Nigeria has been ranked the 96th country with the most powerful passport in the world.
Regarded as the most authoritative ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa, the Henley Passport Index, in its 2023 report, ranked Singapore as the country with the most powerful passport in the world.
It provides visa-free access to 45 destinations. Nigerian passport holders have visa-free access and visas on arrival to countries such as Ghana and Mauritius. Nigerian citizens require a visa to enter 184 destinations in the world such as China, Russia, the United States and the entire European Union. This high visa requirement results in a very low mobility score and significant travel preparation.
According to the index, Singapore is ranked first because its citizens enjoy visa-free access to 192 travel destinations out of 227 worldwide.
Germany, Italy and Spain are joint second, while Japan, Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg, South Korea and Sweden are joint third in the index.
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Currently, Nigeria jointly occupies the 96th position in the index with Eritrea and Sudan, fellow African countries.
The UK has improved in its ranking and has moved from being sixth in 2017 to being joint fourth in the current index with Denmark, Ireland and the Netherlands.
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Meanwhile, the US has continued in its decline, falling to eighth place from the sixth spot it occupied in Henley’s last report.
Interestingly, the UK and the USA jointly held first place in 2014.
The Nigeria passport ranking relative to other global passports is calculated by adding up the number of countries that allow Nigeria passport holders to enter without a visa (i.e. visa-free countries) and those that allow Nigeria passport holders to enter by obtaining a visa on arrival (i.e. visa-on-arrival countries) or an electronic travel authorization (eTA). There are currently a total of 26 Nigeria passport visa-free countries, 18 Nigeria visa-on-arrival countries, and 1 eTA destinations.
Altogether, Nigeria passport holders can enter a total of 45 destinations – either without a visa, through a visa on arrival, or via an eTA. As a result, the Nigeria passport ranks 96 in the world.
Separate from these Nigeria visa-free countries and visa-on-arrival countries, there are 184 additional destinations which Nigeria passport holders either need a physical visa to enter or an eVisa (i.e. visa required countries).
Afghanistan remains the weakest passport in the world, with visa-free access to just 27 destinations.
