Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, formerly the British Commonwealth, is an organisation of independent countries, most of which were at one time part of the British Empire.

In 2017, the Commonwealth approved the accreditation of The Commonwealth Equality Network (TCEN), making it the first LGBTI-focused organisation to be officially accredited by the Commonwealth.

Commonwealth members and other territories

This section lists:

• current and former members of the Commonwealth
• British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies: these are not independent countries and hence not members of the Commonwealth in their own right; however several of them have entered teams in the Commonwealth Games (as have the constituent countries of the United Kingdom).

Country	Category	Region	Gay sex legal?	Same-sex marriage?	Notes
Anguilla	Overseas territory	Caribbean	yes	no
Antigua and Barbuda	Commonwealth member	Caribbean	no	no
Australia	Commonwealth member	Australasia	yes	varies	Same-sex marriage introduced in the Australian Capital Territory 2013, but ruled unconstitutional. Some recognition of same-sex relationships in different states
Bahamas	Commonwealth member	Caribbean	yes	no
Bangladesh	Commonwealth member	South Asia	no	no
Barbados	Commonwealth member	Caribbean	no	no
Belize	Commonwealth member	Central America	no	no
Bermuda	Overseas territory	Caribbean	yes	no
Botswana	Commonwealth member	Africa	no	no	Anti-gay law not enforced
British Antarctic Territory	Overseas territory	Antarctica	-	-	No native inhabitants
British Indian Ocean Territory	Overseas territory	Indian Ocean	-	-	No native inhabitants
British Virgin Islands	Overseas territory	Caribbean	yes	no
Brunei	Commonwealth member	South East Asia	no	no
Cameroon	Commonwealth member	Africa	no	no
Canada	Commonwealth member	North America	yes	yes	Same-sex marriage in most of Canada from 2003; nationwide from 2005.
Cayman Islands	Overseas territory	Caribbean	yes	no
Cyprus	Commonwealth member	Europe	yes	no	The military bases of Akrotiri and Dhekelia remain British Overseas Territories
Dominica	Commonwealth member	Caribbean	no	no
Falkland Islands	Overseas territory	South Atlantic	yes	no
Fiji	Suspended member	Oceania	yes	no
Gambia	Former member	Africa	no	no
Ghana	Commonwealth member	Africa	no	no	In Feb 2024 Ghana Parliament passes a Bill making identifying as LGBTQ+ illegal
Gibraltar	Overseas territory	Europe	yes	no
Grenada	Commonwealth member	Caribbean	no	no
Guernsey (Bailiwick of Guernsey)	Crown Dependency	Europe	yes	no
Guyana	Commonwealth member	South America	no	no
India	Commonwealth member	South Asia	no	no	Section 377 of the 1860 Indian Penal Code outlawing gay sex was ruled unconstitutional by the Delhi High Court in 2009, but this was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2013.
Ireland (Republic of Ireland)	Former member of the Empire (not Commonwealth)	Europe	yes	yes	Civil partnerships since 2011 and same sex marriage since 2015.
Isle of Man	Crown Dependency	Europe	yes	no
Jamaica	Commonwealth member	Caribbean	no	no
Jersey (Bailiwick of Jersey)	Crown Dependency	Europe	yes	no
Kenya	Commonwealth member	Africa	no	no
Kiribati	Commonwealth member	Oceania	no	no
Lesotho	Commonwealth member	Africa	no	no
Malawi	Commonwealth member	Africa	no	no
Malaysia	Commonwealth member	South East Asia	no	no
Maldives	Commonwealth member	Indian Ocean	no	no
Malta	Commonwealth member	Europe	yes	no
Mauritius	Commonwealth member	Indian Ocean	no	no
Montserrat	Overseas territory	Caribbean	yes	no
Mozambique	Commonwealth member	Africa	yes	no
Namibia	Commonwealth member	Africa	no	no
Nauru	Commonwealth member	Oceania	no	no
New Zealand	Commonwealth member	Australasia	yes	yes	Same-sex marriage from 2013.
Nigeria	Commonwealth member	Africa	no	no
Pakistan	Commonwealth member	South Asia	no	no
Papua New Guinea	Commonwealth member	Australasia	no	no
Pitcairn Islands	Overseas territory	Oceania	yes	no
Rwanda	Commonwealth member	Africa	yes	no
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha	Overseas territory	South Atlantic	yes	no
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Commonwealth member	Caribbean	no	no
Saint Lucia	Commonwealth member	Caribbean	no	no
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Commonwealth member	Caribbean	no	no
Samoa	Commonwealth member	Oceania	no	no
Seychelles	Commonwealth member	Indian Ocean	no	no
Sierra Leone	Commonwealth member	Africa	no	no
Singapore	Commonwealth member	South East Asia	no	no
Solomon Islands	Commonwealth member	Oceania	no	no
South Africa	Commonwealth member	Africa	yes	yes	Same-sex marriage since 2006.
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands	Overseas territory	South Atlantic	yes	no
Sri Lanka	Commonwealth member	South Asia	no	no
Swaziland	Commonwealth member	Africa	no	no
Tanzania	Commonwealth member	Africa	no	no
Tonga	Commonwealth member	Oceania	no	no
Trinidad and Tobago	Commonwealth member	Caribbean	no*	no	*consenting male buggery legal
Turks and Caicos Islands	Overseas territory	Caribbean	yes	no
Tuvalu	Commonwealth member	Oceania	no	no
Uganda	Commonwealth member	Africa	no	no	On 21 March 2023, Parliament passed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Promoters of homosexuality can be sentenced to up to 20 years imprisonment.
United Kingdom	Commonwealth member	Europe	yes	yes	Civil partnerships throughout the UK. Same-sex marriage introduced in England and Wales from 2014.
Vanuatu	Commonwealth member	Oceania	yes	no
Zambia	Commonwealth member	Africa	no	no
Zimbabwe	Former member	Africa	no	no

Applicants for membership

Country	Category	Region	Gay sex legal?	Same-sex marriage?	Notes
Algeria	Applicant	Africa	no	no
Madagascar	Applicant	Africa	yes	no
Somaliland	Applicant	Africa	no	no	Not a recognised country. Was British Somaliland until 1960; now part of Somalia.
South Sudan	Applicant	Africa	no	no
Sudan	Applicant	Africa	no	no
Suriname	Applicant	South America	yes	no
Yemen	Applicant	Arabia	no	no