The Nigerian passport has been ranked among some of the weakest in the world.Although Nigeria is regarded as Africa’s largest economy, the Nigerian passport suffered the worst decline in rankings on the annual Henley Passport Index.The Henley Passport Index is the original ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. The ranking is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which maintains the world’s largest and most accurate database of travel information and enhanced by continuous research by the Henley & Partners Research Department.
The index includes 199 passports and 227 travel destinations including micro-states and territories. For each travel destination, if no visa is required for passport holders, then a score of 1 is created for that passport. This also applies if passport holders can obtain a visa on arrival, a visitor’s permit, or an electronic travel authority (ETA) upon entry. These visa types require no pre-departure government approval.
Where a visa is required, or where a passport holder must obtain a government-approved electronic visa (e-Visa) before departure, a score of 0 is assigned. The same applies if they need pre-departure approval for a visa on arrival. Each passport is scored on the total number of destinations that the holder can access visa-free.
Nigeria ranked below African countries like Angola, Egypt, Cameroon and Liberia, which tied at the 93rd position alongside Burundi and Haiti, providing access to 49 countries of the world.
Some of the African countries with relatively powerful ranking include South Africa, which stood on the 56th spot with access to 100 countries; Botswana and Papua New Guinea on the 62nd position with access to 84 countries; Namibia on the 67th position with access to 76 countries; Lesotho on the 69th position with access to 74 countries. Others with relatively better ranking are Gambia, Zambia, Tanzania, Tunisia, Cape Verde and Uganda.
Further details showed that a passport from Japan opens more doors than a passport from anywhere else in the world. Details show that a Japanese passport promises uncomplicated travel to 191 other countries. In 2019, the passport promised access to 189 countries and tied with Singapore’s passport for the world’s most desirable travel document.