The Commonwealth originated from the British Empire.
The Commonwealth started in 1926. This is when it changed from the British Empire to the Commonwealth. Around one-third of the world is in the Commonwealth, 2.5 billion people.
The modern Commonwealth was formed on 26 April 1949 when the leaders of Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom adopted the London Declaration. The declaration defined the Commonwealth as a “free association” of independent member countries.
All members have an equal say, regardless of their size or economic stature. This ensures that even the smallest countries have a voice in shaping the Commonwealth. The Pacific nation of Nauru is the smallest Commonwealth member country with a population of about 13,000. The most populous member country is India with over 1.3 billion people. In 1971 the Declaration of Commonwealth Principles were released. The principles said that it should support international peace and understanding, have equal rights for all citizens and remove poverty, ignorance and disease.
In the past two decades, countries which have joined include Mozambique, Cameroon and Rwanda, which were never part of the British Empire. The Gambia re-joined in February 2018
The UK has rather neglected the Commonwealth in recent years and is now desperately trying to rebuild links as a futile attempt to reduce the impact of Brexit.
There are 54 countries in the Commonwealth.
They are:
Botswana, Cameroon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Kingdom of Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and The Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Cyprus, Malta, United Kingdom, Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
The Commonwealth spans the globe and includes both advanced economies and developing countries.
It encompasses Africa (19 countries), Asia (7), the Caribbean and Americas (13), Europe (3), and the
Pacific (11). The Commonwealth’s strength lies in its shared values and diversity. Thirty-one of our members are small states, usually with a population well under 1.5 million, and 24 members are small island developing states.
The Commonwealth is connected by an active network of more than 80 intergovernmental, civil society and professional organisations, including:
o The Commonwealth Secretariat – supporting member states
o The Commonwealth Foundation – supporting civil society
o The Commonwealth of Learning – promoting distance learning and education
o The Commonwealth Games Federation – promoting sports development. The 2022 Commonwealth Games will be held on 27 July – 7 August 2022 in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
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