The Nigerian passport has remained one of the least world’s most powerful passports, ranking fifth-worst in Africa, a new report by the Henley Passport Index shows.
This implies that Nigeria, which boasts as Africa’s largest economy, is ranked 90th on a worldwide rating that only enables holders visa-free admission to 46 of the world’s 227 destinations.
The global passport ranking for 2023 was created using data from the International Air Transport Authority, or IATA, which rates the world’s passports based on the number of destinations their holders can visit without a visa.
According to the methodology, a country’s passport is scored higher if a passport holder from a country or territory can travel to each destination without a visa.
Nigeria and South Sudan were ranked 90th, and Congo ranked 91st. Eritrea and Sudan were ranked 92nd. Libya was ranked 95th. Somalia came last, ranking 99th.
A July 2021 report by the body ranked the Nigerian passport 101 out of 199 countries, dropping six places from its 2020 position. Later that year, Nigerian passport integrity fell even lower, per Henley & Partners report.
Last May, then interior minister Rauf Aregbesola claimed that only a few countries could boast of the type of Nigerian passport, asserting it “is one of the best in the world.”
In January, the Nigerian passport ranked the 20th worst-performing travel document in the world for the third time in a row, according to the Henley Passport Index.
Nigeria has had a string of poor rankings since 2006.
