NIGERIA’S passport has improved from 95th to 89th in global rankings but its real travel access is declining.
The country’s visa-free destinations currently stand at 44.
According to the latest Henley Passport Index, Nigeria moved from 95th in January 2024 to 89th in April 2026. Despite this upward movement, Nigeria’s visa-free destinations stand at 44, down from 46 in January 2025 and 45 in January 2024.
The Henley Passport Index revealed that several countries like Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Somalia, Mauritania, and São Tomé and Príncipe have all shifted Nigerians into the “visa required” category.
Ethiopia ended visa-on-arrival for Nigerians in October 2022, requiring travellers to obtain visas before departure, Zambia now mandates visas for all West African passport holders, while Zimbabwe has also removed visa-on-arrival access.
Data from successive editions of the index show that Nigeria’s higher position is partly due to other countries falling further down the rankings, rather than a significant improvement in Nigeria’s passport strength.
Now in its 21st year, the Henley Passport Index Nigerian passport dropped 27 positions, falling from 62nd place in 2006 to 89th in 2026. It ranks 199 passports worldwide using exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association.
Although Nigeria gained access to new destinations between 2025 and 2026 including Fiji, Micronesia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Togo, Samoa, Palau, Niue and Montserrat, it ranks low among its West African peers, as Ghana ranks 67th globally with access to 67 destinations, while The Gambia ranks 66th with 68 destinations, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire also outperform Nigeria.
Across Africa, South Africa maintains the strongest passport, ranked 46th globally with access to 100 destinations, followed by Botswana, Namibia, Morocco, Kenya and Ghana. Globally, Singapore holds the most powerful passport, with visa-free access to 192 destinations, while Japan and South Korea follow closely, alongside the United Arab Emirates.
At the bottom of the ranking, Afghanistan remains the weakest passport globally, with access to just 23 destinations. Other low-ranking countries include Syria, Iraq, Pakistan and Yemen.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.