Commonwealth of Nations: List of countries

The commonwealth of nations is a union of independent states, which includes Great Britain and many of its former dominions, colonies and protectorates. The countries that are members of this union do not have political power over each other. The beginning of it was laid back in 1887, in 1926 the Balfour Declaration was adopted, and the status of the Commonwealth was established on December 11, 1931 (by the Westminster Statute). After that, the Commonwealth resembled a kind of union of countries united with Great Britain by a personal union.

How it all began

The foundation was laid back in the XIX century, and in the early thirties of the XX century a statute defining the rights of the member state of the organization was adopted. According to the document of 1931, the British monarch is the head of each country that recognized the Westminster Statute and is part of the British Commonwealth of Nations.

Simultaneously, the document established the legal status of the dominions, and also introduced the decisions of the conferences of 1926 and 1930. As a result, dominions were recognized as virtually independent states completely equal with Britain, the laws of England could not be extended to them without their consent.

In 1947 the situation changed: with the transformation of India into a republican country and the consequent refusal to recognize the British monarch, the head of state had to radically revise the foundations of the unification. The name changed, as well as the organization's goals - humanitarian missions, educational projects, etc. became priority.

At the moment, the countries of the Commonwealth of Nations (number 53) demonstrate a different approach to governing the state. Of these, only 16 - the Kingdom of the Commonwealth, recognizing the Queen of Great Britain Elizabeth II head of state.

The states that are members of the association

The way to the situation in the 21st century was long. The states joined in and out of the union, suspended membership and resumed it (the example of Fiji, whose membership was suspended by the union due to problems with democracy in the country, is particularly indicative here).

However, the process continues, forming and changing the modern Commonwealth of Nations. The list of countries is given according to the information on the official website:

• Antigua and Barbuda;
• Bangladesh;
• Botswana;
• Canada;
• Fiji (reinstated as a full member from 26 September 2014);
• Guyana;
• Kenya;
• Malawi;
• Malta;
• Namibia;
• Nigeria;
• Rwanda;
• The Seychelles;
• Solomon islands;
• Saint Kitts and Nevis;
• Tonga;
• Uganda;
• Vanuatu;
• Australia;
• Barbados;
• Brunei;
• Cyprus;
• Ghana;
• India;
• Kiribati;
• Malaysia;
• Mauritius;
• Nauru;
• Pakistan;
• Saint Lucia;
• Sierra Leone;
• South Africa;
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines;
• Trinidad and Tobago;
• United Kingdom;
• Zambia;
• Bahamas;
• Belize;
• Cameroon;
• Dominica;
• Grenada;
• Jamaica;
• Lesotho;
• Maldives;
• Mozambique;
• New Zealand;
• Papua New Guinea;
• Samoa;
• Singapore;
• Sri Lanka;
• Swaziland;
• Tuvalu;
• Tanzania.

Countries included in the Commonwealth of Nations are united not only by treaties and acts, but also culturally and linguistically: in 11 countries English is one of the official languages, and in the other 11 is the only official language.

Commonwealth Government

As indicated on the official website, this is a voluntary association of countries with common values. Queen Elizabeth II formally heads the British Commonwealth of Nations (the list of member countries of this organization is one of the largest in the world), the current administration is administered by the Secretariat.

According to the form of government within the Union, the distribution is as follows: 32 states are republics, 5 are national monarchies, and 16 recognize the head of the British queen, represented in each country by the governor-general. However, it does not perform any formal functions or duties.

Business

The list of countries constituting the Commonwealth of Nations is impressive - the states are divided into four different categories, according to the classification of the World Bank (the rating is updated annually, reflecting the gross national income per capita for the previous year). Of these, 11 are high-income, 14 - with an income above the average, 18 - below the average, and 10 - with a low level of GNI.

The countries of the Union are leading in many industries around the world: among examples are the extraction of precious stones and metals, information technology, tourism.

Formation of the Commonwealth

The first countries, members of the association, were Great Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa. They joined the Commonwealth of Nations in 1931. Pakistan and India joined the Union in 1947. Sri Lanka - in 1948. Together they form a list of states - the oldest members of the association.

In 1957 they were joined by Ghana.

In the sixties, the British Commonwealth of Nations received a new addition: Nigeria (1960), Sierra Leone and Tanzania (1961), Uganda (1962), Kenya (1963), Zambia (1964) joined the alliance. ). Further - Guyana, Botswana and Lesotho (1966), Swaziland (1968)

Bangladesh joined the association in 1972, Papua New Guinea in 1975.

Finally, the list of countries in Namibia (1990), Mozambique and Cameroon (1995), Rwanda (2009)

Population

According to the population, the Commonwealth of Nations has a population of 2.2 billion. Expected to lead India - 1236.7 million. Likewise, Pakistan, Nigeria and Bangladesh - 179.2 million, 168.8 million and 154.7 million, respectively, are lagging behind it. In fourth place, strangely enough, Great Britain (all figures and figures are taken from the official site of the Commonwealth) - its population according to the latest data is 62.8 million people.

Canada has a huge population of only 34.8 million, and the mainland Australia belongs to 23.1 million people.

Health and life expectancy

But in the field of health and well-being, everything is quite expected - the highest average life expectancy in Australia and Singapore (82 years), Canada and New Zealand (81 years), in Great Britain, Cyprus and Malta (80 years). In the last place of Sierra Leone - only 45 years (according to data for 2012).

The same country is leading the mortality rate of children and newborns, as well as mothers (according to data for 2010-2012). At the same time, Sierra Leone is a state with one of the highest birth rates in the Commonwealth.

Mozambique and Rwanda

For decades, various acts have been adopted and other documents regulating the association's activities have been drawn up, what can be done in it, which is impossible. There is no single document, like the constitution,. The basis for accession is the link with the UK - the road to membership in the Commonwealth is open to former colonies, protectorates and dominions. Of this rule, however, there were two exceptions: Mozambique, a former colony of Portugal, and Rwanda, a former colony of Belgium and Germany.

The first of them is one of the poorest countries in the world. Mozambique is a state that is part of the Commonwealth of Nations "not by right, but by grace." He joined the squad after all the neighboring members of the association asked to join Mozambique (this is one of the theories).

The prehistory is that after independence in 1975, serious reforms were carried out, and most of the Portuguese settlers were expelled. A civil war began, accompanied by serious casualties among the population and the migration of a large number of refugees.

The war ended only in 1992 - nothing surprising that the country was in decline. Membership in the Commonwealth as a whole is beneficial for the state - this statement is also true for Rwanda, which also had a hard time (including genocide).

The role and goals of its members

Today, the countries of the Commonwealth of the nations that are members of the British Commonwealth conduct their activities in two directions: the dissemination of the principles and norms of democracy and the promotion of development. This is the second largest, after the UN, international union. English plays a very important unifying role, especially since now this language has become one of the ways of business communication.

The UK and other developed countries carry out various humanitarian missions within the union, provide support in economic and other spheres. Although formally all the member countries of the Commonwealth are independent, such assistance contributes to the influence of those who provide it on those who need it.

The role of Britain within the Union

Throughout history, since the formation of the association and further, the role and attitude of Britain to this union has changed. In the first half of the 20th century, he was mentioned only as the British Empire. Over time, the priorities of politicians shifted towards the European Union, which looked very promising. However, in the light of the latest trends in the EU, the idea of strengthening and developing ties can look more attractive, given how broad the Commonwealth's list of states is.

In support of this course, one can also interpret the behavior of Great Britain towards Australia. In this country, supporters of the republican form of government have very strong positions, and talk of leaving the Commonwealth sounds regularly.

Visits to Australia of members of the British royal family, as well as the wedding in 2011 of Prince William and Kate Middleton played a role in enhancing the prestige of the dynasty of Windsor. According to the statements made by British diplomats in 2011, these visits nullified the possibility of turning Australia into a republic in the near future.

Visits to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince William, as well as the royal wedding, fueled the interest of Australians, but officials also said that Australian society will in the long run seek to escape from the power of the queen, even if this power is only symbolic.

In a statement, the British Foreign Ministry said that demographic changes in the country lead to a reduction in the number of citizens who somehow feel their connection with England. At the same time, a large percentage of the population believes that the creation of the republic is an inalienable stage in the formation of the state.

Some other countries that are members of the Commonwealth, however, support the idea of closer cooperation. Similar proposals have already been voiced, but have not received majority support because of fears of Britain's imperial ambitions.

The probability of integration is still low - too different levels of development do not contribute to the complementarity of the products produced, but rather the countries at a lower level compete because they produce the same or similar goods. Nevertheless, they benefit from support from the more developed ones. A serious disadvantage of the Commonwealth, however, is that it does not have strong mechanisms to influence its members - the only option is to suspend membership in the organization.