Beyond the advantages of telecommunication and technology in general, one of the realities of the world being a “global village” is that state boundaries are reduced to the minimum, and citizens of different countries are able to move from one “village” to another with fewer hassles. One main factor in achieving that is the strength of one’s national passport.

Thus, the establishment of the Henley Passport Index (HPI). The index is a global ranking of countries according to the travel freedom enjoyed by holders of that country’s ordinary – as opposed to diplomatic – passports. Simply put, the passport index considers what travel benefits accrue to the holder of a particular passport.

The Index compares the visa-free access of 199 different passports to 227 travel destinations. If no visa is required, then a score with a value = 1 is created for that passport. The same applies if you can obtain a visa on arrival, a visitor’s permit, or an electronic travel authority (ETA) when entering the destination.

The Henley Passport Index (HPI) for the year 2022 has been released and African countries have not fared too well.

Japan and Singapore are joint top at number one with 194 Visa-free scores. What that means is that holder of Japanese and Singaporean passports can access 194 countries across the world. Germany and South Korea and joint second with 190 Visa-free scores while Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, and Spain occupy the third position with 189 Visa-free scores.

In Africa, South Africa passport is the strongest in Africa, occupying the 53^rd position and 104 Visa-free scores. Botswana is second in Africa with 86 Visa-free scores while Namibia is third in Africa with 78 Visa-free scores.

Lesotho is next with 77 Visa-free scores; Malawi is next with 73 Visa-free scores. Kenya and Tanzania are joint 72 globally with 72 Visa-free scores.

Meanwhile, Nigeria, one of Africa’s biggest economies occupies 40th position in Africa and joint 99 globally with Ethiopia with 45 Visa-free scores just one position above war-ridden South Sudan in 100 on the global index.