The Nigerian Passport is the weakest in the Economic Community of West African States region, in the new rankings published by Henley Passport Index for Q2 2023.
The index also indicated that the Nigerian passport rose from its previous 100th position to 91st among the 199 countries and 227 travel destinations studied.
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The Henley Passport Index assesses the strength of world passports based on the number of destinations its holders can access without a prior visa.
The latest ranking indicates improved global access for Nigerians. However, the number of countries accessible without visas or with visa-on-arrival remained at 46.
However, the new standing might not reflect real improvement in passport strength but a consequence of other countries losing their earlier rating.
As of June 2022, travellers with Nigerian passports can only traverse 25 countries visa-free.
However, that number rises to 45 destinations when visa-on-arrival or e-visa programmes are added.
The index showed The Gambia, leading the ECOWAS, ranked 72nd, Sierra Leone at 74th, Cabo Verde at 75th, Ghana at 76th, Benin at 78th, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast at 79th, Guinea at 80th, Senegal and Togo at 81st, Niger at 82nd, Mali and Guinea Bissau at 83rd, Liberia at 87th and Nigeria at 91st.
According to the CEO of Henley & Partners, Dr Juerg Steffen, a fall or improvement in ranking results from several factors, including reciprocity, economic and sociopolitical stability and tourism.
