Nigerian Passport Gets New Ranking as It Gains Visa-Free Access to 45 Countries
- According to a recent analysis, the Nigerian passport would rank among the twenty least valuable in 2024
- Based on information from the Henley Passport Index, Nigeria is ranked 92 out of 103 lists compiled
- The largest settlement in Africa has retained its bottom rating continuously since 2015, according to the report
Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over 3-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.
A recent analysis revealed that the Nigerian passport is among the 20 least valuable in 2024.
Source: Getty Images
The Nigerian passport scores among the lowest 20 for 2024, a pattern that has continued for 10 years, according to data from the Henley Passport Index, which rates all passports in the world based on the number of destinations their holders can enter without a previous visa.
International Air Transport Association (IATA) statistics and other open-source web data are the sources of information used by Henley and Partners to publish the historical data index.
BusinessDay reported that Nigeria is ranked 92 out of 103 on the index, with visa-free access to only 45 countries out of 227 this year.
Since 2015, the biggest settlement in Africa has consistently maintained its bottom rating, performing poorly against its competitors in West Africa and requiring its people to pay millions of naira for visas to enter most cities.
Conflict zones such as Somalia, Iran, and Pakistan, which have been engaged in an ongoing conflict with Israel and Sudan since April 2023, lag behind Nigeria on the list.
According to the Henley Passport Index, Singapore has regained its position as the passport with the greatest power in the world, ranking first on the list. With 5.6 million residents, the city-state breaks previous records by granting its citizens visa-free access to 195 out of 227 worldwide travel locations.
Once holding the top rank for a considerable amount of time, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Spain currently share second place, each having visa-free access to 192 destinations.
Nigerians are still able to travel to the following countries visa-free: Ghana, Benin, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Maldives (Visa on Arrival), Niger, and Togo.
South Africa introduces 'special provision' visa
Legit.ng earlier reported that in an effort to promote travel from South Africa to Nigeria and back, the country instituted a five-year multiple-entry visa for business travellers.
During the Nigeria-South Africa Chamber of Commerce July Breakfast Meeting 2024, which was sponsored by South African Airways, Bobby Moroe, the consul general of South Africa, revealed this to Nigerians on Thursday.
Moroe who described the visa as a ‘special provision’ for business travellers, said in a BusinessDay report.
Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng
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