Nigerian passport ranked among worst globally

The Nigerian passport has been named among the worst in the world, posing considerable hurdles for Nigerian travellers seeking international mobility.

According to VisaGuide’s most recent World Passport Index, the Nigerian passport ranks 191 out of 199 countries, ahead of North Korea (192), Iraq (193), Libya (194), Sudan (195), Pakistan (196), Afghanistan (197), Syria (198), and Somalia (199).

The ranking will raise concerns about the West African country’s recent efforts to facilitate mobility, such as e-visa programmes.

Meanwhile, the Singaporean passport ranked #1 as the strongest in the world, followed by the Italian, Spanish, French, and German passports.

According to the research, visa-free access, diplomatic relations, and security concerns all played a role in this reduction.

Other considerations include visa-free travel, electronic travel authorization, visa on arrival, electronic visa (e-visa), embassy or other government-issued visas, passport-free travel, and prohibited entrance.

Furthermore, the Henley Passport Index, which takes into account the number of countries that passport holders can enter without a visa, previously ranked the Nigerian passport as one of the lowest-performing travel documents in the world.

This persistently low position underlines Nigeria’s urgent need to solve the fundamental issues harming its passport’s global status.

The top twenty passports in the world are: Singapore, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Hungary, Austria, Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Finland, Japan, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Czech, Portugal and Poland.