Nigeria: Nigeria Drops to 90th in Latest Global Passport Ranking

What the report says

AllAfrica, carrying a Vanguard report from Lagos, says Nigeria has slipped to 90th place in the July 2026 Henley Passport Index. The ranking gives Nigerian passport holders visa-free or visa-on-arrival-style access to 44 destinations without securing a visa in advance, the same access score recorded in the previous edition.

According to the report, Henley & Partners released the latest index on Tuesday as part of the ranking’s 20th anniversary. The index compares 199 passports against 227 travel destinations, using data from the International Air Transport Association. Nigeria’s latest position is one place lower than its 89th ranking in April 2026, though its visa-free score did not change.

Within Africa, Vanguard reported that South Africa remained the continent’s highest-ranked passport at 49th globally, with access to 101 destinations. Botswana placed 61st with 81 destinations, Ghana ranked 70th with 67, Morocco was 67th with 71, and Kenya shared 68th with 70. Nigeria was listed alongside the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Turkmenistan, each on 44 destinations.

Globally, Singapore retained the top spot with access to 192 destinations, followed by Japan with 188. South Korea and the United Arab Emirates shared third place with 187, while the United States ranked 10th with 180. Afghanistan remained at the bottom with 22 destinations. The report noted that Nigeria had earlier risen from 95th in January 2024 to 89th in April 2026, despite its access score declining from 45 to 44.