Jakub Peštál

General facts Official language English Head of the Commonwealth Queen Elizabeth II. Number of member states 53 Date of establishment 1949

History The Commonwealth’s roots go back to the British Empire. Britain was sovereign over many nations (colonies) in the 16 th, 17 th, 18 th and early 19 th centuries; at one point covering a quarter of the world’s land area and population 1867 – Canada was transformed into selfgoverning Dominion After that other parts of the empire became Dominions too

History 1931 – under the Statute of Westminster – 5 initial members – United Kingdom, Canada, Irish Free State, Newfoundland and the Union of South Africa - founded The British Commonwealth of Nations After the Second World War empire began changing India and Pakistan gained independence -many colonies became sovereign states

History 1949 – London Declaration – word “British” removed form the title = all members independent and equal Over the next few decades independence was granted to most of the countries of the old British Empire; many chose to join the Commonwealth

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 Kingdoms(16) The majority of the Commonwealth are republics (32) The remaining members are kingdoms with their own monarchs (5)

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

The Commonwealth of Nations Membership is open to countries which: - 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

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

Member States Realms with their own monarchs: Brunei, Lesotho, Malaysia, Swaziland and Tonga

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

Info Area: almost 30 milion km 2 Population: billion Many CN share certain identifiable traditions and customs The Commonwealth Games – “Friendly games” every 4 years (2014 Glasgow) Commonwealth Day – second Monday of March

Info The four largest CN by population: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nigeria The three largest CN by area: Canada, Australia and India The four largest economies: India, UK, Canada and Australia

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