In the law of the United States, an insular area is a U.S.-associated jurisdiction that is not part of a U.S. state or the District of Columbia. This includes fourteen U.S. territories administered under U.S. sovereignty, as well as three sovereign states each with a Compact of Free Association with the United States. The term also may be used to refer to the previous status of the Swan Islands, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, as well as the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands when it existed.

The Swan Islands is a chain of three islands located in the northwestern Caribbean Sea, approximately 153 km (95 mi) northeast of the eastern coast of Honduras, with a combined land area of 3.1 km2 (1.2 sq mi).