{"id":390540,"date":"2018-01-11T07:44:50","date_gmt":"2018-01-11T07:44:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=390540"},"modified":"2018-01-11T07:44:50","modified_gmt":"2018-01-11T07:44:50","slug":"ranking-worlds-passports-shows-africans-still-cant-travel-easily","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2018\/01\/ranking-worlds-passports-shows-africans-still-cant-travel-easily\/","title":{"rendered":"The ranking of the world\u2019s passports shows Africans still can\u2019t travel easily"},"content":{"rendered":"

It may be\u00a0getting easier\u00a0for Africans to travel within the continent, but African passports still can\u2019t travel far.<\/p>\n

The annual\u00a0Henley Passport Index\u00a0released on Jan. 9 showed an overall decline in the strength of African passports compared to other continents. The strongest African passport belongs to the Seychelles, with Mauritius and South Africa ranked second and third,\u00a0remaining unchanged\u00a0from the previous year.<\/p>\n

In the 13 years that Henley & Partners have tracked the world\u2019s passports (using data from the\u00a0International Air Transport Association and its own research\u00a0as a residence and citizenship consultancy), African countries have suffered the biggest decline as a bloc, accounting for 19 of the 27 biggest fallers in the past decade.<\/p>\n

Seychelles and Mauritius were the only two countries to improve their standing over the decade. Seychelles climbed 17 places, and Mauritius 16 places. The islands\u2019 improvement is largely due to being the only African countries who have a visa-waiver agreement with the Schengen area, according to Henley.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/th>\nAfrica Ranking<\/th>\nGlobal Ranking<\/th>\nNo. of Accessible Countries<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Seychelles<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n26<\/td>\n141<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mauritius<\/td>\n2<\/td>\n32<\/td>\n134<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
South Africa<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n54<\/td>\n100<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Botswana<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n62<\/td>\n77<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Namibia<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n64<\/td>\n74<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

The Seychellois passport\u2019s strength may also be attributed to the island nation\u2019s own openness as a\u00a0visa-free country, with no requirements for any traveller wishing to visit. Similarly, Mauritius\u00a0does not require a visa\u00a0from a majority of the world\u2019s travelers, and only requires 16 countries\u2019 citizens to apply for a visa before travel.<\/p>\n

The Seychelles, Mauritius and South Africa retain their top spots on other passport indexes too.\u00a0Passport Index, which ranks visa free scores and passport power\u00a0in real-time, has the same top four African countries, but ranks Lesotho and Swaziland in fifth and sixth place ahead of Malawi and then Namibia.<\/p>\n

The rankings indicate just how hard it still is for African travellers. Apart from the bottom ranked countries, most Africans can travel to fewer than 100 countries without a visa. For example, Nigerians may only travel to 46 countries without a visa, while Moroccans are slightly better off at 61 countries. Nigeria is the biggest faller over the last decade, losing 22 spots, followed by Sierra Leone and Libya, which dropped 20 and 18 places respectively.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/th>\nAfrica Ranking<\/th>\nGlobal Ranking<\/th>\nNo. of Accessible Countries<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Sudan<\/td>\n29<\/td>\n95<\/td>\n40<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ethiopia & South Sudan<\/td>\n30<\/td>\n96<\/td>\n39<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Eritrea<\/td>\n31<\/td>\n98<\/td>\n37<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Libya<\/td>\n32<\/td>\n99<\/td>\n36<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Somalia<\/td>\n33<\/td>\n101<\/td>\n32<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Perhaps it is a consolation then that an increasing number of African states are dropping visa requirements for other countries. In the last two years,\u00a0Benin,\u00a0Ghana\u00a0and\u00a0Kenya\u00a0dropped visa requirements for African travellers, while Rwanda became\u00a0a visa-free country.<\/p>\n

The African Development Bank found in 2016 that African countries are\u00a0loosening their restrictions\u00a0to encourage regional travel and trade. The\u00a0ideal for some\u00a0is the African Union\u2019s\u00a0continent-wide passport, but the continent is taking a collective step in the right direction even as international travel becomes narrower.<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

Source: Quartz<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It may be\u00a0getting easier\u00a0for Africans to travel within the continent, but African passports still can\u2019t travel far. The annual\u00a0Henley Passport Index\u00a0released on Jan. 9 showed an overall decline in the strength of African passports compared to other continents. The strongest African passport belongs to the Seychelles, with Mauritius and South Africa ranked second and third,\u00a0remaining […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":231896,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[16040,4642,7943],"yoast_head":"\nThe ranking of the world\u2019s passports shows Africans still can\u2019t travel easily - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. 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