Commonwealth membership is confined to sovereign countries, but self-governing states linked to member countries and overseas territories of member countries are eligible to take part in many activities and to receive technical assistance. Some of them contribute to Commonwealth funds and programmes. Representatives of such territories do from time to time attend ministerial meetings as part of the delegation of the member government to which they are linked.
The peoples of these states are regarded as part of the Commonwealth family. Their numbers total about 240,000 people. Bermuda (64,500) has the largest population, followed by Cayman Islands (42,000), Gibraltar (28,200), British Virgin Islands (27,000), Turks and Caicos Islands (26,000) and Cook Islands (20,400).
The associated states and overseas territories are:
- Australian External Territories: Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Australian Antarctic Territory, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands Territory, Heard Island and the McDonald Islands, and Norfolk Island.
- Self-governing Countries in Free Association with New Zealand: Cook Islands and Niue.
- New Zealand External Territories: The Ross Dependency and Tokelau.
- UK Overseas Territories: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, St Helena and dependencies (Ascension, Tristan da Cunha), South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and Turks and Caicos Islands.