List of members of the Commonwealth of Nations

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The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of 53 independent sovereign states, most of them are former British colonies, or dependencies of these colonies. No one government in the Commonwealth, British or otherwise, 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]

As of 2009^[update], there are 53 states that are members of the Commonwealth of Nations which consists of over 1.9 billion people. Three members are in Europe, twelve in North America, one in South America, eighteen in Africa, eight in Asia, and eleven in Oceania. There is one suspended member, Fiji, and six former members, four of which no longer exist.

Contents 1 Current members 2 Suspended members 3 Former members 4 References 5 External links

[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.^[6]

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

Country	Joined	Continent	Population	Notes
Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda	1981-11-011 November 1981	North America	81,000
Australia Australia	1931-12-1111 December 1931	Oceania	20,555,300	One of the original Dominions at the time of the Statute of Westminster 1931, although the statute was not adopted in Australia until 1942.[7]
Bahamas Bahamas	1973-07-1010 July 1973	North America	323,000
Bangladesh Bangladesh	1972-04-1818 April 1972	Asia	148,384,000	Gained independence from Pakistan in 1971.[8]
Barbados Barbados	1966-11-3030 November 1966	North America	279,000
Belize Belize	1981-09-2121 September 1981	North America	287,730
Botswana Botswana	1966-09-3030 September 1966	Africa	1,765,000
Brunei Brunei	1984-01-011 January 1984	Asia	374,000
Cameroon Cameroon	1995-11-13†13 November 1995	Africa	16,322,000
Canada Canada	1931-12-1111 December 1931	North America	32,654,500	One of the original Dominions at the time of the Statute of Westminster 1931.[9]
Cyprus Cyprus	1961-08-16†16 August 1961	Europe / Asia	818,200
Dominica Dominica	1978-11-033 November 1978	North America	79,000 [A]79,000
Gambia Gambia	1965-02-1818 February 1965	Africa	1,517,000
Ghana Ghana	1957-03-066 March 1957	Africa	22,113,000
Grenada Grenada	1974-02-077 February 1974	North America	103,000
Guyana Guyana	1966-05-2626 May 1966	South America	751,000
India India	1947-08-1515 August 1947	Asia	1,100,000,000
Jamaica Jamaica	1962-08-066 August 1962	North America	2,651,000
Kenya Kenya	1963-12-1212 December 1963	Africa	34,256,000
Kiribati Kiribati	1979-07-1212 July 1979	Oceania	99,000 [B]99,000
Lesotho Lesotho	1966-10-044 October 1966	Africa	1,795,000
Malawi Malawi	1964-07-066 July 1964	Africa	12,884,000
Malaysia Malaysia	1963-09-1616 September 1963	Asia	27,356,000	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.[10]
Maldives Maldives	1982-07-099 July 1982	Asia	329,000	Gained independence from the United Kingdom on 26 July 1965.[11] Maldives was a special member from 9 July 1982 until 20 July 1985.[12]
Malta Malta	1964-09-2121 September 1964	Europe	402,668
Mauritius Mauritius	1968-03-1212 March 1968	Africa	1,245,000
Mozambique Mozambique	1995-11-13†13 November 1995	Africa	19,792,000
Namibia Namibia	1990-03-2121 March 1990	Africa	2,031,000
Nauru Nauru	1968-11-01†1 November 1968	Oceania	14,000	Nauru is a special member. The nation was a special member from 1 November 1968 until 1 May 1999, when it became a full member,[13] before reverting back to special status in January 2006.[14]
New Zealand New Zealand	1931-12-1111 December 1931	Oceania	4,147,972	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.[15]
Nigeria Nigeria	1960-10-011 October 1960	Africa	132,796,000	Suspended in 1995, readmitted in 1999.[16]
Pakistan Pakistan	1947-08-1515 August 1947	Asia	158,352,000	Left in 1972, rejoined 1989; suspended in 1999, readmitted in 2004; suspended in 2007,[17] readmitted in 2008.[18]
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea	1975-09-1616 September 1975	Oceania	5,887,000
Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis	1983-09-1919 September 1983	North America	43,000
Saint Lucia Saint Lucia	1979-02-2222 February 1979	North America	161,000
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	1979-10-2727 October 1979	North America	119,000 [A]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
Seychelles Seychelles	1976-06-29†29 June 1976	Africa	81,000
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone	1961-04-2727 April 1961	Africa	5,525,000
Singapore Singapore	1965-10-15†15 October 1965	Asia	4,326,000	First joined as part of Malaysia on 16 September 1963.
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	1978-07-077 July 1978	Oceania	478,000
South Africa South Africa	1931-12-1111 December 1931	Africa	47,423,000	One of the original Dominions at the time of the Statute of Westminster 1931. Left on 31 May 1961, rejoined on 1 June 1994.[19]
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka	1948-02-044 February 1948	Asia	20,743,000
Swaziland Swaziland	1968-09-066 September 1968	Africa	1,032,000
Tanzania Tanzania	1964-04-2626 April 1964	Africa	38,329,000	Merger of Tanganyika and Zanzibar.[20]
Tonga Tonga	1970-06-044 June 1970	Oceania	102,000
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago	1962-08-3131 August 1962	North America	1,305,000
Tuvalu Tuvalu	1978-10-011 October 1978	Oceania	10,000	Tuvalu was a special member from 1 October 1978 until 1 September 2000.[21]
Uganda Uganda	1962-10-099 October 1962	Africa	28,816,000
United Kingdom United Kingdom	1931-12-1111 December 1931	Europe	60,209,500	The Parliament of the United Kingdom enacted the Statute of Westminster 1931.
Vanuatu Vanuatu	1980-07-3030 July 1980	Oceania	211,000
Zambia Zambia	1964-10-2424 October 1964	Africa	11,668,000

^ A. The population figure is based on 2004 estimates.
^ B. The population figure is based on 2005 estimates.

[edit] Suspended members

Country	Joined	Continent	Population	Notes
Fiji Fiji	1970-10-1010 October 1970	Oceania	848,000	Left in 1987; rejoined in 1997; suspended on 6 June 2000;[22] readmitted on 20 December 2001;[23] resuspended on 8 December 2006 because of the 2006 Fijian coup d'état.[24]

[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.[8][25]
Malaya Malaya	1957-08-3131 August 1957	Asia	1963-09-1616 September 1963	Entered into Malaysia on 16 September 1963.[8]
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.[25]
Tanganyika Tanganyika	1961-12-099 December 1961	Africa	1964-04-2626 April 1964	Merged with Zanzibar to form Tanzania on 26 April 1964.[20]
Zanzibar Zanzibar	1963-12-1010 December 1963	Africa	1964-04-2626 April 1964	Merged with Tanganyika to form Tanzania on 26 April 1964.[20]
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe	1980-10-011 October 1980	Africa	2003-12-077 December 2003	Suspended on 19 March 2002.[23] Withdrew voluntarily on 7 December 2003.[26]

[edit] References

General

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

Specific

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Commonwealth of Nations

• Commonwealth timeline

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