Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations


The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of 54 sovereign states. Nearly all of them are former British colonies or dependencies of those colonies.
No one government in the Commonwealth exercises power over the others, as is the case in a political union. Rather, the Commonwealth is an international organization in which countries with diverse social, political, and economic backgrounds are regarded as equal in status, and cooperate within a framework of common values and goals, as outlined in the Singapore Declaration issued in 1971. Such common values and goals include the promotion of democracy, human rights, good governance, the rule of law, individual liberty, equality before the law, free trade, multilateralism, and world peace, which are promoted through multilateral projects and meetings, such as the Commonwealth Games, held once every four years.
The symbol of this free association is Queen Elizabeth II, who serves as the 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 Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth was first officially formed in 1926 when the Balfour Declaration of the Imperial Conference recognized the full sovereignty of dominions. Known as the "British Commonwealth", the original members were the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Irish Free State, and Newfoundland. It was re-stated by the 1930 conference and incorporated in the Statute of Westminster the following year. In 1949, the London Declaration marked the birth of the modern Commonwealth and the adoption of its present name. The newest member is Rwanda, which joined on 29 November 2009. The 54 members have a combined population of 2.4 billion, almost a third of the world population, of whom 1.21 billion live in India, and 95% live in Asia and Africa combined.
Currently, sixteen of the 54 member states are Commonwealth realms, with the Head of the Commonwealth as their heads of state, five others are monarchies with their own individual monarchs, and the rest are republics. The Republic of Ireland and Zimbabwe are former members of the Commonwealth. South Africa, Pakistan, The Gambia, and the Maldives left and later rejoined the Commonwealth, and Zimbabwe has formally applied to rejoin.

Current members

All dates below are provided by the Commonwealth of Nations Secretariat members list, and population figures are as of 1 February 2020.
CountryFirst JoinedRegionPopulationSystem of governmentNotes
1981-11-011 November 1981West Indies94,195Unitary Commonwealth realm
1931-12-1119 November 1926Oceania 25,215,000Federal Commonwealth realmAustralia was one of the original Dominions at the time of the Balfour Declaration of 1926 and the Statute of Westminster 1931, although the statute was not adopted in Australia until 1942. The Australia Act 1986 eliminated the remaining possibilities for the UK to legislate with effect in Australia, for the UK to be involved in Australian government, and for an appeal from any Australian court to a British court.
1973-07-1010 July 1973West Indies402,576Unitary Commonwealth realm
1972-04-1818 April 1972South Asia165,867,307Unitary Westminster republicDeclared independence from Pakistan in 1971.
1966-11-3030 November 1966West Indies286,618Unitary Commonwealth realm
1981-09-2121 September 1981Central America379,636Unitary Commonwealth realm
1966-09-3030 September 1966Southern Africa2,377,831Unitary parliamentary republic with an executive presidency
1984-01-011 January 1984Southeast Asia439,022Unitary Islamic absolute monarchy
1995-11-1313 November 1995Central Africa24,836,674Unitary semi-presidential republicMost of the country was the formerly French mandate territory of Cameroun, which gained independence from France on 1 January 1960. It united with the much smaller former British mandate/trust territory of Southern Cameroons, which gained independence from the United Kingdom on 1 October 1961.
1931-12-1119 November 1926Northern America36,885,861Federal Commonwealth realmGranted nominal independence on 1 July 1867. Canada was the first among the several original Dominions at the time of the Balfour Declaration of 1926 and the Statute of Westminster 1931. Incorporated another original Dominion, Newfoundland, on 31 March 1949. The Canada Act 1982 formally ended the "request and consent" provisions of the Statute of Westminster 1931 in relation to Canada, whereby the British parliament had a general power to pass laws extending to Canada at its own request.
1961-03-1313 March 1961Eurasia1,197,667Unitary presidential republicGained independence from the United Kingdom on 16 August 1960.
1978-11-033 November 1978West Indies72,975Unitary Westminster republic
1968-09-066 September 1968Southern Africa1,336,933Unitary absolute monarchyJoined as Swaziland, subsequently changing its name to Eswatini on 19 April 2018.
1970-10-1010 October 1970Oceania 909,024Unitary parliamentary republicLeft in 1987; rejoined in 1997; suspended on 6 June 2000; suspension lifted on 20 December 2001; again suspended on 8 December 2006 because of the 2006 Fijian coup d'état. Suspension lifted on 26 September 2014.
1965-02-1818 February 1965West Africa2,155,958Unitary presidential republicWithdrew on 3 October 2013 citing "neocolonialism". Following the election of Adama Barrow as President of Gambia in 2016, it submitted an application to rejoin the Commonwealth on 22 January 2018, and rejoined on 8 February 2018.
1957-03-066 March 1957West Africa29,088,849Unitary presidential republic
1974-02-077 February 1974West Indies107,894Unitary Commonwealth realm
1966-05-2626 May 1966South America773,808Unitary presidential republic
1947-08-1515 August 1947South Asia1,353,014,094Federal Westminster republicIncorporated former French India, former Portuguese India and Sikkim.
1962-08-066 August 1962West Indies2,819,888Unitary Commonwealth realm
1963-12-1212 December 1963East Africa49,167,382Unitary presidential republic
1979-07-1212 July 1979Oceania 117,636Unitary parliamentary republic with an executive presidency
1966-10-044 October 1966Southern Africa2,199,492Unitary Westminster monarchy
1964-07-066 July 1964East Africa18,558,768Unitary presidential republic with an executive presidency
1957-08-3131 August 1957Southeast Asia31,505,208Federal Westminster monarchyJoined as the Federation of Malaya in 1957; reformed as Malaysia on 16 September 1963 with its federation with Singapore, North Borneo, and Sarawak.
1982-07-099 July 1982South Asia515,696Unitary presidential republicGained independence from the United Kingdom on 26 July 1965. A special member from 9 July 1982 until 20 July 1985. Withdrew on 13 October 2016. Rejoined on 1 February 2020.
1964-09-2121 September 1964Southern Europe422,212Unitary Westminster republicGained independence from the United Kingdom on 21 September 1964.
1968-03-1212 March 1968East Africa1,286,240Unitary Westminster republic
1995-11-1313 November 1995East Africa29,977,238Unitary semi-presidential republicGained independence from Portugal on 25 June 1975. The first country to be admitted to the Commonwealth without any former colonial or constitutional links with the United Kingdom.
1990-03-2121 March 1990Southern Africa2,600,857Unitary semi-presidential republicGained independence from South Africa. Includes Walvis Bay and the Penguin Islands transferred by South Africa at midnight 28 February 1994.
1968-11-01†1 November 1968Oceania 10,387Unitary parliamentary republic with an executive presidencyGained independence on 31 January 1968 from joint trusteeship of Australia, New Zealand and United Kingdom. A special member from 1 November 1968 until 1 May 1999, when it became a full member, before reverting to special status in January 2006. A full member again since June 2011.
1931-12-1119 November 1926Oceania 4,609,755Unitary Commonwealth realmGranted nominal independence on 26 September 1907. One of the original Dominions at the time of the Balfour Declaration of 1926 and the Statute of Westminster 1931, although the Statute was not adopted in New Zealand until 1947. Removed final links with the British Parliament in 1986. Removed the final link with the British legal system in 2003.
1960-10-011 October 1960West Africa194,615,054Federal presidential republicIncorporated the former British mandate/trust territory of Northern Cameroons on 31 May 1961. Suspended in 1995, suspension lifted in 1999.
1947-08-1414 August 1947South Asia199,031,265Federal Westminster republicIncludes the city of Gwadar, transferred from Muscat and Oman on 8 September 1958. Included Bangladesh until 1971. Left Commonwealth in 1972, rejoined 1989; suspended in 1999, suspension lifted in 2004; again suspended in 2007, suspension lifted in 2008.
1975-09-1616 September 1975Oceania 8,034,630Unitary Commonwealth realmGained independence from Australia.
2009-11-2929 November 2009East Africa12,322,920Unitary presidential republicGained 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. Unlike Mozambique, has adopted English as an official language since joining.
1983-09-1919 September 1983West Indies56,632Federal Commonwealth realm
1979-02-2222 February 1979West Indies189,000Unitary Commonwealth realm
1979-10-2727 October 1979West Indies109,501Unitary Commonwealth realmA special member from 27 October 1979 until 1 June 1985.
1970-08-2828 August 1970Oceania 196,954Unitary parliamentary republicGained independence from New Zealand on 1 January 1962. Joined as Western Samoa, subsequently changing its name to Samoa on 4 July 1997.
1976-06-2929 June 1976East Africa98,248Unitary presidential republic
1961-04-2727 April 1961West Africa6,818,117Unitary presidential republic
1965-10-15†9 August 1966 Southeast Asia5,889,117Unitary Westminster republicGained independence from the United Kingdom and joined Federation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963. Became independent on 9 August 1965.
1978-07-077 July 1978Oceania 614,497Unitary Commonwealth realm
1931-12-1119 November 1926Southern Africa56,007,479Unitary parliamentary republic with an executive presidencyGranted nominal independence on 31 May 1910. One of the original Dominions at the time of the Balfour Declaration of 1926 and Statute of Westminster 1931. Left on 31 May 1961; rejoined 1 June 1994.
1948-02-044 February 1948South Asia20,979,811Unitary semi-presidential republicJoined as the Dominion of Ceylon, subsequently changing its name in 1972. Became a republic in 1972
1961-12-099 December 1961East Africa57,790,062Unitary presidential republicJoined as Tanganyika and later Zanzibar, which subsequently merged to form Tanzania on 26 April 1964.
1970-06-044 June 1970Oceania 107,228Unitary Westminster monarchy
1962-08-3131 August 1962West Indies1,376,801Unitary Westminster republicGranted nominal independence on 31 August 1962. Became a republic within the Commonwealth on 1 August, 1976 under the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Constitution Act 1976, passed by the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago.
1978-10-011 October 1978Oceania 10,116Unitary Commonwealth realmA special member from 1 October 1978 until 1 September 2000.
1962-10-099 October 1962East Africa42,288,962Unitary presidential republic
1931-12-1119 November 1926Northern Europe65,746,853Unitary Commonwealth realmBalfour Declaration of 1926 and the Parliament of the United Kingdom enacted the Statute of Westminster 1931.
1980-07-3030 July 1980Oceania 279,953Unitary Westminster republicGained independence from joint rule of France and United Kingdom.
1964-10-2424 October 1964Southern Africa17,470,471Unitary presidential republic

A. Unless otherwise noted, independence was gained from the United Kingdom on the date of joining the Commonwealth.

B. Not a member of the Commonwealth Foundation.

C. Though Pakistan celebrates 14 August 1947 as its independence day, independence was officially granted at midnight, 15 August 1947. Therefore, its date of joining the Commonwealth would be 15 August 1947.

D. Geopolitically part of Europe, but geographically part of Asia.

E. Constitutional monarchy that operates under a Westminster system. The monarch is not the British monarch, hence making it not a Commonwealth realm.

Former members

CountryJoinedContinentLeftNotes
1931-12-1119 November 1926Europe1949-04-1818 April 1949One of the original Dominions at the time of the Balfour Declaration of 1926 and the Statute of Westminster 1931. Withdrew after passing the Republic of Ireland Act in 1948, accepted by the United Kingdom in 1949 Ireland Act 1949.
1980-10-011 October 1980Africa2003-12-077 December 2003Suspended on 19 March 2002. Withdrew voluntarily on 7 December 2003.
On 15 May 2018, President Emmerson Mnangagwa submitted an application to rejoin the Commonwealth.

Dissolved members

Prospective members

CountryAppliedContinentPopulationNotes
2009 Africa~3,500,000Somaliland is an unrecognised self-declared sovereign state internationally recognised as part of Somalia. It has applied to join the Commonwealth under observer status. Its borders approximate to those of British Somaliland, which was a protectorate from 1884 to 1960.
2011Africa13,670,642Gained independence from Britain as part of Sudan in 1956. Gained independence from Sudan in 2011.
2012South America555,934English colony of Willoughbyland from 1650 to 1667 and controlled by the British from 1799 to 1816. Subsequently, a Dutch colony. In 2012, Suriname announced plans to join the Commonwealth and the British government has made it a priority to provide guidance to Suriname in applying for Commonwealth membership.
2013Africa10,524,117
2018Africa16,150,362In recent years, under the presidency of Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe has dominated Commonwealth affairs, creating acrimonious splits in the organisation. Zimbabwe was suspended in 2002 for breaching the Harare Declaration. In 2003, when the Commonwealth refused to lift the suspension, Zimbabwe withdrew from the Commonwealth. Since then, the Commonwealth has played a major part in trying to end the political impasse and return Zimbabwe to a state of normality. On 15 May, 2018, President Mnangagwa submitted an application to rejoin the Commonwealth.

F. The population figure is based on 2014 estimates.

Other candidates

Other states which have expressed an interest in joining the Commonwealth over the years or states which may be eligible to join the Commonwealth include: Bahrain, Cambodia, Egypt, Israel, Libya, Nepal, Palestine, United States and Yemen.
Some countries and regions could also join the Commonwealth on the basis of having been part of the British Empire including: Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Myanmar, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong, or former British protectorates, such as Afghanistan and Bhutan.