Territories of the United States

Territories of the United States are areas under U.S. sovereignty that are not states. They include inhabited territories such as Puerto Rico and Guam and several uninhabited islands.

Insular area: An area under U.S. jurisdiction that is not a state or part of a state, including territories and freely associated states. This broader category places U.S. territories within the federal government’s terminology.
Puerto Rico: A Caribbean island under U.S. sovereignty, organized as an unincorporated territory with a locally elected government. It is the most populous U.S. territory and has a distinctive commonwealth arrangement.
U.S. state: A constituent political unit of the United States with representation in Congress and equal status under the Constitution. States have constitutional and electoral rights that territorial residents do not share in the same way.
Voting rights in United States territories: The rules governing electoral participation by residents of U.S. territories in federal and local elections. Territorial residents generally cannot vote for president while living in the territories.
Territorial clause: Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress power to govern U.S. territories. It provides the constitutional basis for congressional authority over territories.
Guam: An island in the western Pacific that is an organized, unincorporated U.S. territory. Its strategic location and Chamorro population shape its territorial history.
Commonwealth (U.S. insular area): A designation used for certain U.S. insular areas with locally defined political arrangements; it does not itself determine sovereignty or constitutional status. Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands use the designation without becoming states.
Resident commissioner of Puerto Rico: Puerto Rico’s nonvoting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, elected for a two-year term. The office provides a congressional voice without a vote on final House passage.
Organic act: A federal statute that establishes a territorial government and defines its powers and structure. Organic acts have established civil governments in several U.S. territories.
U.S. Virgin Islands: A Caribbean island group that is an organized, unincorporated U.S. territory. It is one of the inhabited Caribbean territories under U.S. sovereignty.

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