<Tr> <Th> Density </Th> <Td> 75 / km (194.2 / sq mi) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Website thecommonwealth.org </Td> </Tr> <P> The Commonwealth of Nations, normally known as the Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of 53 member states that are mostly former territories of the British Empire . The chief institutions of the organisation are the Commonwealth Secretariat, which focuses on intergovernmental aspects, and the Commonwealth Foundation, which focuses on non-governmental relations between member states . </P> <P> The Commonwealth dates back to the first half of the 20th century with the decolonisation of the British Empire through increased self - governance of its territories . It was originally created as the British Commonwealth of Nations through the Balfour Declaration at the 1926 Imperial Conference, and formalised by the United Kingdom through the Statute of Westminster in 1931 . The current Commonwealth of Nations was formally constituted by the London Declaration in 1949, which modernised the community, and established the member states as "free and equal". The symbol of this free association is Queen Elizabeth II, who is the Head of the Commonwealth . The Queen is head of state of 16 member states, known as the Commonwealth realms, while 32 other members are republics and five others have different monarchs . </P>

How many countries are still in the british commonwealth