The document discusses the Commonwealth of Nations, a voluntary association of 53 member states comprised mostly of former British colonies. It began as the British Commonwealth of Nations in the early 20th century and was established in its current form in 1949. The Queen serves as head of the Commonwealth. While some members recognize the Queen as their head of state, most are republics. The Commonwealth aims to promote democracy, human rights, and economic cooperation among its diverse and geographically dispersed members.

1. The Commonwealth of Nations
Martina Kučerová

2. Contents
 General facts
 History
 The Commonwealth of Nations
 Member states
 Interests

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

4. History
 1867 – Canada was transformed into
selfgoverning Dominion
=> Lord Rosebury „The Commonwealth of
Nations“
 After that other parts of the empire became
Dominions too
 1926 – the Imperial Conference
=> the British Commonwealth of Nations

5. History
 1931 – Statute of Westminster
 After the Second World War empire began
changing
1947 -India gained independence
-Pakistan was created
-many colonies became sovereign
states
 1949 – the conference of Commonwealth
Prime ministers

6. History
 1965 – the Commonwealth Secretariat was
established in London
 1971 – the Singapore Declaration of
Commonwealth Principles
 1971 – the Commonwealth Fund for
Technical Co-operation
 1991 – Harare Declination

7. 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 Realms (16)
 The majority of the Commonwealth are the
republics (32)
 The remaining members are realms with
their own monarchs (5)

8. 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
-training experts in developing countries and
assisting with elections

9. The Commonwealth of Nations
 Membership is open to countries that:
- 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

10. Member States

11. 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

12. Member States

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

14. 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

15. Interests
 Many CN share certain identifiable traditions
and customs
 The Commonwealth Games
 Commonwealth Day
 Commonwealth comprises almost a third of
the world‘s countries and has about the
quarter of the world population
 The four largest CN by population: India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nigeria

16. Interests
 The smallest member is Tuvalu
 The three largest CN by area: Canada,
Australia and India
 The four largest economies: India, UK,
Canada and Australia

17. That‘s the end!
Thank you for your attention…