what are the british commonwealth countries

Since the London Declaration the Commonwealth has grown through the decolonisation of the British Empire and, between 19, over 20 former Crown colonies joined the organisation as they gained their independence. This has allowed republics such as India and Pakistan, and countries with their own monarchies, to remain part of the Commonwealth without compromising their sovereignty. The London Declaration of 1949 emphasized the Commonwealth's member states' independence from Britain by renaming it the Commonwealth of Nations and by recognising the British monarch's role only as Head of the Commonwealth. India, Pakistan and Ceylon (later Sri Lanka) joined the British Commonwealth – as it was then called - when they became independent in 1947. It originated with the 1931 Statute of Westminster, and its original members were the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland (which joined the Canadian Confederation in 1949) and the Irish Free State (which left the Commonwealth in 1949). India, which was by title an empire in its own right, was left out, though it joined the Commonwealth after it was granted independence in 1947.It is an international union of nations working together to promote a number of common values and goals, such as democracy, human rights, good governance, and the rule of law. The declaration was formalized in the Statute of Westminster in 1931, officially recognizing the sovereign rights of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, and Newfoundland. The Balfour Declaration, as the agreement was called, was the launching pad for the British Commonwealth of Nations. There, they agreed that all nations were 'equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by common allegiance to the Crown.' In the fall of 1926, prime ministers of Britain and its dominions, including Australia, Canada, India, and South Africa, gathered for a conference in London. The Commonwealth was born out of the British Empire, heralding a new era of gradual independence for its former colonies - while still swearing loyalty to the crown.

Queen Elizabeth II in Honiara, Solomon Islands, in 1982 as part of a Commonwealth Tour of South Pacific nations.

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What are the british commonwealth countries