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The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of 53 independent and sovereign states. Most are former British colonies or dependencies of these colonies. No one government in the Commonwealth exercises power over the others as is the case in a political union. Rather, the relationship is one of an international organisation through which countries with diverse social, political, and economic backgrounds are regarded as equal in status and cooperate within a framework of common values and goals as outlined in the Singapore Declaration issued in 1971.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=FAQs )〕 Such common values and goals include the promotion of democracy, human rights, good governance, the rule of law, individual liberty, egalitarianism, free trade, multilateralism, and world peace which are carried out through multilateral projects and meetings which include the Commonwealth Games held once every four years.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Singapore Declaration of Commonwealth Principles 1971 )〕 The symbol of this free association is Queen Elizabeth II who serves as the Head of the Commonwealth. This position, however, does not imbue her with any political or executive power over any Commonwealth member states; the position is purely symbolic, and it is the Commonwealth Secretary-General who is the chief executive of the Commonwealth.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Head of the Commonwealth )〕 The Commonwealth was first officially formed in 1931 when the Statute of Westminster gave legal recognition to the sovereignty of dominions. Known as the "British Commonwealth", the original members were the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, and Newfoundland, although Australia and New Zealand did not adopt the statute until 1942 and 1947 respectively.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The Commonwealth–History–Dominion Status )〕 In 1949, the London Declaration was signed and marked the birth of the modern Commonwealth and the adoption of its present name.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The Commonwealth–History–Modern Commonwealth )〕 The newest member is Rwanda, which joined on 29 November 2009. The most recent departure was The Gambia, which severed its connection with the Commonwealth on 3 October 2013. Presently, of the states that are members of the Commonwealth of Nations, three are in Europe, twelve in North America, one in South America, eighteen in Africa, eight in Asia, and eleven in Oceania. There are seven former members, four of which no longer exist as independent entities (but form part of current member states). The members have a combined population of 2.2 billion people, almost a third of the world population, of which 1.21 billion live in India, and 95% live in Asia and Africa combined. Currently sixteen of the member states are Commonwealth realms with the Head of the Commonwealth also as their head of state, five others are monarchies with their own separate monarchs (Brunei, Lesotho, Malaysia, Swaziland, Tonga) and the rest are republics. ==Current members== All table information based on figures provided by the Commonwealth of Nations Secretariat members list, most population figures are based on 2007 estimates, unless otherwise noted.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Members )〕 Note: The table can be sorted alphabetically or chronologically using the File:Sort both.gif icon. A. Unless otherwise noted, independence was gained from the United Kingdom on the date (shown in column 2) of joining the Commonwealth. B. Not a member of the Commonwealth Foundation. C. The population figure is based on 2004 estimates. D. The population figure is based on 2005 estimates. E. Though Pakistan celebrates 14 August 1947 as its independence day, independence was officially granted at midnight, 15 August 1947. Therefore, its date of joining the Commonwealth would be 15 August 1947. F. Commonwealth realms, recognising Elizabeth II as their head of state since the day of their independence, distinctly from her being the sovereign of United Kingdom. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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