3. General facts
Official language
English
Head of the
Commonwealth
Queen Elizabeth II.
Number of member
states
53
Date of establishment
1949
4. History
1867 – Canada was transformed into
selfgoverning Dominion
=> Lord Rosebury „The Commonwealth of
Nations“
After that other parts of the empire became
Dominions too
1926 – the Imperial Conference
=> the British Commonwealth of Nations
5. History
1931 – Statute of Westminster
After the Second World War empire began
changing
1947 -India gained independence
-Pakistan was created
-many colonies became sovereign
states
1949 – the conference of Commonwealth
Prime ministers
6. History
1965 – the Commonwealth Secretariat was
established in London
1971 – the Singapore Declaration of
Commonwealth Principles
1971 – the Commonwealth Fund for
Technical Co-operation
1991 – Harare Declination
7. The Commonwealth of Nations
A voluntary association
Queen Elizabeth II is the head of the
Commonwealth
Some members of the Commonwealth
recognise the Queen as their head of state
=> Commonwealth Realms (16)
The majority of the Commonwealth are the
republics (32)
The remaining members are realms with
their own monarchs (5)
8. The Commonwealth of Nations
Organisation in which countries with diverse
economic backgrounds have an opportunity
for close and equal interaction
The primary activities:
-create an econommic co-operation between
member nations
-promote democracy, human rights and good
governance in those nations
-training experts in developing countries and
assisting with elections
9. The Commonwealth of Nations
Membership is open to countries that:
- accept the association‘s basic aims
- have a present or past link to a
Commonwealth member
Some countries have never shown an
interest in joining the Commonwealth
=> Egypt, Iraq, Sudan, Bahrain, Kuwait,
Jordan and Oman
11. Member States
Commonwealth Realms:
United Kingdom, Antigua and Barbuda,
Australia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize,
Grenada, Jamaica, Canada, New Zealand,
Papua New Guinea, St Lucia, St Kitts and
Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines,
Solomon Islands and Tuvalu
13. Member States
Realms with their own monarchs:
Brunei, Lesotho, Malaysia, Swaziland and
Tonga
14. Member States
Republics:
Bangladesh, Botswana, Cameroon, Cyprus,
Dominica, Fiji Islands, The Gambia, Ghana,
Guyana, India, Kenya, Kiribati, Malawi,
Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Mosambique,
Namibia, Nauru, Nigeria, Pakistan, Samoa,
Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South
Africa, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago,
Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania,
Vanuatu, Zambia
15. Interests
Many CN share certain identifiable traditions
and customs
The Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Day
Commonwealth comprises almost a third of
the world‘s countries and has about the
quarter of the world population
The four largest CN by population: India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nigeria
16. Interests
The smallest member is Tuvalu
The three largest CN by area: Canada,
Australia and India
The four largest economies: India, UK,
Canada and Australia