The Nigerian passport has remained one of the least world’s most powerful passports, ranking fifth-worst in Africa, a new report by the Henley Passport Index shows.
This implies that Nigeria, which boasts as Africa’s largest economy, is ranked 90th on a worldwide rating that only enables holders visa-free admission to 46 of the world’s 227 destinations.
The global passport ranking for 2023 was created using data from the International Air Transport Authority, or IATA, which rates the world’s passports based on the number of destinations their holders can visit without a visa. According to the methodology, a country’s passport is scored higher if a passport holder from a country or territory can travel to each destination without a visa.
Nigeria and South Sudan were ranked 90th, and Congo ranked 91st. Eritrea and Sudan were ranked 92nd. Libya was ranked 95th. Somalia came last, ranking 99th.
A July 2021 report by the body ranked the Nigerian passport 101 out of 199 countries, dropping six places from its 2020 position. Later that year, Nigerian passport integrity fell even lower, per Henley & Partners report.
Last May, then interior minister Rauf Aregbesola claimed that only a few countries could boast of the type of Nigerian passport, asserting it “is one of the best in the world.”
In January, the Nigerian passport ranked the 20th worst-performing travel document in the world for the third time in a row, according to the Henley Passport Index.
Nigeria has had a string of poor rankings since 2006.
Nigeria also ranked fifth lowest on the list of African countries with visa-free travel access, only above the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Eritrea, Sudan, and Libya — all countries experiencing extreme violence.
Seychelles is in 24th position with access to 155 countries and the highest-ranked African country. Mauritius ranked 29th with access to 148 countries while South Africans can visit 106 countries without a prior visa, holding down the 51st spot.
Singapore topped the list, knocking off Japan for the first time in five years into third place. Citizens of Singapore, according to the report, can visit 192 travel destinations out of 227 around the world visa-free.
Germany, Italy, and Spain all moved up into the second place with visa-free access to 190 destinations, while Japanese passport holders alongside those from Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg, South Korea, and Sweden — all in third place – have access to189 destinations without a prior visa.
Both the United Kingdom and the United States jointly held first place on the index nearly 10 years ago in 2014 but have been on a downward trajectory ever since, now holding fourth and eighth places, respectively.
Afghanistan remains at the bottom of the index, with a visa-free access score of just 27 countries, followed by Iraq with 29, and Syria with 30 — the three weakest passports in the world.
The general trend over the history of the 18-year-old ranking has been towards greater travel freedom, with the average number of destinations travelers are able to access visa-free nearly doubling from 58 in 2006 to 109 in 2023. However, the global mobility gap between those at the top and bottom of the index is now wider than it has ever been, with top-ranked Singapore able to access 165 more destinations visa-free than Afghanistan.
Chairman of Henley & Partners and inventor of the passport index concept, Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, said only eight countries worldwide have less visa-free access today than they did a decade ago while others have been more successful in securing greater travel freedom for their citizens.
“The UAE has added an impressive 107 destinations to its visa-free score since 2013, resulting in a massive leap of 44 places in the ranking over the past 10 years from 56th to 12th position. This is almost double the next biggest climber, Colombia, which has enjoyed a jump of 28 places in the ranking to sit in the 37th spot.
“Far more than just a travel document that defines our freedom of movement, a strong passport also provides significant financial freedoms in terms of international investment and business opportunities. Global connectivity and access have become indispensable features of wealth creation and preservation, and its value will only grow as geopolitical volatility and regional instability increase
Peoples Gazette, The Guardian Nigeria
