However, they all adhere to the central government. They have their own governments they have their own ways of governing.

So, in the US, the states are more autonomous than in any other country. Rather the federation joined the states that were there. The federation did not divide the country into states for governing purposes. In the case of the US, the states are actually what made up the Federeation. What is a State?Ī state is a small political territory that is made to make the governing of a country easier. Let us see if there is any difference between other common states and these commonwealths. There are 50 states in the US, and out of these, only four, namely, Massachusetts, Virginia, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania choose to be labeled as commonwealths. Commonwealth indicates that the states are independent. However, you must remember that the word commonwealth is used in the same sense for states as it is used for countries of the world. But, in this article, we shall focus upon states and commonwealths that confuse the people of US. This is a loose grouping of more than 50 countries, many of which are republics in themselves owing no allegiance to the queen of Britain.

Commonwealth is a term that is used to refer to countries that were once ruled by England and were a part of the British Empire. The difference between commonwealth and state is only in the names with regard to the US states.

What states are commonwealth states