The Nigerian passport continues to be ranked among the ten least effective travel documents globally. It holds the position of the tenth worst globally, placed 191 out of 199 countries according to VisaGuide’s World Passport Index.
This ranking, updated in April, shows that Nigeria, often referred to as the giant of Africa, shares its position with countries including North Korea (192), Iraq (193), Libya (194), Sudan (195), Pakistan (196), Afghanistan (197), Syria (198), and Somalia (199).
The World Passport Index ranks passports using the Destination Significance Score (DSS), which considers several factors like the entry policies of various countries, GDP, Power Index, Tourism Index, and Human Development Index (HDI), among others, to evaluate the strength of each passport.
The index also highlights that the strongest passport is from Singapore, followed by Italy, Spain, France, and Germany.
The Destination Significance Score is determined by entry policies, economic indicators, and other metrics. This score is multiplied by the visa requirements for each country to produce a ranking.
The system also takes into account visa-free access, electronic travel authorizations, visas on arrival, e-visas, and other forms of travel permissions. A passport that provides visa-free access to countries with higher DSS values is considered stronger.
This method leads to a detailed and nuanced ranking of global passports, assigning a unique value to each based on its visa-free access capabilities.
Earlier in January, the Henley Passport Index also listed the Nigerian passport among the ten least powerful, using data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The main criteria were the number of countries that could be entered without a visa.
In this ranking, Nigeria was positioned close to countries struggling with security issues like Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Afghanistan. Nigeria and countries like Iran, Lebanon, and Sudan were tied at 95th place, with passport holders able to enter only 45 countries without a visa.
Compared to other African nations, Nigeria’s passport ranked significantly lower. For instance, South Africa’s passport, ranked 53rd, allows entry into 108 countries without a visa. Other African countries like Ghana, Benin Republic, Togo, and Nigér Republic also ranked higher than Nigeria.
In previous years, Nigeria has consistently ranked low, and last year, it was 180th out of 199 nations, reflecting the diminishing international regard for the Nigerian passport.
Read Also:Blue Economy: AU, Nigeria Strategize