An international group of 56 nations. Its origins lie with the British empire: its members are the United Kingdom and, mostly, former British colonies, and its head is the British monarch. The term British Commonwealth began to be used after World War I when the military help given by the dominions to Britain had enhanced their status. Their independence, apart from the formal link of allegiance to the crown, was asserted at the Imperial Conference of 1926, and given legal authority by the Statute of Westminster (1931). The power of independent decision by Commonwealth countries was evident in 1936 over the abdication of Edward VIII, and in 1939 when they decided whether or not they wished to support Britain in World War II. In 1945 the British Commonwealth consisted of countries where the White population was dominant. Beginning with the granting of independence to India and Pakistan in 1947 and Sri Lanka in 1948, its composition changed. In 1949 it adopted the title of Commonwealth of Nations and the requirement for a formal link of allegiance to the British crown was dropped. Thereafter nearly all British colonies have joined the Commonwealth on achieving independence. A minority of countries have withdrawn. The Republic of Ireland (left 1949), Zimbabwe (2003), and the Maldives (2016) have not rejoined; Pakistan left in 1972 but rejoined in 1989, and has been suspended and re-admitted twice since then; South Africa withdrew in 1961 because of hostility to its apartheid policy, but was re-admitted in 1995; Fiji withdrew in 1987, rejoined in 1997, was expelled after a coup in 2006 and re-admitted in 2014. The Gambia withdrew in 2013 and rejoined in 2018. Other members have been temporarily suspended. In 1995 Cameroon became the first country that has never been wholly ruled by Britain to become a member of the Commonwealth. Mozambique, which has no historical links with Britain, was also admitted in 1995, setting a precedent that was followed by Rwanda in 2009.

Initially the Commonwealth had no specific aims or organization. The Commonwealth Secretariat was established in 1965, and the organization’s activities have steadily expanded since then. The Singapore Declaration of Commonwealth Principles (1971) was the first statement of Commonwealth aims, although some, such as personal liberty and rejection of coercion, were at that time widely ignored by member states. In 2012 the Charter of the Commonwealth affirmed the commitment of members to free and democratic societies and the promotion of peace and prosperity.