Current Commonwealth members (blue), current suspended members (green), and former members (orange).

The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of 54 independent sovereign states (one of whose membership is currently suspended), most of them are former British colonies, or dependencies of these colonies. No one government in the Commonwealth exercises power over the others, as in a political union. Rather, the relationship is one of an international organisation through which countries with diverse social, political, and economic backgrounds are regarded as equal in status, and co-operate within a framework of common values and goals, as outlined in the Singapore Declaration.^[1] These include the promotion of democracy, human rights, good governance, the rule of law, individual liberty, egalitarianism, free trade, multilateralism, and world peace, and are carried out through multilateral projects and meetings, as well as the quadrennial Commonwealth Games.^[2] The symbol of this free association is Queen Elizabeth II, known for this purpose as Head of the Commonwealth. This position, however, does not imbue her with any political or executive power over any Commonwealth member states; the position is purely symbolic, and it is the Commonwealth Secretary-General who is the chief executive of the organisation.^[3]

The Commonwealth was first officially formed in 1931 when the Statute of Westminster gave legal recognition to the independence of dominions. Known as the "British Commonwealth", the first members were the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Irish Free State and Dominion of Newfoundland, although Australia and New Zealand did not adopt the statute until 1942 and 1947 respectively.^[4] In 1949, the London Declaration was signed and marked the birth of the modern Commonwealth and the renaming to its present name.^[5] The most recent member is Rwanda, which joined on 29 November 2009.^[6]

Presently, there are 54 states that are members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Three members are in Europe, twelve in North America, one in South America, nineteen in Africa, eight in Asia, and eleven in Oceania (including one suspended member, Fiji). There are six former members, four of which no longer exist as independent entities (but form part of current member states). The members have a combined population of 2.1 billion people, almost a third of the world population, of which 1.17 billion live in India and 94% live in Asia and Africa combined.^[7]

[edit] Current members

All table information based on figures provided by the Commonwealth of Nations Secretariat members list, most population figures are based on 2007 estimates, unless otherwise noted.^[8]

Note: The table can be sorted alphabetically or chronologically using the icon.

Country	Joined	Continent	Population	Notes[A]
Antigua and Barbuda  Antigua and Barbuda	1981-11-011 November 1981	North America	88,000
Australia  Australia	1931-12-1111 December 1931	Oceania	22,073,000	Granted nominal independence (Dominion status) on 1 January 1901. Austarlia was one of the original Dominions at the time of the Statute of Westminster 1931, although the statute was not adopted in Australia until 1942.[9]
Bahamas  Bahamas	1973-07-1010 July 1973	North America	342,000
Bangladesh  Bangladesh[B]	1972-04-1818 April 1972[10]	Asia	162,221,000	Gained independence from Pakistan in 1971.[11]
Barbados  Barbados	1966-11-3030 November 1966	North America	279,000
Belize  Belize	1981-09-2121 September 1981	North America	322,130
Botswana  Botswana	1966-09-3030 September 1966	Africa	1,950,000
Brunei  Brunei	1984-01-011 January 1984	Asia	400,000
Cameroon  Cameroon	1995-11-1313 November 1995[12]	Africa	19,522,000	Most of the country was formerly French and gained independence from France on 1 January 1960, uniting with the much smaller former British territory on its gaining independence from the United Kingdom on 1 October 1961.
Canada  Canada	1931-12-1111 December 1931	North America	33,860,000	Granted nominal independence (Dominion status) on 1 July 1867. Canada was the first among the several original Dominions at the time of the Statute of Westminster 1931.[13] Incorporated another original Dominion, Newfoundland, on 31 March 1949.[14]
Cyprus  Cyprus	1961-03-1313 March 1961[15]	Europe / Asia	794,200	Gained independence from the United Kingdom on 18 August 1960.
Dominica  Dominica	1978-11-033 November 1978	North America	79,000 [C]79,000
Gambia  Gambia	1965-02-1818 February 1965	Africa	1,717,000
Ghana  Ghana	1957-03-066 March 1957	Africa	23,837,000
Grenada  Grenada	1974-02-077 February 1974	North America	103,000
Guyana  Guyana	1966-05-2626 May 1966	South America	761,000
India  India	1947-08-1515 August 1947	Asia	1,173,230,000
Jamaica  Jamaica	1962-08-066 August 1962	North America	2,721,000
Kenya  Kenya	1963-12-1212 December 1963	Africa	39,856,000
Kiribati  Kiribati	1979-07-1212 July 1979	Oceania	99,000 [D]99,000
Lesotho  Lesotho	1966-10-044 October 1966	Africa	2,000,000
Malawi  Malawi	1964-07-066 July 1964	Africa	15,884,000
Malaysia  Malaysia	1963-09-1616 September 1963	Asia	28,356,000	Joined as the Federation of Malaya in 1957; reformed as Malaysia with its federation in 1963 with Singapore (became a separate member in 1965), Sabah, and Sarawak.[16]
Maldives  Maldives	1982-07-099 July 1982	Asia	329,000	Gained independence from the United Kingdom on 26 July 1965.[17] Maldives was a special member from 9 July 1982 until 20 July 1985.[18]
Malta  Malta	1964-09-2121 September 1964	Europe	412,668
Mauritius  Mauritius	1968-03-1212 March 1968	Africa	1,285,000
Mozambique  Mozambique	1995-11-1313 November 1995[19]	Africa	22,892,000	Gained independence from Portugal on 26 June 1975. The first country to be admitted to the Commonwealth without any former colonial or constitutional links with the United Kingdom.[20]
Namibia  Namibia	1990-03-2121 March 1990	Africa	2,131,000	Gained independence from South Africa.[21]
Nauru  Nauru[B]	1968-11-01†1 November 1968	Oceania	14,000	Nauru is a special member. Gained independence on 31 January 1968 from joint trusteeship of Australia, New Zealand and United Kingdom. The nation was a special member from 1 November 1968 until 1 May 1999, when it became a full member,[22] before reverting back to special status in January 2006.[23]
New Zealand  New Zealand	1931-12-1111 December 1931	Oceania	4,317,972	Granted nominal independence (Dominion status) on 26 September 1907. One of the original Dominions at the time of the Statute of Westminster 1931, although the Statute was not adopted in New Zealand until 1947.[24]
Nigeria  Nigeria	1960-10-011 October 1960	Africa	154,796,000	Suspended in 1995, suspension lifted in 1999.[25]
Pakistan  Pakistan	1947-08-1414 August 1947	Asia	168,052,000	Left in 1972, rejoined 1989; suspended in 1999, suspension lifted in 2004; again suspended in 2007,[26] suspension lifted in 2008.[27]
Papua New Guinea  Papua New Guinea	1975-09-1616 September 1975	Oceania	6,737,000	Gained independence from Australia.
Rwanda  Rwanda	2009-11-2828 November 2009[28]	Africa	9,998,000	Gained independence from Belgium on 1 July 1962. The second country to be admitted to the Commonwealth without any former colonial or constitutional links with the United Kingdom.[20]
Saint Kitts and Nevis  Saint Kitts and Nevis[B]	1983-09-1919 September 1983	North America	52,000
Saint Lucia  Saint Lucia	1979-02-2222 February 1979	North America	171,000
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	1979-10-2727 October 1979	North America	119,000 [C]119,000	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was a special member from 27 October 1979 until 1 June 1985.
Samoa  Samoa	1970-08-2828 August 1970	Oceania	185,000	Gained independence from New Zealand on 1 January 1962. Joined as Western Samoa, subsequently changing its name to Samoa on 4 July 1997.[29]
Seychelles  Seychelles	1976-06-2929 June 1976	Africa	84,000
Sierra Leone  Sierra Leone	1961-04-2727 April 1961	Africa	5,695,000
Singapore  Singapore	1965-10-15†15 October 1965	Asia	4,986,000	First joined as part of Malaysia on 16 September 1963.
Solomon Islands  Solomon Islands	1978-07-077 July 1978	Oceania	913,000
South Africa  South Africa	1931-12-1111 December 1931	Africa	49,423,000	Granted nominal independence (Dominion status) on 1 July 1867. One of the original Dominions at the time of the Statute of Westminster 1931. Left on 31 May 1961, rejoined on 1 June 1994.[30]
Sri Lanka  Sri Lanka	1948-02-044 February 1948	Asia	20,743,000	Joined as the Dominion of Ceylon, subsequently changing its name in 1972.
Swaziland  Swaziland	1968-09-066 September 1968	Africa	1,182,000
Tanzania  Tanzania	1964-04-2626 April 1964	Africa	43,729,000	Merger of Tanganyika and Zanzibar.[31]
Tonga  Tonga	1970-06-044 June 1970	Oceania	102,000
Trinidad and Tobago  Trinidad and Tobago	1962-08-3131 August 1962	North America	1,335,000
Tuvalu  Tuvalu[B]	1978-10-011 October 1978	Oceania	12,000	Tuvalu was a special member from 1 October 1978 until 1 September 2000.[32]
Uganda  Uganda	1962-10-099 October 1962	Africa	32,816,000
United Kingdom  United Kingdom	1931-12-1111 December 1931	Europe	61,609,500	The Parliament of the United Kingdom enacted the Statute of Westminster 1931.
Vanuatu  Vanuatu[B]	1980-07-3030 July 1980	Oceania	241,000	Gained independence from joint rule of France and United Kingdom.
Zambia  Zambia	1964-10-2424 October 1964	Africa	12,935,000

^ A. Unless otherwise noted, independence was gained from United Kingdom on date of joining the Commonwealth as shown in column 2.
^ B. Not a member of the Commonwealth Foundation.
^ C. The population figure is based on 2004 estimates.
^ D. The population figure is based on 2005 estimates.

[edit] Suspended members

Country	Joined	Continent	Population	Notes
Fiji  Fiji[A]	1970-10-1010 October 1970	Oceania	848,000	Left in 1987; rejoined in 1997; suspended on 6 June 2000;[33] suspension lifted on 20 December 2001;[34] again suspended on 8 December 2006 because of the 2006 Fijian coup d'état.[35]

^ A. Not a member of the Commonwealth Foundation.

[edit] Former members

Country	Joined	Continent	Left	Notes
Ireland  Irish Free State/Ireland	1931-12-1111 December 1931	Europe	1949-04-18]]18 April 1949	One of the original Dominions at the time of the Statute of Westminster 1931. Left after passing the Republic of Ireland Act in 1949.[11][14]
Malaya  Malaya	1957-08-3131 August 1957	Asia	1963-09-1616 September 1963	Entered into Malaysia on 16 September 1963.[11]
Newfoundland  Newfoundland	1931-12-1111 December 1931	North America	1934-02-1616 February 1934	One of the original Dominions at the time of the Statute of Westminster 1931 (although the Statute was never adopted by Newfoundland). Government suspended on 16 February 1934, joined Canada on 31 March 1949.[14]
Tanganyika  Tanganyika	1961-12-099 December 1961	Africa	1964-04-2626 April 1964	Merged with Zanzibar to form Tanzania on 26 April 1964.[31]
Zanzibar  Zanzibar	1963-12-1010 December 1963	Africa	1964-04-2626 April 1964	Merged with Tanganyika to form Tanzania on 26 April 1964.[31]
Zimbabwe  Zimbabwe	1980-10-011 October 1980	Africa	2003-12-077 December 2003	Suspended on 19 March 2002.[34] Withdrew voluntarily on 7 December 2003.[36]

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• List of countries by English-speaking population
• List of countries where English is an official language
• Prospective members of the Commonwealth of Nations

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Commonwealth of Nations

• Commonwealth timeline
• "Members". Commonwealth Secretariat. http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Internal/142227/members/. Retrieved 2008-02-15. 
• "Commonwealth of Nations". Commonwealth of Nations. http://www.commonwealth-of-nations.org/article.php. Retrieved 2008-02-15. 
• "The Commonwealth". Directgov. http://www.direct.gov.uk/Gtgl1/GuideToGovernment/InternationalBodies/InternationalBodiesArticles/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4003092&chk=JXlogH. Retrieved 2008-02-15. 

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