Commonwealth of Nations
| Type | |
| Intergovernmental organisation | |
| Leaders | |
| Head | Queen Elizabeth II |
| Secretary-General | Patricia Scotland |
| Chair-in-Office | Boris Johnson |
| Establishment | |
| Balfour Declaration | 19 November 1926 |
| Statute of Westminster | 11 December 1931 |
| London Declaration | 28 April 1949 |
| Headquarters | |
| Marlborough House London, SW1 United Kingdom | |
| Population | |
| Population (2016) | 2,418,964,000 |
| Density of population | 75 P/km2 |
| Working language | |
| English | |
| Geography | |
| Area | 29,958,050 km2 |
| Member States (54) | |
| Antigua and Barbuda | |
| Australia | |
| The Bahamas | |
| Bangladesh | |
| Barbados | |
| Belize | |
| Botswana | |
| Brunei | |
| Cameroon | |
| Canada | |
| Cyprus | |
| Dominica | |
| Eswatini | |
| Fiji | |
| The 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 Kitts and Nevis | |
| Saint Lucia | |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | |
| Samoa | |
| Seychelles | |
| Sierra Leone | |
| Singapore | |
| Solomon Islands | |
| South Africa | |
| Sri Lanka | |
| Tanzania | |
| Tonga | |
| Trinidad and Tobago | |
| Tuvalu | |
| Uganda | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Vanuatu | |
| Zambia | |
| Website | |
| thecommonwealth.org | |
Meaning of the Commonwealth
The Commonwealth of Nations (or Commonwealth) is a political association of 54 member states that shares goals like development, democracy and peace. Nearly all members are former territories of the British Empire.
It dates from the first half of the 20th century with decolonisation of the British Empire through increased self-governance and it was originally created as the British Commonwealth of Nations. Today any country can join the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth have 2.4 billion people and includes both advanced economies and developing countries. 32 of the 54 members are small states (including many island nations).
It is not to be confused with:
Former members of the Commonwealth of Nations
- Republic of Ireland: 19 November 1926 – 18 April 1949
- Zimbabwe: 1 October 1980 – 7 December 2003
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
Historical maps from Worldinmaps.com, now part of TerraScientifica.
| Type | |
| Regional Intergovernmental organisation | |
| Leaders | |
| Secretary-General | Esala Ruwan Weerakoon |
| Establishment | |
| 8 December 1985 | |
| Headquarters | |
| Kathmandu (Nepal) | |
| Population | |
| Population (2015) | 1,713,870,000 |
| Density of population | 336.1 P/km2 (870.5 P/sq mi) |
| Working language | |
| English | |
| Geography | |
| Area | 5,099,611 km2 (1,968,971 sq mi) |
| Economy | |
| GDP (PPP) (estimate 2017) | |
| Total | $11.64 trillion |
| GDP (nominal) (estimate 2017) | |
| Total | $3.31 trillion |
| Member States (8) | |
| Afghanistan | |
| Bangladesh | |
| Bhutan | |
| India | |
| Maldives | |
| Nepal | |
| Pakistan | |
| Sri Lanka | |
| Observer States (9) | |
| Australia | |
| China | |
| the European Union | |
| Iran | |
| Japan | |
| Mauritius | |
| Myanmar | |
| South Korea | |
| United States | |
| Website | |
| http://www.saarc-sec.org/ | |
Objectives of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an economic and political organization of 8 countries in South Asia.
The main objectives of the SAARC are to promote economic growth, social progress and cultural development within the South Asia region. The objectives of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation as defined in its charter are:
- to promote the welfare of the peoples of SOUTH ASIA and to improve their quality of life
- to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region and to provide all individuals the opportunity to live in dignity and to realise their full potentials
- to promote and strengthen collective self-reliance among the countries of SOUTH ASIA
- to contribute to mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of one another’s problems
- to promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural, technical and scientific fields
- to strengthen cooperation with other developing countries
- to strengthen cooperation among themselves in international forums on matters of common interests
- to cooperate with international and regional organisations with similar aims and purposes.
History
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation was initiated by the Bangladeshi president Ziaur Rahman. It was founded in New Delhi on 2 august 1983 and it was established by the signing of the SAARC Charter on 8 December 1985 in Dhaka.
At the creation, the SAARC had the following 8 member states:
During the 12th summits (2–6 January 2004), the member states have signed the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA), which foresee the creation of a free trade area for an area covering 1.4 billion people.
In April 2007, Afghanistan joined the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.