The Nigerian passport has been ranked below that of other African countries such as Malawi, Niger, Chad, Zimbabwe, Uganda and The Gambia.
According to Henley & Partners, a London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm, the Nigerian passport is placed 98th out of 199 countries sampled.
The firm noted that the passport index published quarterly is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association, which maintains the world’s largest database of travel information.
The recently published Q1 2022 index cross-examined the passports of 199 countries with 227 travel destinations; and ranked these passports based on global access and mobility.
Each passport is scored based on the number of destinations that the holder can access visa-free. This also applies if passport holders can obtain a visa on arrival, a visitor’s permit, or an electronic travel authority upon entry.
Japan and Singapore topped the ranks with passports gaining access to 192 countries. The United States and the United Kingdom ranked seventh while Yemen, Pakistan, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan settled at the bottom five.
Despite emerging 28th globally, the Seychellois passport ranked the highest in Africa, having visa-free access to 152 countries. Botswana and Namibia ranked second and third with 86 and 78 countries, respectively.
Malawi (76th), Niger (90th), Chad (90th) The Gambia (75th), Uganda (76th), Zimbabwe (78th) and Sierra Leone (80th) all ranked above Nigeria and Ethiopia, which tallied at 98th. Despite Nigeria’s position on the list, it rose five places compared to the Q4 2021.
Reacting to the report, the spokesperson of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Amos Okpo, argued that visa-free mobility is largely a reflection of bilateral agreements between countries and within regional blocs.
“This (Henley & Partners) ranking is based on passport admissibility. And that is largely a function of mutual understanding, reciprocity among countries which does not necessarily reflect the true strength of a passport. A good example is the European Union and the ECOWAS,” Okpo said.
