Nigeria’s Passport, Africa’s 42nd most powerful

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FG Set To Open 1,000 Passport Processing Offices
FG Set To Open 1,000 Passport Processing Offices

The Nigerian passport has been ranked 91st strongest in a world ranking of passports which was dominated by Asian countries. According to the ranking named the Henley Passport Index, holders of Nigerian passports have visa-free access to 47 destinations.

The report ranked Nigeria’s passport low as the 42nd most powerful in Africa, ahead of Burundi, Djibouti, DRC, Ethiopia, Libya and South Sudan, Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia.

“As the world economy has become increasingly globalised, the need for greater visa-free access has grown steadily,” said the report.

Henley & Partners published its 2019 passport index and, once again, the world’s top is dominated by Japan while there is no African country in the world’s top 10.

In Africa, the top 5 is dominated by Seychelles (27th  global rank), Mauritius (51st global rank), South Africa (53rd global rank), Botswana (82nd global rank) and Namibia (68th global rank). The bottom 5 is made of Ethiopia (96th global rank), Libya and South Sudan (97th global ranks), Sudan (99th global rank), Eritrea (100th global rank) and Somalia (103rd global rank).

Let’s note that Equatorial Guinea progressed the most with three places gained in this ranking.

Countries linked to terror networks like Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq were bottom of the pile, with their citizens requiring visas to access the majority of countries.

Henley Passport Index is an index of all the passports ranked according to the countries that welcome them without a visa. The data used in the ranking are compiled from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

2019 Henley African passport index

Rank (African)countriesNumber of destinationsRank (Global)
1Seychelles15127
2Mauritius14551
3South Africa10153
4Botswana8262
5Namibia7568
6Lesotho7469
7Eswatini7271
8Kenya7172
8Malawi7172
10Gambia6873
10Tanzania6873
10Zambia6873
13Tunisia6674
14Cabo Verde6575
15Uganda6476
16Ghana6377
17Sierra-Léone6278
18Benin6179
18Morocco6179
20Mauritania5880
20Mozambique5880
20Sao Tomé and Principe5880
23Burkina-Faso5781
24Côte d’Ivoire5682
24Guinea5682
24Senegal5682
27Gabon5583
27Mali5583
27Togo5583
30Niger5484
30Rwanda5484
32Chad5385
32Guinea Bissau5385
32Madagascar5385
35Comores5286
36Equatorial Guinea5187
37Algeria5088
38Angola4989
38Central Africa4989
38Egypt4989
41Cameroon4890
42Congo4791
42Liberia4791
42Nigeria4791
45Burundi4692
46Djibouti4593
47DRC4395
48Ethiopia4296
49Libya4197
49South Sudan4197
51Sudan3999
53Eritrea38100
54Somalia32103