Territory vs. State — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman & Maham Liaqat — Updated on April 8, 2024
Territory refers to a defined geographical area, often without full sovereignty or representation, while a state is a politically organized area with sovereignty and full rights within a federal system.
Difference Between Territory and State
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Territory often implies a region that is under the jurisdiction of a government but lacks the complete political rights or sovereignty associated with states. Territories may be subject to federal law but without full representation in the governing bodies. On the other hand, a state is a fully sovereign entity within a federal system, enjoying complete autonomy in governing its affairs, including representation in national government bodies.
In the context of the United States, territories such as Puerto Rico and Guam have certain federal laws applied to them but do not have voting representatives in Congress. Whereas, states like California and New York have full representation in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, along with complete sovereignty over their internal affairs, subject to the constraints of the federal constitution.
Territories can also refer to geographical areas outside the context of political sovereignty, such as natural or historical regions without specific political significance. Meanwhile, a state is inherently a political entity, defined by its government, borders, and the autonomy to make and enforce laws within its territory.
The process of becoming a state differs significantly from that of a territory. Territories might be considered for statehood through a process involving legislation and often a referendum among its residents, showcasing the transition from limited autonomy to full state rights and responsibilities. States, once established, maintain their status and rights within the federal system, barring extraordinary circumstances.
Regarding international law, the term "state" carries a specific meaning, denoting a territory with a permanent population, defined territory, government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other states. A territory, in contrast, might lack one or more of these characteristics, often depending on another state for international representation and lacking full sovereignty.
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Comparison Chart
Political Rights
Limited sovereignty, often without full representation in Congress
Full sovereignty and representation in national governing bodies
Definition Context
Geographical area, sometimes with specific administrative status
Politically organized area with defined governance
Sovereignty
Lacks complete sovereignty
Fully sovereign within the federal system
Representation
May lack voting rights in national legislature
Full voting rights in national legislature
Usage Outside Politics
Can refer to non-political geographical areas
Primarily used in political contexts
Compare with Definitions
Territory
An area of land under the jurisdiction of a ruler or state.
The Northern Territory of Australia is known for its Outback desert landscapes.
State
A specified condition or mode of being.
The building was left in a state of disrepair.
Territory
A region designated by boundaries within which a state exercises control.
The U.S. has several territories, including Puerto Rico.
State
An area of a country that has its own government for some matters.
Each state in the U.S. has its own constitution.
Territory
An area of knowledge, activity, or experience.
This question is outside my territory of expertise.
State
A nation or territory considered as an organized political community under one government.
Germany is a state known for its strong economy.
Territory
An assigned area for specific purposes or activities.
The salesperson covers the territory of the Pacific Northwest.
State
A politically organized body of people under a single government.
The state of Texas is known for its large size and diverse culture.
Territory
A zone of influence or interest.
The company is looking to expand its territory in the European market.
State
The condition of a person or thing, as with respect to circumstances or attributes.
The state of the economy is a major concern.
Territory
A territory is an administrative division, usually an area that is under the jurisdiction of a sovereign state. In most countries, a territory is an organized division of an area that is controlled by a country but is not formally developed into, or incorporated into, a political unit of the country that is of equal status to other political units that may often be referred to by words such as "provinces" or "regions" or "states".
State
A condition or mode of being, as with regard to circumstances
The office was in a state of confusion.
Territory
An area of land; a region.
State
A condition of being in a stage or form, as of structure, growth, or development
The fetal state.
Territory
The land and waters under the jurisdiction of a government.
State
A mental or emotional condition
In a manic state.
Territory
A political subdivision of a country.
State
(Informal) A condition of excitement or distress
Was in a state over going to the prom.
Territory
A geographic region, such as a colonial possession, that is dependent on an external government
The territories of the Holy Roman Empire.
State
Social position or rank.
Territory
A subdivision of the United States that is not a state and is administered by an appointed or elected governor and elected legislature.
State
(Physics) The condition of a physical system with regard to phase, form, composition, or structure
Ice is the solid state of water.
Territory
A similarly organized political subdivision of Canada or Australia.
State
Ceremony; pomp
Foreign leaders dining in state at the White House.
Territory
An area for which a person is responsible as a representative or agent
A salesperson's territory.
State
The supreme public power within a sovereign political entity
The state intervening in the economy.
Territory
(Sports)The area of a field defended by a specified team
Punted the ball deep into the opponent's territory.
State
The sphere of supreme civil power within a given polity
Matters of state.
Territory
(Biology)An area occupied by a single animal, mating pair, or group and often vigorously defended against intruders, especially those of the same species.
State
A specific kind of government
The socialist state.
Territory
A sphere of action or interest; a province.
State
A body politic, especially one constituting a nation
The states of Eastern Europe.
Territory
A large extent or tract of land; for example a region, country or district.
State
One of the more or less internally autonomous territorial and political units composing a federation under a sovereign government
The 48 contiguous states of the Union.
Territory
(Canada) One of three of Canada's federated entities, located in the country's Arctic, with fewer powers than a province and created by an act of Parliament rather than by the Constitution: Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.
State
Of or relating to a body politic or to an internally autonomous territorial or political unit constituting a federation under one government
A monarch dealing with state matters.
The department that handles state security.
Territory
(Australia) One of three of Australia's federated entities, located in the country's north and southeast, with fewer powers than a state and created by an act of Parliament rather than by the Constitution: Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory and Jervis Bay Territory.
State
Owned and operated by a state
State universities.
Territory
A geographic area under control of a single governing entity such as state or municipality; an area whose borders are determined by the scope of political power rather than solely by natural features such as rivers and ridges.
State
To set forth in words; declare.
Territory
(ecology) An area that an animal of a particular species consistently defends against its conspecifics.
State
A condition; a set of circumstances applying at any given time.
A state of being
A state of emergency
Territory
The part of the playing field or board over which a player or team has control.
State
(physics) A complete description of a system, consisting of parameters that determine all properties of the system.
Territory
A geographic area that a person or organization is responsible for in the course of work.
State
A mess; disorder.
Absolute state
In a state
Territory
A location or logical space which someone owns or controls.
State
(computing) The stable condition of a processor during a particular clock cycle.
In the fetch state, the address of the next instruction is placed on the address bus.
Territory
A market segment or scope of professional practice over which an organization or type of practitioner has exclusive rights.
State
(computing) The set of all parameters relevant to a computation.
The state here includes a set containing all names seen so far.
Territory
An area of subject matter, knowledge, or experience.
State
(computing) The values of all parameters at some point in a computation.
A debugger can show the state of a program at any breakpoint.
Territory
A large extent or tract of land; a region; a country; a district.
He looked, and saw wide territory spreadBefore him - towns, and rural works between.
State
(sciences) The physical property of matter as solid, liquid, gas or plasma.
Territory
The extent of land belonging to, or under the dominion of, a prince, state, or other form of government; often, a tract of land lying at a distance from the parent country or from the seat of government; as, the territory of a State; the territories of the East India Company.
State
(obsolete) Highest and stationary condition, as that of maturity between growth and decline, or as that of crisis between the increase and the abating of a disease; height; acme.
Territory
In the United States, a portion of the country not included within the limits of any State, and not yet admitted as a State into the Union, but organized with a separate legislature, under a Territorial governor and other officers appointed by the President and Senate of the United States. In Canada, a similarly organized portion of the country not yet formed into a Province.
State
High social standing or circumstance.
Territory
A region marked off for administrative or other purposes
State
Pomp, ceremony, or dignity.
In state
The President's body will lie in state at the Capitol.
Territory
An area of knowledge or interest;
His questions covered a lot of territory
State
Rank; condition; quality.
Territory
The geographical area under the jurisdiction of a sovereign state;
American troops were stationed on Japanese soil
State
Condition of prosperity or grandeur; wealthy or prosperous circumstances; social importance.
State
A chair with a canopy above it, often standing on a dais; a seat of dignity; also, the canopy itself.
State
(obsolete) A great person, a dignitary; a lord or prince.
State
(obsolete) Estate, possession.
State
A polity.
State
Any sovereign polity; a national or city-state government.
State
A political division of a federation retaining a notable degree of autonomy, as in the United States, Mexico, Nigeria, or India.
State
(obsolete) A form of government other than a monarchy.
State
(anthropology) A society larger than a tribe. A society large enough to form a state in the sense of a government.
State
An element of the range of the random variables that define a random process.
State
The lexical aspect (aktionsart) of verbs or predicates that do not change over time.
State
(transitive) To declare to be a fact.
He stated that he was willing to help.
State
(transitive) To make known.
State your intentions.
State
(obsolete) Stately.
State
The circumstances or condition of a being or thing at any given time.
State is a term nearly synonymous with "mode," but of a meaning more extensive, and is not exclusively limited to the mutable and contingent.
Declare the past and present state of things.
Keep the state of the question in your eye.
State
Rank; condition; quality; as, the state of honor.
Thy honor, state, and seat is due to me.
State
Condition of prosperity or grandeur; wealthy or prosperous circumstances; social importance.
She instructed him how he should keep state, and yet with a modest sense of his misfortunes.
Can this imperious lord forget to reign,Quit all his state, descend, and serve again?
State
Appearance of grandeur or dignity; pomp.
Where least of state there most of love is shown.
State
A chair with a canopy above it, often standing on a dais; a seat of dignity; also, the canopy itself.
His high throne, . . . under stateOf richest texture spread.
When he went to court, he used to kick away the state, and sit down by his prince cheek by jowl.
State
Estate; possession.
Your state, my lord, again is yours.
State
A person of high rank.
State
The principal persons in a government.
The bold designPleased highly those infernal states.
State
The bodies that constitute the legislature of a country; as, the States-general of Holland.
State
A form of government which is not monarchial, as a republic.
Well monarchies may own religion's name,But states are atheists in their very fame.
State
A political body, or body politic; the whole body of people who are united under one government, whatever may be the form of the government; a nation.
Municipal law is a rule of conduct prescribed by the supreme power in a state.
The Puritans in the reign of Mary, driven from their homes, sought an asylum in Geneva, where they found a state without a king, and a church without a bishop.
State
In the United States, one of the commonwealths, or bodies politic, the people of which make up the body of the nation, and which, under the national constitution, stand in certain specified relations with the national government, and are invested, as commonwealths, with full power in their several spheres over all matters not expressly inhibited.
State
Highest and stationary condition, as that of maturity between growth and decline, or as that of crisis between the increase and the abating of a disease; height; acme.
I do not, brother,Infer as if I thought my sister's stateSecure without all doubt or controversy.
We hoped to enjoy with ease what, in our situation, might be called the luxuries of life.
And, O, what man's condition can be worseThan his whom plenty starves and blessings curse?
State
A statement; also, a document containing a statement.
State
Stately.
State
Belonging to the state, or body politic; public.
State
To set; to settle; to establish.
I myself, though meanest stated,And in court now almost hated.
Who calls the council, states the certain day.
State
To express the particulars of; to set down in detail or in gross; to represent fully in words; to narrate; to recite; as, to state the facts of a case, one's opinion, etc.
State
The group of people comprising the government of a sovereign state;
The state has lowered its income tax
State
The territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation;
His state is in the deep south
State
A politically organized body of people under a single government;
The state has elected a new president
African nations
Students who had come to the nation's capitol
The country's largest manufacturer
An industrialized land
State
The way something is with respect to its main attributes;
The current state of knowledge
His state of health
In a weak financial state
State
The federal department in the UnitedStates that sets and maintains foreign policies;
The Department of State was created in 1789
State
The territory occupied by a nation;
He returned to the land of his birth
He visited several European countries
State
A state of depression or agitation;
He was in such a state you just couldn't reason with him
State
(chemistry) the three traditional states of matter are solids (fixed shape and volume) and liquids (fixed volume and shaped by the container) and gases (filling the container);
The solid state of water is called ice
State
Express in words;
He said that he wanted to marry her
Tell me what is bothering you
State your opinion
State your name
State
Put before;
I submit to you that the accused is guilty
State
Indicate through a symbol, formula, etc.;
Can you express this distance in kilometers?
Common Curiosities
Can territories become states?
Yes, territories can become states through a process involving legislation and, typically, a referendum among the territory's residents.
Are states sovereign?
Yes, states are considered sovereign entities within a federal system, having control over their internal affairs.
How does international law define a state?
International law defines a state as an entity with a permanent population, defined territory, government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other states.
Do all countries have territories?
Not all countries have territories; the use of the term and the existence of territories depend on each country's political and legal framework.
Do territories have their own governments?
Territories often have their own local governments but with limited powers compared to states and usually under the oversight of the federal government.
Is Washington D.C. a state or a territory?
Washington D.C. is a federal district, not a state or a traditional territory, with a unique status and limited representation in Congress.
Can a territory have representation in Congress?
Territories may have non-voting delegates or representatives in Congress but do not have full voting rights like states.
How do territories impact national elections?
While territories may participate in primary elections, they typically do not have electoral college votes in presidential elections, unlike states.
Can territories issue their own currency?
Territories generally do not issue their own currency and use the currency of the country to which they belong.
What role do states play in federal systems?
In federal systems, states are integral components, exercising sovereignty over their internal affairs while participating in the broader federal governance structure.
Can states lose their status?
Under normal circumstances, states maintain their status within a federal system. Changes to a state's status would require significant constitutional amendments or extraordinary legal processes.
How are territories governed?
The governance of territories varies but often includes a local government with powers delegated by the national or federal government, subject to limitations.
How does a territory differ from a colony?
A colony is typically a territory controlled by a foreign power without self-governance, whereas a territory may have a degree of self-governance but lacks full statehood or sovereignty.
Are there international territories?
Yes, there are areas that might be considered international territories, often governed by international agreements or organizations, though this is not common.
What distinguishes a state's government from a territory's?
A state's government has full sovereignty and broader powers within its area, while a territory's government operates with more significant restrictions and oversight from the federal or national government.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Maham Liaqat
