6 Countries That Want to Exit the Commonwealth Right Away

What is the Commonwealth?

The Commonwealth, also known as the Commonwealth of Nations, was established for the first time in 1887. In 1926, with the British Empire in a state of full repair, it was decided that each and every member of the empire would be treated as equal and pledge allegiance to the King or Queen.

In this format, a new community arose, based upon democratic principles. The community was declared the British Commonwealth of Nations. It’s very important to specify that the British Empire included regions all around the globe that didn’t feature in this decision, such as parts of Africa and India.

The main idea of the Commonwealth was to focus on the coordination of protecting the environment, developing society and younger people, sustaining democracy, boosting trade links, and supporting small states.

Back in 1949, two years after India declared itself independent from the British Empire, eight countries were included in the modern Commonwealth: Australia, India, Canada, New Zeeland, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom. The main principles were “equality”, “liberty”, and “freedom”.

These are the countries that are part of the Commonwealth:

There are 54 nations and territories that are part of the Commonwealth, all around the globe. For example, the Maldives is the latest nation that rejoined it in 2022, after initially leaving the Commonwealth in 2016. Here’s the full list of countries:

• Antigua and Barbuda
• Australia
• Bahamas
• Bangladesh
• Barbados
• Belize
• Botswana
• Brunei Darussalam
• Cameroon
• Canada
• Cyprus
• Dominica
• eSwatini
• Fiji
• Gambia
• Ghana
• Grenada
• Guyana
• India
• Jamaica
• Kenya
• Kiribati
• Lesotho
• Malawi
• Malaysia
• Maldives
• Malta
• Mauritius
• Mozambique
• Namibia
• Nauru
• New Zealand
• Nigeria
• Pakistan
• Papua New Guinea
• Rwanda
• Saint Lucia
• Samoa
• Seychelles
• Sierra Leone
• Singapore
• Solomon Islands
• South Africa
• Sri Lanka
• St Kitts and Nevis
• St Vincent and The Grenadines
• Tanzania
• Tonga
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Tuvalu
• Uganda
• United Kingdom
• Vanuatu