Africa
There are nineteen Commonwealth member states in Africa, seven of which are landlocked, the only such countries in the association. The African members comprise 17 republics and two monarchies, Lesotho and Swaziland. English is an official language in all except Mozambique, where Portuguese is the sole official language. In Cameroon and Rwanda English and French are official languages.
There are nineteen Commonwealth member states in Africa, seven of which are landlocked, the only such countries in the association. The African members comprise 17 republics and two monarchies, Lesotho and Swaziland. English is an official language in all except Mozambique, where Portuguese is the sole official language. In Cameroon and Rwanda, English and French are official languages.
Commonwealth involvement in African education is vital for achievement of the continent’s developmental goals. Organisations such as COL promote distance learning and the integration of IT and ICT into national education systems, and CCL works with women in Cameroon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Continent-specific organisations exist, these include Commonwealth Association of Polytechnics in Africa (CAPA), which plays a role similar to that of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, but with a focus on Africa, and the Commonwealth Association of Science, Technology and Mathematics Educators (CASTME), which has branches in Mauritius and on the African mainland. In terms of the ACA, the continent possesses nearly 100 members, across the majority of African member states.
To date, there have been five Conferences of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) held in Africa – including South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Botswana, and Kenya – with the 18th meeting taking place in Mauritius in 2012. The theme of this meeting is ‘Education in the Commonwealth: Bridging the Gap as we accelerate towards achieving Internationally Agreed Goals (IAGs)’. In terms of the Commonwealth Scholarship – Botswana, Nigeria, Kenya, Mauritius and Tanzania all offer spaces on the scheme.
Regional education statistics
 Ratio of Males to Females in Tertiary education |
 Adult literacy rates |
 Proportion of children starting Grade 1 |
 Youth Literacy rates |
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