The republics in the Commonwealth of Nations are sovereign state members of the international organisation with a republican form of government. , 36 out of the 56 member states were republics. While King Charles III is the titular Head of the Commonwealth, he is not the head of state of the republican members. The King is, however, the reigning monarch in the Commonwealth realms. The Head of the Commonwealth role does not carry with it substantive power (what power it does have is probably exercisable by the Crown only on advice); instead, it is a symbol of the free association of Commonwealth members.
Except for the former Portuguese possession of Mozambique, the former Belgian trust territory of Rwanda and the former French possessions of Gabon and Togo, they are all former British (or partly British) colonies or self-governing colonies that have evolved into republics. Most of the Commonwealth's members achieved independence while keeping the British monarch as their own individual head of state (in a form of personal union) and later became republics within the Commonwealth when they removed the crown from their government arrangements. In some other instances, such member countries became republics after achieving independence from other former British colonies (as, for example, Bangladesh did from Pakistan in 1971 as a result of the Bangladesh Liberation War).
Republics have been permitted as members of the Commonwealth since the London Declaration made on 28 April 1949. Ten days before that declaration, the Republic of Ireland had been declared, ensuring most of Ireland's self-exclusion from the Commonwealth, as republics were not allowed in the Commonwealth at that time (Northern Ireland, as part of the United Kingdom, remained within the Commonwealth). The Republic of Ireland did not re-apply for membership of the Commonwealth, despite being eligible to do so under the London Declaration.
A declaration was made by India in 1950 which allowed it to continue its membership of the Commonwealth despite its decision to adopt a new republican constitution, which removed the King of India from its government. Thus, India became the first republic within the Commonwealth and set a precedent that other countries were able to followâÂÂas long as they each recognised the position of Head of the Commonwealth. The Indian declaration was essentially a compromise between the Indian government and those, such as Jan Smuts, who wished not to allow republics membership:
Following their independence from the United Kingdom, most Commonwealth countries retained (at least for a time) Queen Elizabeth II as head of state, who was represented in the country by a Governor-General. In each nation, the monarch acquired and adopted a title to indicate the individual sovereignty of each of these nations (such as "Queen of Australia" or "Queen of Belize"). With time, many of these countries became republics, passing constitutional amendments or holding referendums to remove the monarch as their head of state, and replacing the governor-general with an elected or appointed president. This was especially true in post-colonial African nations. Most African realms became republics within a few years of independence. As of 2026, there are 15 sovereign nation states of which Charles III is king: these are known as Commonwealth realms.
Commonwealth republics usually followed the presidential system. Some states became parliamentary republics, such as Malta or Fiji. In Fiji, the change to a republic in 1987 came as a result of two military coups, rather than out of any popular republican sentiment. Even when Fiji was not a member of the Commonwealth, symbols of the monarchy remained, including the Queen's portrait on banknotes and coins; and, unlike in the United Kingdom, the Queen's Official Birthday was a public holiday. When Fiji was readmitted to the Commonwealth, the issue of reinstating the Queen as head of state was raised, but not pursued, although the country's Great Council of Chiefs reaffirmed that the Queen was still the country's "Paramount Chief".
Some republics within the Commonwealth became republics immediately upon gaining independence from the United Kingdom; again, this was particularly true in Africa.
While the moves to both independence and republican status have broken most formal constitutional links to the United Kingdom, a number of Commonwealth countries have retained a right of appeal directly to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council; for example, Mauritius, and (if the case involves constitutional rights) Kiribati. In contrast with some Commonwealth realms, and British Overseas Territories, however, such appeals are made directly to the Judicial Committee, rather than formally being made to "His Majesty in Council".
Within the Commonwealth, there is no differentiation in status between republics, Commonwealth realms and the members with their own monarchs (Brunei, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malaysia, and Tonga).
Membership of the Commonwealth is by common assent of the existing members, and this principle applies equally to territories gaining independence from the UK and to other territories requesting membership. Until 2007, Commonwealth members that changed their internal constitutional structure to that of a republic had to re-apply for membership. Widespread objection to the racial policies in South Africa resulted in that country deciding not to pursue a re-application for Commonwealth membership when it became a republic in 1961. South Africa was subsequently readmitted as a member of the Commonwealth after democratic elections in 1994. Fiji and the Maldives also did not apply for continued membership after becoming republics (Fiji was likely to be suspended in any case, since a coup had overthrown the democratically elected government), and thus their memberships also lapsed.
In some countries that became republics some time after independence, including Malta, Mauritius, and Trinidad and Tobago, the new office of president was a ceremonial post, usually held initially by the last governor-general to provide some continuity during the transition of these nations to become parliamentary republics. In others, such as The Gambia, Ghana, and Malawi, the newly formed presidency was an executive officeâÂÂpowerful in its own rightâÂÂand thus was first held by the outgoing prime minister. Each of these countries became a type of presidential republic, with abolition of both the monarchy's role as head of state and also the entire Westminster system of parliamentary government. South Africa and Botswana are unique amongst Commonwealth member nations in that, although their presidencies are executive posts, the particular officeholders are nevertheless elected by and accountable to parliament (thus retaining some elements of a system with parliamentary supremacy).
In each case, the republic was created through a new constitution.
Currently, the only former Commonwealth republics are:
The 2007 Kampala review of the Edinburgh Declaration recommended limiting nations eligible for admission to the Commonwealth to those with "a historic constitutional association with an existing Commonwealth member, save in exceptional circumstances". Various republics have a historic association with the United Kingdom as former British-administered territories. The 2009 admission of Rwanda, which has no such association, was made under the "exceptional circumstances" proviso. However, in 2022, Gabon and Togo, which were former French colonies, became new members of the Commonwealth.
The republics of South Sudan, Sudan, and Suriname have formally made applications, while other republics have expressed interest. Also, the application for observer status was submitted by the unrecognised state of Somaliland, whose territory is officially considered as part of Somalia. The United States (Thirteen Colonies and The Floridas), Israel (see Mandate for Palestine), the Republic of Ireland (Irish Free State), and certain Persian Gulf states, as former parts of the British Empire, would be eligible for membership but have shown little or no interest in same.