UK based citizenship and residence advisory firm, Henley & Partners Citizens, have released the 2020 passport index, a report which ranks the most powerful and strongest passports in the world.
A total of 54 African countries were ranked in the new report which shows an overall decline in the value of African passports over the past 10 years.
The report, which ranks passports based on their total visa-free score and data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), blames this decline on political instability and conflict prevalent in several countries on the continent and across the world.
Henley ranks Seychelles as the country with the most powerful passport in Africa, for the third year in a row, while Mauritius and South Africa ranked 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Here is the full list of 10 most powerful passports in Africa, according to the 2020 Henley Passport Index.
List of strongest African passports
1. Seychelles
Global rank – 29
Visa-free entry into 151countries
2. Mauritius
Global rank – 32
Visa-free entry into 146 countries
3. South Africa
Global rank – 56
Visa-free entry into 100 countries
4. Botswana
Global rank – 62
Visa-free entry into 84 countries
5. Namibia
Global rank – 67
Visa-free entry into 76 countries
6. Lesotho
Global rank – 69
Visa-free entry into 74 countries
7. eSwatini
Global rank – 70
Visa-free entry into 73 countries
8. Malawi
Global rank – 71
Visa-free entry into 72 countries
9. Kenya
Global rank – 72
Visa-free entry into 71 countries
10. Tanzania and Zambia
Global ranking – 73
Visa-free entry into 70 countries
Meanwhile, Nigeria, the most populous African country and largest economy on the continent by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is ranked at 46 in Africa and with a global rank of 95, making its passport one of the weakest on the continent.
10 years ago, Nigeria was ranked as the 76th powerful passport in the world but has in 2020, dropped in rank to the 95th position, making it one of the biggest fallers in the latest report.
See full report: Henley 2020 Passport Index