK government's collective responsibility for the Territories.

The Overseas Territories Consultative Council held in London on 21-22 November agreed the principles of Good Governance as set out in a document available to the public.

This area of the website provides information on the Territories and the issues surrounding Britain's relationship with them. Please use the links on the left to access this information.

The Department for International Development (DfID) provides budgetary support for Montserrat and St Helena, as well as funding for various projects on other Territories. Contact details are provided by the link below:

DfID Overseas Territories Department

For Gibraltar, please contact:

Desk Officer - OTD Liaison
Gibraltar Section
Western Mediterranean Team
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AP

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7008 2862
Email: EUCommunications@fco.gov.uk

The Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus are the joint responsibility of the FCO and the Ministry of Defence. For enquiries, please contact:

Desk Officer - OTD Liaison
Cyprus Section
Eastern Mediterranean Team
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AP

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7008 3715

Or

Cyprus Desk Officer
Ministry of Defence
Whitehall
London
SW1A 2EU