NIGERIA FALLS FURTHER TO 90TH IN GLOBAL PASSPORT STRENGTH RANKINGS

Hits: 69 4 minutes read

Nigeria has slipped to 90th position on the latest Henley Passport Index, with holders of the Nigerian passport able to access 44 destinations without obtaining a visa in advance.

The July 2026 global ranking, released by Henley & Partners on Tuesday, ranked the Nigerian passport 90th out of 199 passports assessed worldwide, with a visa-free score of 44.

The new ranking marks a one-place drop from the 89th position Nigeria occupied in the April 2026 edition of the index, while the country’s visa-free score remained unchanged at 44 destinations.

In a statement on its website on Tuesday, Henley & Partners said the index, released on the occasion of its 20th anniversary, ranks passports based on the number of destinations their holders can access without obtaining a prior visa.

It added that the ranking covers 199 passports and 227 travel destinations using data from the International Air Transport Association.

Among African countries, South Africa retained the continent’s strongest passport, ranking 49th globally with visa-free access to 101 destinations.

Botswana followed in 61st place with access to 81 destinations, while Ghana ranked 70th with a visa-free score of 67. Morocco placed 67th with 71 destinations, while Kenya shared the 68th position with 70 destinations.

Nigeria ranked alongside the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Turkmenistan, each with visa-free access to 44 destinations.

Globally, Singapore retained the world’s most powerful passport, offering visa-free access to 192 destinations.

Japan ranked second with access to 188 destinations, while South Korea and the United Arab Emirates shared third place with 187 destinations.

The United States of America sits disappointingly at 10th position with 180 destinations.

At the bottom of the ranking, Afghanistan remained the world’s weakest passport, with visa-free access to just 22 destinations.

Syria ranked 103rd with access to 25 destinations, while Iraq placed 102nd with 28 destinations.

The latest ranking comes months after Nigeria climbed six places on the Henley Passport Index between January 2024 and April 2026, rising from 95th to 89th despite its visa-free access falling from 45 to 44 destinations.

According to Henley’s April 2026 report, Nigeria lost visa-free access to countries including Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mauritania, São Tomé and Príncipe and Somalia over recent years, although it gained access to several Pacific island destinations.

FULL LIST: 2026 Henley Passport Index rankings

Rank	Country/Passport	Visa-free score
1	Singapore	192
2	Japan	188
3	South Korea	187
3	United Arab Emirates	187
3	Sweden	187
4	Belgium	186
4	Denmark	186
4	Finland	186
4	France	186
4	Germany	186
4	Ireland	186
4	Italy	186
4	Luxembourg	186
4	Netherlands	186
4	Norway	186
4	Spain	186
5	Austria	185
5	Greece	185
5	Malta	185
5	Portugal	185
5	Switzerland	185
6	Hungary	184
6	Poland	184
6	United Kingdom	184
7	Australia	183
7	Canada	183
7	Czechia	183
7	Latvia	183
7	Malaysia	183
7	New Zealand	183
7	Slovakia	183
7	Slovenia	183
8	Croatia	182
8	Estonia	182
9	Liechtenstein	181
9	Lithuania	181
10	Iceland	180
10	United States	180
11	Bulgaria	178
11	Romania	178
12	Monaco	177
13	Cyprus	175
14	Chile	174
14	Hong Kong (SAR China)	174
15	Andorra	170
16	Argentina	169
16	Brazil	169
17	San Marino	167
18	Israel	166
19	Barbados	163
19	Brunei	163
20	The Bahamas	158
21	St. Kitts and Nevis	157
21	St. Vincent and the Grenadines	157
22	Mexico	156
22	Uruguay	156
23	Seychelles	155
24	Antigua and Barbuda	154
25	Vatican City	152
26	Costa Rica	148
26	Grenada	148
26	Mauritius	148
27	Panama	147
28	Paraguay	145
29	Dominica	144
29	Trinidad and Tobago	144
30	St. Lucia	143
31	Macao (SAR China)	142
31	Ukraine	142
32	Peru	141
33	Serbia	135
34	Taiwan (Chinese Taipei)	134
35	Solomon Islands	133
36	Guatemala	132
37	El Salvador	131
38	Colombia	130
39	Honduras	129
40	Marshall Islands	128
40	Samoa	128
41	Montenegro	127
41	North Macedonia	127
41	Tonga	127
42	Nicaragua	124
42	Tuvalu	124
43	Albania	122
43	Bosnia and Herzegovina	122
44	Georgia	121
44	Kiribati	121
44	Micronesia	121
45	Moldova	120
45	Palau Islands	120
46	Venezuela	116
47	Russian Federation	114
48	Qatar	112
48	Türkiye	112
49	South Africa	101
50	Belize	100
51	Kuwait	97
52	Maldives	93
52	Timor-Leste	93
53	Ecuador	92
54	Saudi Arabia	91
55	Bahrain	88
55	Guyana	88
56	Fiji	87
57	Vanuatu	86
58	Oman	85
59	Jamaica	84
59	Nauru	84
59	Papua New Guinea	84
60	China	83
60	Kosovo	83
61	Botswana	81
62	Belarus	78
63	Bolivia	77
63	Kazakhstan	77
63	Thailand	77
64	Suriname	75
65	Namibia	74
66	Lesotho	73
67	Morocco	71
67	Eswatini	71
68	Dominican Republic	70
68	Indonesia	70
68	Kenya	70
68	Malawi	70
69	Rwanda	68
69	Tanzania	68
69	The Gambia	68
70	Azerbaijan	67
70	Ghana	67
71	Tunisia	66
72	Benin	65
72	Philippines	65
72	Uganda	65
73	Armenia	64
73	Cape Verde Islands	64
73	Mongolia	64
73	Zambia	64
74	Sierra Leone	63
75	Zimbabwe	61
76	Mozambique	60
77	Kyrgyzstan	59
77	São Tomé and Príncipe	59
78	Uzbekistan	58
79	Burkina Faso	57
79	Cuba	57
79	Togo	57
80	Côte d’Ivoire	56
80	Gabon	56
80	Madagascar	56
80	Senegal	56
81	Algeria	55
81	India	55
81	Mauritania	55
82	Equatorial Guinea	54
82	Niger	54
83	Guinea	53
83	Mali	53
84	Tajikistan	52
85	Chad	51
85	Comoro Islands	51
85	Guinea-Bissau	51
86	Angola	49
86	Egypt	49
86	Jordan	49
86	Liberia	49
87	Burundi	48
87	Cameroon	48
87	Central African Republic	48
87	Haiti	48
87	Vietnam	48
88	Bhutan	47
88	Cambodia	47
88	Republic of the Congo	47
89	Djibouti	45
89	Laos	45
90	Democratic Republic of the Congo	44
90	Nigeria	44
90	Turkmenistan	44
91	Myanmar	43
92	Ethiopia	42
93	Lebanon	41
93	South Sudan	41
93	Sudan	41
94	Libya	39
94	Sri Lanka	39
95	Eritrea	38
96	Iran	37
96	Palestinian Territory	37
97	Bangladesh	35
97	North Korea	35
98	Nepal	34
99	Somalia	32
100	Yemen	30
101	Pakistan	29
102	Iraq	28
103	Syria	25
104	Afghanistan	22