The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 56 independent countries. It is home to 2.5 billion people, and includes both advanced economies and developing countries. 33 of the members are small states, including many island nations.

The African Union is a union consisting of 55 African states.  The AU was established on 26 May 2001 in Addis Ababa and launched on 9 July 2002 in South Africa to replace the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).