what is territory

Territory refers to an area of land, sea, or space that belongs or is connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area that has not been granted the powers of self-government, i.e., 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 that country, which political units are of equal status to one another and are often referred to by words such as "provinces," "regions," or "states". Some examples of different types of territory include capital territory, maritime territory, and occupied territory. Territory can also refer to an assigned area, especially one in which a sales representative or distributor operates, or an area often including a nesting or denning site and a variable foraging range that is occupied and defended by an animal or group of animals.