Nigerian passport is among the list of 20 least valuable passports to hold in 2023 with visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to only 46 countries.
This is contained in Henley Passport Index, which is an authoritative ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.
The index which is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) shows Nigeria ranking 97 among 109 places.
After Nigeria, other countries with worse passports include Eritrea with 44 destinations, South Sudan with 44 destinations, Iran 43 destinations, Congo 42 destinations, Lebanon 42 destinations, Sri Lanka 42 destinations, Sudan 42 destinations, Bangladesh 41 destinations, Kosovo with 41 destinations, Libya 41 destinations, North Korea 40 destinations, Nepal, 38 destinations, Palestinian Territory 38 destinations, Somalia 35 destinations, Yemen 34 destinations, Pakistan 32 destinations, Syria 30 destinations, Iraq 29 destinations and Afghanistan 27 destinations.
Countries offering visa-free, visa-on-arrival and e-visa access to Nigerians as of the time of this report include Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Cameroun, Cabo Verde, Chad, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Others include: Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Timor-Leste, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Haiti, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Fiji, Micronesia, Tuvalu and Vanuatu
According to the Henley Passport Index, the trio of Asian passports offer their holders greater global travel freedom than those of any other countries.
Japanese citizens enjoy visa-free or visa-on-demand access to a record 193 destinations around the world, just ahead of Singapore and South Korea whose citizens can freely visit 192.
And now that Asia-Pacific is opening up post-Covid, its citizens are more likely to be making use of that travel freedom again.
Global travel is now at around 75 percent of pre-pandemic levels, according to the Index.
Below the Asian top three, a glut of European countries sit near the top of the leaderboard. Germany and Spain are tied on 190 destinations, followed by Finland, Italy, Luxembourg on 189.
Then there’s Austria, Denmark, Netherlands and Sweden all tied in fifth place, while France, Ireland, Portugal and United Kingdom are at No. 6.
New Zealand and the United States make an appearance at No. 7, alongside Belgium, Norway, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
Afghan nationals sit at the bottom of the index once again, and can access just 27 countries without requiring a visa in advance.
The best passports to hold in 2023, according to the Henley Passport Index include Japan with 193 destinations, Singapore and South Korea with 192 destinations, Germany and Spain with 190 destinations; Finland, Italy, Luxembourg with 189 destinations;
Austria, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden with 188 destinations; France, Ireland, Portugal, United Kingdom with 187 destinations; Belgium, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, United States, Czech Republic with 186 destinations;
Australia, Canada, Greece, Malta with 185 destinations; Hungary and Poland with 184 destinations; and Lithuania, Slovakia with 183 destinations.
Business Day
