member states of the Commonwealth

The 56 member states of the Commonwealth, which is also called Commonwealth of Nations, encompass the United Kingdom and 55 of its former dependencies. After becoming independent, these 55 states have chosen to work with one another and with the United Kingdom in cooperation while also recognizing the British monarch as their symbolic head.

Four states (Maldives, Nauru, Tuvalu, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) were first admitted to the Commonwealth as special members, meaning that their membership came with limitations, such as their exclusion from certain government meetings; however, these states were later granted full membership. Five states (Maldives, South Africa, Pakistan, The Gambia, and Fiji) left the Commonwealth for a time before rejoining. Ireland is the only state to date that has withdrawn from the Commonwealth and has not rejoined. Several former possessions of the British Empire—including Afghanistan, Burma (now Myanmar), Egypt, Sudan (which was later split into Sudan and South Sudan), and the 13 colonies that became the United States—never joined the Commonwealth.