Nigeria has emerged as the country with the world’s 92nd most powerful passport, a decline from its 62nd position in 2006 but an improvement from the 97th position in 2023, according to the Henley Passport Index for 2024.

The Henley Passport Index ranks all the world’s passports based on the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. This ranking is derived from exclusive data provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The Index compares the visa-free access of 199 different passports to 227 travel destinations. If no visa is required, a score of one is given to that passport. This also applies if one can obtain a Visa On Arrival (VOA), a visitor’s permit, or an electronic travel authority (ETA) when entering the destination.

According to the latest report, Nigeria was ranked 62nd in 2006, 64th in 2007, 67th in 2008 and 2009, and 76th in 2010. Falling to an all-time low of 103rd position in 2021, Nigeria’s ranking improved in 2022, rising to 98th position, then to 97th in 2023, and finally achieving its current 2024 ranking as the 92nd most powerful travel document.

Africa also topped the list of European Union (EU) visa rejections, according to new research conducted for Henley & Partners by Professor Mehari Taddele Maru, an Adjunct Professor at the School of Transnational Governance at the European University Institute, and Johns Hopkins University in Italy. The survey compared Schengen visa rejection rates for African applicants to those from other regions.

The results showed that around 30 per cent of African Schengen visa applicants were rejected, compared to 10 per cent of applicants worldwide, despite Africa having the lowest number of visa applications per capita.

The report also found evidence that the poorer the African country of origin, the higher the rejection rate for its nationals. According to Maru’s research, published in the Henley Global Mobility Report 2024 July edition, Africa accounted for seven of the top 10 countries globally with the highest Schengen visa rejection rates in 2022. These countries were Algeria (45.8 per cent), Guinea-Bissau (45.2 per cent), Nigeria (45.1 per cent), Ghana (43.6 per cent), Senegal (41.6 per cent), Guinea (40.6 per cent), and Mali (39.9 per cent).

Nigerians faced almost three times the rejection rate of Turkish applicants (15.5 per cent) and twice that of Iranians (23.7 per cent). The report indicated that despite justifications based on apparent security or economic concerns, the European visa system clearly demonstrated a pre-determined bias against African applicants.

“While factors such as per capita income, the incidence of illegal overstays, and the low rate of return and readmission of Africans illegally present in Europe partially explain these higher rejection rates, they do not fully account for the significantly greater restrictions against African Schengen visa applicants, and for that matter, the passport strength itself,” Maru stressed.

He added, “It is highly likely that European migration policies, shaped by national identity politics, play a more significant role in these discriminatory restrictions than is officially acknowledged. Africans face a triple whammy: Lower passport power, higher visa rejection rates, and consequently, limited economic mobility. In short, the poorest individuals face the greatest difficulties when seeking to travel or move to more prosperous countries. I would argue that weak economies and discriminatory policies based on identity and culture explain the high rate of rejection for African Schengen visa applicants.”

Overall, Singapore has reclaimed its title as the world’s most powerful passport in the latest ranking, breaking away from the group of six countries that previously shared the top spot. Singapore now enjoys access to 195 travel destinations out of 227 around the world visa-free.

France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Spain dropped to joint-second place, each with visa-free access to 192 destinations. An unprecedented seven-nation cohort, each with access to 191 destinations without a prior visa — Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, South Korea, and Sweden — now sit in third place on the ranking, based on exclusive and official data from IATA.

The UK retained fourth place along with Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, and Switzerland, despite its visa-free destination score falling to 190. The US, on the other hand, continued its decade-long slide down the index, dropping to the 8th spot, with access to just 186 destinations visa-free. Former passport powerhouses, the UK and the US, jointly held first place on the index ten years ago in 2014.

Afghanistan remained firmly entrenched as the world’s weakest passport, losing access to yet another destination over the past six months, leaving its citizens with access to only 26 countries visa-free — the lowest score ever recorded in the 19-year history of the index.