The Seychellois passport is currently ranked 28th among global passports
According to Henley Passport Index’s most recent report, based on statistics from the International Air Transport Association(IATA), global travel is currently at almost 75% higher than before the pandemic.
The index comprises 227 unique travel destinations as well as 199 unique passports. It is considered the go-to resource for global citizens and sovereign governments when determining where a passport falls on the spectrum of global mobility and it is updated quarterly.
The first of the company’s passport index, which includes 109 areas, was released this year. Japan boasts the most potent passport, granting holders visa-free travel to 193 nations, Singapore and South Korea tied for 2nd position.
Henley & Partners claim that an elaborate technique is used to derive the index. The company’s process is as follows: For each travel destination, a score with a value of 1 is established for that passport if passport holders from a country or territory are not required to obtain a visa. If passport holders are able to receive a visa on arrival, a visitor’s permit, or an electronic travel authorization (ETA) upon arrival at the location, a score with a value = 1 is also applied. Because of the special visa-waiver procedures in place, some visa kinds don’t require government permission prior to departure. When a visa is necessary or when a passport bearer must obtain an electronic visa (e-Visa) that has been approved by the government before traveling, a score of 0 is given. If passport holders require pre-departure government clearance for a visa on arrival, a situation we do not regard to be “visa-free,” a score with a value = 0 is also assigned. Under the aforementioned parameters, the total score for each passport is equal to the number of places where no visa is necessary (value = 1).
Seychelles (29th with 153 points) and Mauritius (34th with 146 points) claim to have the most potent African passports. The next nation from Africa is South Africa, which is located at position 53 surpassing its neighboring Botswana, which is ranked 63rd. However, Southern Africa is well-represented, with Namibia coming in at number 67, Lesotho at number 69, and Eswatini at number 71. Then an East African trio—Malawi (72nd), Kenya (73rd), and Tanzania—comes next (74th).
The Somali passport, which ranks 104th with 35 points, is the least envious African passport.