The Nigerian passport has been ranked 98th out of 199 countries in a new report released by Henley & Partners, a London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm. 

The Nigerian passport now ranks below that of other African countries such as Malawi, Niger, Chad, Zimbabwe, Uganda and The Gambia as revealed in the quarterly passport index which is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association, which maintains the world’s largest database of travel information.

The Q1 2022 index cross-examined the passports of 199 countries with 227 travel destinations; and ranked these passports based on global access and mobility. Each passport is scored based on the number of destinations that the holder can access visa-free. This also applies if passport holders can obtain a visa on arrival, a visitor’s permit, or an electronic travel authority upon entry.

While Japan and Singapore topped the ranks with passports gaining access to 192 countries, the United States and the United Kingdom ranked seventh while Yemen, Pakistan, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan settled at the bottom five.

The Seychelles passport ranked the highest in Africa, having visa-free access to 152 countries. Botswana and Namibia ranked second and third with 86 and 78 countries, respectively.

Though Nigeria rose five places compared to the Q4 2021, Malawi (76th), Niger (90th), Chad (90th) The Gambia (75th), Uganda (76th), Zimbabwe (78th) and Sierra Leone (80th) all ranked above the West African country and Ethiopia, which tallied at 98th.