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The Commonwealth
of Nations
Flag of the Commonwealth
Main Facts
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Head of the Commonwealth is Queen Elizabeth II
Secretary-General is Don McKinnon (since 1999)
Deputy Secretary-General is Ransford Smith
Date of Establishment 1926 (as an informal "British"
Commonwealth), 1949 (as the modern Commonwealth)
Number of Member States 53
Headquarters is in London, England
The organisation is celebrated each year on
Commonwealth Day, the second Monday in March
The description
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The Commonwealth of Nations (CN),
usually known as the Commonwealth, is
a voluntary association of 53 independent
sovereign states, the majority of which are
former colonies of the United Kingdom.
Its name
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It was once known as the British
Commonwealth of Nations or British
Commonwealth, and some still call it by
that name, either for historical reasons or
to distinguish it from the other
commonwealths around the world such as
the Commonwealth of Independent States
or the Commonwealth of Australia.
Queen Elizabeth II
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Queen Elizabeth II is the nominal Head of the
Commonwealth. Some members of the
Commonwealth, known as Commonwealth
Realms, also recognise the Queen as their head
of state. However, the majority of members are
republics, and a handful of others are indigenous
monarchies. The Queen's position as Head of
the Commonwealth is not hereditary, and when
and if the Prince of Wales becomes King, it will
be for Commonwealth Heads of Government to
decide whether he assumes the role of Head of
the Commonwealth.
The real ruler
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Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of the
Commonwealth, and as such is the symbol of
the free association of its members. This title,
however, does not imply any political power over
Commonwealth member states, and does not
automatically belong to the British monarch. In
practice Queen Elizabeth heads the
Commonwealth in only a symbolic capacity, and
it is the Commonwealth Secretary-General who
is the chief executive of the organisation.
The Queen
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Although Queen Elizabeth is the Head of State of
sixteen members of the Commonwealth, called
Commonwealth Realms, the majority of the
members of the Commonwealth have their own,
separate Heads of State: thirty-one members
are Commonwealth republics and six members
have their own monarchs (Brunei, Lesotho,
Malaysia, Samoa, Swaziland, and Tonga). These
members still recognise the Queen as Head of
the Commonwealth.
Secretary-General is Don
McKinnon (since 1999)
The Aims
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The Commonwealth is primarily an
organisation in which countries with
diverse economic backgrounds have an
opportunity for close and equal
interaction. The primary activities of the
Commonwealth are designed to create an
atmosphere of economic co-operation
between member nations, as well as the
promotion of democracy, human rights,
and good governance in those nations.
Olympic Games
The Commonwealth is not a political
union, and does not allow the United
Kingdom (UK) to exercise any power over
the affairs of the organisation's other
members.
 Every four years the Commonwealth's
members celebrate the Commonwealth
Games, the world's second-largest multisport event after the Olympic Games.
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The History
Old, New and White Commonwealth
 As the Commonwealth grew, the UK and pre-1945
Dominions (a term formally dropped in the 1940s)
became informally known as the "Old Commonwealth",
particularly since the 1960s when some of them
disagreed with poorer, African and Asian (or New
Commonwealth) members about various issues at
Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings.
Accusations that the old, "White" Commonwealth had
different interests from African Commonwealth nations in
particular, and charges of racism and colonialism arose
during heated debates about Rhodesia in the 1970s, the
imposition of sanctions against apartheid-era South
Africa.
To be continued
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1980s and, more recently, about whether
to press for democratic reforms in Nigeria
and then Zimbabwe. The term New
Commonwealth is also used in the United
Kingdom (especially in the 1960s and
1970s) to refer to recently decolonised
countries, which are predominantly nonwhite and underdeveloped. It was often
used in debates about immigration from
these countries.
To be continued
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In recent years, the term "White
Commonwealth" has been used in a derogatory
sense to imply that the wealthier, white nations
of the Commonwealth had different interests
and goals from the non-white, and particularly
the African members. Zimbabwean President
Robert Mugabe has used the term frequently to
allege that the Commonwealth's attempts to
catalyse political changes in his country is
motivated by racism and colonialist attitudes and
that the White Commonwealth dominates the
Commonwealth of Nations as a whole.
To be continued
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There have been attempts made by
groups such as the Federal
Commonwealth Society to unite the
commonwealth and provide closer ties
both culturally and economically, starting
with the "White Commonwealth" and
expanding to include other nations within
the commonwealth generally.
The membership
World map of the Commonwealth of
Nations as of 2006
Figures of the Commonwealth
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The Commonwealth comprises 53
countries, almost a third of the world's
countries, and has a combined population
of 1.7 billion people, about a quarter of
the world population. The total GDP is
about US$7.8 trillion (about 16% of the
total world economy). The land area of
the Commonwealth nations is about 12.1
million square miles (about 21% of the
total world land area).
Achievements
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The four largest Commonwealth nations by population
are India at 1.1 billion, Pakistan at 159 million,
Bangladesh at 141 million, and Nigeria at 137 million.
The three largest Commonwealth nations by area are
Canada at 3.8 million square miles, Australia at 3.0
million square miles, and India at 1.2 million square
miles.
The four largest economies are India at US$4,300 billion,
the United Kingdom at US$2,000 billion, Canada at
US$1,220 billion, and Australia at US$700 billion based
on purchasing power parity analysis
military spenders
The largest military spenders are the
United Kingdom at US$48 billion, India at
US$21 billion, Australia at US$10.5 billion,
and Canada at US$10.5 billion. The
Commonwealth of Nations is not a military
alliance.
 Tuvalu is the smallest member, with only
11,000 people
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purely voluntary
membership
As membership is purely voluntary, member
governments can choose at any time to leave
the Commonwealth. Pakistan left in 1972 in
protest at Commonwealth recognition of
breakaway Bangladesh, but rejoined in 1989,
was suspended again after the 1999 coup, and
regained admission again in 2004.
 Zimbabwe left in 2003 when Commonwealth
Heads of Government refused to lift the
country's suspension on the grounds of human
rights violations and deliberate misgovernment
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