Union territory
This article is about Indian territories - for other Union territories, see Federally unceded territory.
Union Territory or abbreviated UT refers to a federally independent territory of the state of India; in 2020, India has eight Union Territories. Unlike the 28 Indian states with their own local governments, the Union Territories are under the control of the central government in the capital New Delhi.
The following list contains the country code according to ISO 3166-2:IN, the land area in square kilometres, the number of inhabitants and population density according to the results of the 2011 census in India, as well as the year of foundation and the respective capital:
The "National Capital Territory of Delhi" and the Union Territory of Puducherry are each headed by a separate Chief Minister who is elected along with his cabinet members. Laws and ordinances enacted in the Union Territories require the confirmation or signature of the Central Government of India in New Delhi.
Chandigarh and Delhi are special status cities, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep are island groups far from the mainland. The small Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu belonged entirely to Portuguese India until 1954 and still partly until 1961. The Union Territory of Puducherry belonged to French India until 1962 and comprises the four former French colonies of Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam.
The state of Jammu and Kashmir was divided into two Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir on October 31, 2019.
The Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu were merged on January 26, 2020.
