Economic Development - Insights, Inspiration, & Innovation
Commonwealth Economies - Fast Facts
The Commonwealth is made up of 54 independent countries that work together to pursue common goals which promote development, democracy, and peace. Our combined population of 2.3 billion is almost a third of the global population. Almost 60% of our population is under the age of 30.
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The Commonwealth Factor – shared values of the Commonwealth, language, similar legal systems etc. makes average trade costs 19% lower between Commonwealth countries. Exploit this advantage.
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With a population of 2.3 billion and annual GDP growth in excess of 4%, the Commonwealth offers a ready-made English language trading network.
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The combined gross domestic product of Commonwealth member countries is predicted to reach $US14 trillion by 2020.
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Trade between Commonwealth countries is projected to surpass $1 trillion in 2020.
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In Sub-Saharan Africa, eight of the top 10 countries with the lowest levels of corruption are Commonwealth members, according to the Corruption Perceptions Index.
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Half of the top 20 global emerging cities are in the Commonwealth.
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Seven of the top 10 countries in the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, which measures rule of law, human rights, participation, human development and sustainable economic opportunity, are Commonwealth members.
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Commonwealth Economies
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The Commonwealth Advantage
Pointing to a major report published by the Commonwealth Secretariat in 2015 which showed that bilateral trade costs between Commonwealth countries are on average around a fifth lower – or 19 percent - than between other trading partners, the Commonwealth Secretary-General said it was a “seminal piece of work”, adding: “What it does is to identify the benefit of having a shared platform, of the same language, same common law, same legal structure, similar institutions.”
Secretary-General Scotland pledged to “turbo-charge” her efforts to encourage and support Commonwealth countries to work together to increase the 19 per cent trade advantage even further.
Established in July 2014, the CWEIC is a not for profit membership company with a mandate to facilitate increased trade and investment across the Commonwealth. The CWEIC also organized the Commonwealth Business Forum provided a space for high level dialogue between business and Government leaders immediately preceeding the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta, November 2015.
CommonWEALTH First is a major new initiative to help SMEs trade and invest across the Commonwealth.
A new digital trade platform was launched on May 18, 2016. The Commonwealth Trade Platform has been designed to connect buyers and suppliers across Commonwealth markets to unlock business opportunities
The Commonwealth Trade platform allows businesses to:
+ Connect with thousands of businesses throughout the commonwealth
+ Gain access to up to date market intelligence across 53 member states
+ Develop lucrative trade opportunities
