By Brian Okoth
Seychelles has maintained its spot as African country with the strongest passport, accessing 156 destinations worldwide, a new passport strength report by Henley & Partners has revealed.
That grants a Seychellois passport entry into 121 more countries than the lowest-ranked Somalia, which is allowed access into 35 nations.
Mauritius has Africa's second-strongest passport, accessing 150 destinations globally, while third-placed South Africa has a passport that accesses 106 countries.
Botswana comes in at fourth place with access to 88 destinations, followed by Namibia at fifth place with entry to 81 territories.
Tanzania rounds out top 10
Lesotho's passport, which ranks sixth in Africa, is a key to 79 destinations, while the passport-holder of seventh-placed Eswatini can enter 77 countries.
Kenya's and Malawi's passports, which jointly rank eighth in Africa, allow entry to 75 destinations each.
Tanzania rounds out Africa's 10 strongest passports, with access to 73 destinations worldwide.
Somalia has the weakest passport in Africa, gaining access to 35 countries in the world.
Nigerian passport among weakest
Libya has the second-weakest passport on the continent, with access to 39 territories.
An Eritrean passport allows a person entry to 42 destinations, while a Sudanese passport allows a holder access to 43 nations.
A South Sudanese passport is the fifth-weakest in Africa, with access to 44 countries globally.
Nigeria has the sixth-weakest passport on the continent, with a holder allowed entry to 45 territories.
IATA data
Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have passports that can allow their respective citizens access to 46 destinations each.
A Djiboutian passport is a key to 49 countries.
Burundi, Cameroon and Congo Republic have passports that tie at gaining access to 50 destinations each.
Henley & Partners says the passport ranking is "based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) – the largest, most accurate travel information database – and enhanced by Henley & Partners' research team."
Ranking of all 54 African nations
Apart from democracy, political fragility, security and reciprocity, Henley & Partners says income is a reliable predictor of passport strength.
Below is the complete ranking of African passports – based on Henley & Partners' data released on July 23, 2024:
1. Seychelles: No. 24 globally – destinations: 156
2. Mauritius: No. 28 globally – destinations: 150
3. South Africa: No. 47 globally – destinations: 106
4. Botswana: No. 56 – 88
5. Namibia: No. 61 – 81
6. Lesotho: No. 63 – 79
7. Eswatini: No. 64 – 77
8. Kenya: No. 66 – 75
9. Malawi: No. 66 – 75
10. Tanzania: No. 67 – 73
11. Morocco: No. 68 – 72
12. The Gambia: No. 69 – 71
13. Uganda: No. 70 – 70
14. Zambia: No. 70 – 70
15. Cape Verde: No. 71 – 69
16. Tunisia: No. 71 – 69
17. Ghana: No. 72 – 68
18. Sierra Leone: No. 74 – 66
19. Rwanda: No. 75 – 65
20. Zimbabwe: No. 75 – 65
21. Benin: No. 76 – 64
22. Mozambique: No. 76 – 64
23. Sao Tome and Principe: No. 77 – 63
24. Togo: No. 79 – 61
25. Burkina Faso: No. 80 – 60
26. Gabon: No. 80 – 60
27. Madagascar: No. 80 – 60
28. Côte d'Ivoire: No. 81 – 59
29. Guinea: No. 81 – 59
30. Senegal: No. 82 – 58
31. Equatorial Guinea: No. 83 – 57
32. Mauritania: No. 83 – 57
33. Niger: No. 83 – 57
34. Algeria: No. 84 – 55
35. Guinea-Bissau: No. 84 – 55
36. Mali: No. 84 – 55
37. Comoros: No. 85 – 54
38. Central African Republic: No. 86 – 53
39. Chad: No. 86 – 53
40. Egypt: No. 87 – 52
41. Angola: No. 87 – 52
42. Liberia: No. 88 – 51
43. Congo Republic: No. 89 – 50
44. Burundi: No. 89 – 50
45. Cameroon: No. 89 – 50
46. Djibouti: No. 90 – 49
47. Ethiopia: No. 91 – 46
48. DR Congo: No. 91 – 46
49. Nigeria: No. 92 – 45
50. South Sudan: No. 93 – 44
51. Sudan: No. 94 – 43
52. Eritrea: No. 95 globally – destinations: 42
53. Libya: No. 98 globally – destinations: 39
54. Somalia: No. 99 globally – destinations: 35
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