The Commonwealth of Nations Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1926

In 1926, the Commonwealth was officially formed after the Balfour Declaration of the Imperial Conference, which recognized the full sovereignty of the dominions. Initially known as the British Commonwealth, the original member states were the UK itself, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Irish Free State and Newfoundland. Ireland (formerly known as the Irish Free State) left the Commonwealth on 18 April 1949.

Answer: Canada

The 1930 Games was held in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada from 16 to 23 August 1930. Only 11 states participated beside the host nation: Australia, Bermuda, British Guiana (present-day Guyana), England, Ireland, Newfoundland, New Zealand, Scotland, New Zealand and Wales.

Answer: Hong Kong

On July 1997, Hong Kong became a special administrative region of China after the handover from the British government. Hong Kong was given to the British government in 1842 under the Treaty of Nanjing, after the Qing empire lost the First Opium War. Macau was a Portuguese colony.

Answer: Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon)

India and Pakistan gained independence in 1947. The Dominion of Ceylon, now known as Sri Lanka, gained independence in 1948. The three states joined the Commonwealth as independent states and retained the King (George VI) as the Head of State during that time. In 1948, Burma (now known as Myanmar) did not join the Commonwealth after independence, as it became a republic.

In 1949 at the Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference, Canadian Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent proposed that states that became republics should be allowed to remain in the Commonwealth. This was to prevent the Commonwealth from losing member states, as India was the verge of becoming a republic.

In 1957, Malaysia became a member state and retained their King as the head of state. In 1971, Bangladesh (formerly known as East Pakistan) declared independence from Pakistan.

Answer: Jamaica

Jamaica became a member state after it gained independence from the UK on 6 August 1962. Barbados joined the Commonwealth in 1966, Bahamas in 1973 and Grenada in 1974.

Answer: Nauru

Nauru is the smallest state with an area of 91 sq. km. It is a small coral island located in south-west Pacific Ocean, about 1300 km to the north-east of Solomon Islands. Phosphate mining had made the interior of island almost barren. Most people live in the coastal area.

Answer: Namibia

Namibia was formerly known as German South-West Africa after the German Empire established rule over the state in 1884. In 1915, the German rule was ended with a defeat by the South African forces. Besides English and German, Afrikaans is also one of the official languages.

Answer: Mozambique

Mozambique gained independence from Portugal in 1975. The state became a member state of the Commonwealth in 1995. The country was long considered a "cousin" country to the Commonwealth because of its trade links and support of Commonwealth anti-apartheid efforts.

Answer: Togo and Gabon

At the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Meeting held in Kigali, Rwanda, Togo and Gabon were official declared as member states.

Answer: Tuvalu

Tuvalu is ranked 192nd by area size (26 sq km) in the world. It is close to two other Commonwealth member states, Kiribati to the north, and Fiji to the south. It is made up of a chain of 9 small coral islands.