Scunthorpe Church of England Primary School

What is the Commonwealth?

The commonwealth is a voluntary family of 54 countries from all over the world! We come from the Pacific, Africa, Asia, Europe, the Caribbean and Americas.

Most of the countries in the commonwealth were once in the British Empire, this meant they were governed by Britain. After the countries became independent they became part of the commonwealth, where they could work together and help each other.

There are over 2 billion people who live in countries from the commonwealth. 

The population of the commonwealth is about 30% of the world’s population.

The members of the commonwealth have shared goals: development, democracy and peace. They are expressed in the commonwealth charter.

The last country to join the commonwealth was Rwanda in 2009. 

The Commonwealth Secretariat is Marlborough House in London. Although this is in London, the people who work there come from all over the world.

There is a commonwealth day every year to celebrate the achievements of those in the commonwealth. It is celebrated on the second Monday in March. The next commonwealth day is the 8^th March 2021.