Commonwealth of Nations
Commonwealth of Nations
Flag
The Commonwealth of Nations
Headquarters
Marlborough House, London,
UK
Official language
English
Membership
53 sovereign states
Leaders
-
Head of the
Commonwealth
Queen Elizabeth II (since 6
Feb. 1952)
-
Secretary-General
Kamalesh Sharma (since 1
Apr. 2008)
-
Chairperson-in-Office
Yoweri Museveni (since 23
Nov. 2007)
Establishment
-
Balfour Declaration
18 November 1926
-
Statute of
Westminster
11 December 1931
-
London Declaration
28 April 1949
Area
-
Total
31,462,574 km2
12,147,768 sq mi
Population
-
2005 estimate
1,921,974,000
-
Density
61.09/km2
158.2/sq mi
Website
thecommonwealth.org
The Commonwealth of Nations, usually known as the
Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of
fifty-three independent member states. Most of them
were formerly parts of the British Empire. They co-oper-
ate 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, egalitari-
anism, free trade, multilateralism, and world peace.[2]
The Commonwealth is not a political union, but an
intergovernmental organisation through which coun-
tries with diverse social, political, and economic back-
grounds are regarded as equal in status. Its activities are
carried out through the permanent Commonwealth Sec-
retariat, headed by the Secretary-General; biennial
Meetings between Commonwealth Heads of Govern-
ment; and the Commonwealth Foundation, which facilit-
ates activities of non-governmental organisations in the
so-called ’Commonwealth Family’. The symbol of this
free association is the Head of the Commonwealth,
which is a ceremonial position currently held by Queen
Elizabeth II.
Elizabeth II is also the monarch, separately, of six-
teen members of the Commonwealth, informally called
the Commonwealth realms. As each realm is an inde-
pendent kingdom, Elizabeth II, as monarch, holds a dis-
tinct title for each, though, by a Prime Ministers