Nigeria has been ranked 45th in Africa and 90th globally in the July 2026 Henley Passport Index, with Nigerian passport holders accessing only 44 destinations visa-free or on arrival — tying with the Democratic Republic of the Congo near the bottom of the African rankings.
Travelling on a Nigerian passport remains a significant challenge — and the latest global rankings confirm just how limited that green booklet really is.
In the July 2026 Henley Passport Index released on Tuesday, Henley & Partners ranked Nigeria 45th on the African continent and 90th worldwide, with visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to just 44 destinations. Nigeria shares its 90th place globally with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Vanguard reports that the ranking arrives months after Nigeria had climbed six places on the index between January 2024 and April 2026 — rising from 95th to 89th globally — though its visa-free access simultaneously dropped from 45 to 44 destinations.
South Africa continues to dominate the African passport landscape, ranking 49th globally and remaining the only African country offering access to more than 100 destinations — 101 in total. Botswana came second on the continent at 61st globally with access to 81 destinations, followed by Namibia at 65th globally with 74 destinations.
Globally, Singapore retained the top spot with access to 192 destinations. Japan ranked second with 188, while South Korea and the UAE shared third place with 187 each. The United States came in 10th with access to 180 destinations. At the other end of the scale, Afghanistan remained the world’s weakest passport with access to just 22 destinations, followed by Syria and Iraq.
Here is the full African passport ranking from the July 2026 Henley Index:
South Africa – 49th globally (101 destinations) Botswana – 61st (81) Namibia – 65th (74) Lesotho – 66th (73) Eswatini – 67th (71) Morocco – 67th (71) Kenya – 68th (70) Malawi – 68th (70) Rwanda – 69th (68) Tanzania – 69th (68) The Gambia – 69th (68) Ghana – 70th (67) Tunisia – 71st (66) Benin – 72nd (65) Uganda – 72nd (65) Cape Verde – 73rd (64) Zambia – 73rd (64) Sierra Leone – 74th (63) Zimbabwe – 75th (61) Mozambique – 76th (60) São Tomé and Príncipe – 77th (59) Burkina Faso – 79th (57) Togo – 79th (57) Côte d’Ivoire – 80th (56) Gabon – 80th (56) Madagascar – 80th (56) Guinea – 83rd (53) Mali – 83rd (53) Chad – 85th (51) Comoros – 85th (51) Guinea-Bissau – 85th (51) Angola – 86th (49) Egypt – 86th (49) Liberia – 86th (49) Burundi – 87th (48) Cameroon – 87th (48) Central African Republic – 87th (48) Republic of the Congo – 88th (45) Djibouti – 89th (45) Democratic Republic of the Congo – 90th (44) Nigeria – 90th (44)
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