![]() Many of those in the RoC who had fought for independence were reluctant to see their country join an organisation so closely associated with the British Empire. Senior government officials in London questioned whether it was in Britain’s interests, and doubts were expressed by some other Commonwealth members. The accession of the RoC was at the time controversial. The current majority of Commonwealth members are republics. Furthermore, although a number of Commonwealth members had adopted republican constitutions in the years following their independence, the RoC was the first member to achieve independence and join the Commonwealth as a republic. The entry of the RoC as a Commonwealth member in March 1961 was accordingly a landmark in the history of the organisation, as the RoC was the first small state to join the Commonwealth. However, admitting a small state was an extremely controversial question when the RoC applied for membership. ![]() Did the Commonwealth even want such a state to become a member? In 2021, with the Commonwealth comprising 54 members, out of which 32 members are classified as small states, and with some members having no links to the former British Empire, or even other Commonwealth members, the RoC seems like a perfect fit. The newly independent RoC, with a population of 572,000 was comparatively extremely small, and its Constitution provided for rights of guarantee to two non-Commonwealth countries, i.e., Greece and Turkey. The Federation of Malaya (6.3 million), Ghana (6.7 million), and Ceylon (9.2 million) were the only other members with fewer than 10 million inhabitants. The smallest member of the Commonwealth at the time was New Zealand with a population of 2.5 million. The Republic of Cyprus (RoC) became the 12th member to join the Commonwealth on 13 March 1961.
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