So just what is the Commonwealth?

The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 56 independent and equal sovereign states (details listed below).

The Commonwealth is home to 2.5 billion people and includes both advanced economies and developing countries. Thirty-three members are small states, many of which are island nations.

The human symbol of this free association is the Head of the Commonwealth, currently King Charles III. At the 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, King Charles, the then Prince of Wales, was appointed to be the late Queen Elizabeth II's designated successor. However, the position is not technically hereditary. The King is the head of state of 16 member states, known as the Commonwealth realms, while 35 other member states are republics, and five others have different monarchs.

Member states have no legal or formal obligation to one another. Instead, they are held together by shared traditions, institutions, and experiences as well as by economic self-interest. These values and aspirations are inscribed in the Commonwealth Charter.

Member countries are supported by a network of more than 80 intergovernmental, civil society, cultural and professional organisations.

The following countries are members of the Commonwealth:

AFRICA

Botswana	Cameroon	Gabon	The Gambia
Ghana	Kenya	Kingdom of eSwatini	Lesotho
Malawi	Mauritius	Mozambique	Namibia
Nigeria	Rwanda	Seychelles	Sierra Leone
South Africa	Togo	Uganda	United Republic of Tanzania
Zambia

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AMERICAS

Antigua and Barbuda	The Bahamas	Barbados	Belize	Canada
Dominica	Grenada	Guyana	Jamaica	Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Trinidad and Tobago

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ASIA

Bangladesh	Brunei Darussalam	India	Malaysia
Pakistan	Singapore	Sri Lanka	The Maldives

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EUROPE

Cyprus

Malta

United Kingdom

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PACIFIC

Australia	Fiji Islands	Kiribati	Nauru	New Zealand
Papua New Guinea	Samoa	Solomon Islands	Tonga	Tuvalu
Vanuatu