Humanities › History & Culture African Members of the Commonwealth of Nations Share Flipboard Email Print WPA Pool / Getty Images History & Culture African History Key Events American History African American History Ancient History and Culture Asian History European History Genealogy Inventions Latin American History Medieval & Renaissance History Military History The 20th Century Women's History View More By Alistair Boddy-Evans Alistair Boddy-Evans History Expert Postgraduate Certificate in Education, University College London M.S., Imperial College London B.S., Heriot-Watt University Alistair Boddy-Evans is a teacher and African history scholar with more than 25 years of experience. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on September 10, 2018 The following alphabetical list gives the date at which each African Country joined the Commonwealth of Nations as an independent state. The majority of African countries joined as Commonwealth Realms, later converting to Commonwealth Republics. Two countries, Lesotho and Swaziland, joined as Kingdoms. British Somaliland (which joined with Italian Somaliland five days after gaining independence in 1960 to form Somalia), and Anglo-British Sudan (which became a republic in 1956) did not become members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Egypt, which had been part of the Empire until 1922, has never shown an interest in becoming a member. African Commonwealth Nations Botswana, 30 September 1966 as a Republic after establishing independence and electing Seretse Khama as President. Cameroon, 11 November 1995 as a Republic The Gambia, 18 February 1965 as a Realm—became a Republic on 24 April 1970 Ghana, 6 March 1957 as a Realm—became a Republic 1 July 1960 Kenya, 12 December 1963 as a Realm—became a Republic on 12 December 1964 Lesotho, 4 October 1966 as a Kingdom Malawi, 6 July 1964 as a Realm—became a Republic on 6 July 1966 Mauritius, 12 March 1968 as a realm—became a Republic on 12 March 1992 Mozambique, 12 December 1995 as a Republic Namibia, 21 March 1990 as a republic Nigeria, 1 October 1960 as a Realm—became a Republic on 1 October 1963 – suspended between 11 November 1995 and 29 May 1999 Rwanda, 28 November 2009 as a Republic Seychelles, 29 June 1976 as a Republic Sierra Leone, 27 April 1961 as a Realm—became a Republic 19 April 1971 South Africa, 3 December 1931 as a Realm—withdrew on becoming a Republic on 31 May 1961, rejoined 1 June 1994 Swaziland, 6 September 1968 as a Kingdom Tanganyika, 9 December 1961 as a Realm—became Republic of Tanganyika on 9 December 1962, United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar on 26 April 1964, and United Republic of Tanzania on 29 October 1964. Uganda, 9 October 1962 as a Realm—became a Republic on 9 October 1963 Zambia, 24 October 1964 as a Republic Zimbabwe, 18 April 1980 as a Republic—suspended on 19 March 2002, departed on 8 December 2003 Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Boddy-Evans, Alistair. "African Members of the Commonwealth of Nations." ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2020, thoughtco.com/african-members-of-commonwealth-of-nations-43759. Boddy-Evans, Alistair. (2020, August 27). African Members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/african-members-of-commonwealth-of-nations-43759 Boddy-Evans, Alistair. "African Members of the Commonwealth of Nations." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/african-members-of-commonwealth-of-nations-43759 (accessed June 7, 2023). copy citation