The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 54 member states, almost all of which are 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 amongst member states.
The head of the Commonwealth is currently Queen Elizabeth II; the 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting appointed Charles, Prince of Wales, to be her designated successor, although the position is not hereditary. Elizabeth II is the head of state of 15 member states, known as the Commonwealth realms, while 34 other members are republics and 5 others have different monarchs.
Member states have no legal obligations to one another but are connected through their use of the English language and historical ties. The Commonwealth Charter defines their shared values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, as promoted by the quadrennial Commonwealth Games.
英联邦，简称the Commonwealth，是一个由 54 个成员国组成的政治联盟，几乎所有成员国都是大英帝国的前领土。该组织的主要机构是专注于政府间事务的英联邦秘书处和专注于成员国之间非政府关系的英联邦基金会。
英联邦元首现任英国女王伊丽莎白二世；2018 年英联邦政府首脑会议任命威尔士亲王查尔斯为她的指定继任者，尽管该职位并不是世袭的。伊丽莎白二世是 15 个成员国的国家元首，被称为英联邦国家，而其他 34 个成员是共和国，另外 5 个成员有不同的君主。
成员国之间没有法律义务，但通过使用英语和历史关联而相互联系。《英联邦宪章》定义了他们在民主、人权和法治方面的共同价值观，由四年一度的英联邦运动会推动。
所以，常见的“英联邦”一词并不是指的某个联邦国家，而是一个各国平等的国际组织。下次遇到这个词可不能搞错~
整理了一些常见的国际组织英文表达，以供参考：
欧洲联盟 European Union
上海合作组织 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
非洲联盟 African Union
法语国家组织 International Organisation of the Francophonie
不结盟运动 Non-Aligned Movement
世界贸易组织 World Trade Organization
亚太经济合作组织 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
经济合作与发展组织 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
世界卫生组织 World Health Organization
国际足球联合 International Federation of Association Football
文章来源：沪江英语公众号
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