Nigeria moves up to 91st place in global passport ranking

Friday, March 21, 2025 - Nigeria has moved up one place to 91st in the latest global passport ranking out of 199 countries. 

Although the rating marks a slight improvement for Nigeria’s global image, travel access for citizens remains restricted, with the country retaining visa-free access to only 45 nations—the same as last year.

Nigeria was ranked 91st alongside Ethiopia and Myanmar, two countries battling incursions from armed groups, according to the Henley Passport Index for 2025. The Henley Passport Index is updated monthly based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Authority (IATA).

In Africa, the Nigerian passport was ranked above only a few, including those from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Sudan, Sudan, Eritrea, Libya, and Somalia, making it the seventh least desirable travel document from Africa. In 2024, it was the sixth.

The rating comes as Yusuf Tuggar, minister of foreign affairs, said the ministry had succeeded in redeeming Nigeria’s image abroad. "The next stage is to exalt and glorify Nigeria’s image," the minister said at a ministerial press briefing in Abuja, recounting how the ministry negotiated the release of wrongfully imprisoned Nigerians in unnamed countries.

Tuggar did not clarify how the ministry would achieve this goal but noted that the country was committed to applying ethical considerations in implementing its foreign policy while liaising with other nations.

In July 2023, Nigeria was ranked 90th on the global passport list but later fell to 97th, below African countries like Burundi, Cameroon, and Liberia, reflecting a significant shift in the nation’s visa policy. The passport later made a comeback in 2024, climbing to the 92nd spot.

Meanwhile, Seychelles retained its position as the most favoured African passport, improving its ranking to 22nd—two spots higher than the previous year—with access to 156 countries. Singapore remained the most powerful passport with access to 193 nations, while Afghanistan held last place with access to just 25 countries.