List Of Members Of The Commonwealth Of Nations By Name

The date of joining the Commonwealth is given in Parentheses .

CURRENT MEMBERS

; Notes : ¹ Australia was invited to join in 1931 but did not ratify until 1942.
:² Fiji left in 1987, rejoined in 1997, was suspended in 2000, and was readmitted in 2001.
:³ New Zealand was invited to join in 1931 but did not ratify until 1947.
:⁴ Nigeria was suspended in 1995 and readmitted in 1999.
:⁵ Pakistan left in 1972, rejoined in 1989, was suspended in 1999, and was readmitted in 2004.
:⁶ South Africa left in 1961 and rejoined in 1994.

FORMER MEMBERS

Irish Free State (1931; left in 1949)

Newfoundland (joined in 1931; became a Province of Canada in 1949)

Tanganyika (joined in 1961; merged with Zanzibar to form Tanzania in 1964)

Zanzibar (joined in 1963; merged with Tanganyika to form Tanzania in 1964)

(joined in 1980; suspended in 2002; left in 2003)

FORMER COLONIES AND PROTECTORATES WHICH DID NOT JOIN THE COMMONWEALTH ON INDEPENDENCE

United States Of America (1776)

Egypt (1922)

Iraq (1932)

Transjordan (1946; on independence became Jordan )

Palestine (1947; part of which subsequently became Israel in 1948)

Sikkim (1947; left British Empire on independence of India , but in 1975 became an Indian state, so ''technically'' joined the Commonwealth then)

Union Of Burma (1948)

Bhutan (1949 independence of Bhutan recognised by India )

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1956)

British Somaliland Protectorate (1960; five days after independence joined Italian Somaliland to form Somalia }

Kuwait (1961)

Federation Of South Arabia (1967; on independence became People’s Republic Of South Yemen )

Bahrain (1971)

Muscat & Oman (1971)

Qatar (1971)

Trucial States (1971; on independence became the United Arab Emirates )

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List Of Members Of The Commonwealth Of Nations By Name