According to TravelStart, The Nigerian passport is ranked 57th in the world out of 199 indexed passports. This is according to Passport Index – the interactive tool recently unveiled by Arton Capital, a financial advisory firm which specialises in procuring multiple citizenships for its clients.
Can you believe it?
In West Africa, Guinea has a leg up on the rest of the sub-region. The second most useful passport in the region belongs to Togo whose bearers can travel to a total of 67 countries without having to apply for a visa. Citizens of Sao Tome & Principles are less fortunate with visa-free access to just 28 countries.
The Passport Index filters passports by country, by region, by colour (of the passport cover), and by passport power rank – the ranking system allocates 1 point for each country the passport holder can enter without applying for a visa before departure.
The United Kingdom and United States share the highest passport power rank in the index with access to 147 countries, while Palestinian Territories, Myanmar among others have the lowest with visa free access to just 28 countries. Nigeria holds the same rank on the passport ranking as with Tunisia, Zambia, Mali, Namibia, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Tanzania and Bahrain.
Below is a table showing the 17 passports from the West African region, according to Passport Index.
Country | Passport Power Rank | No. of Visa Free Countries |
---|---|---|
Guinea | 42 | 80 |
Togo | 50 | 67 |
Liberia | 52 | 65 |
Burkina-Faso | 53 | 64 |
Mauritania | 53 | 64 |
Cape Verde | 56 | 61 |
Ivory Coast | 56 | 61 |
Senegal | 57 | 60 |
Nigeria | 57 | 61 |
Mali | 57 | 61 |
Benin | 60 | 58 |
Ghana | 66 | 52 |
Gambia | 66 | 52 |
Niger | 66 | 52 |
Sierra Leone | 69 | 49 |
Somalia | 78 | 39 |
Sao Tome & Principle | 80 | 28 |