Report: Nigeria rated 90th in global passport ranking as Singapore becomes most powerful

A new report has ranked Nigeria 90th on the list of countries with the most visa-free access to other nations.

The report released by Henley and Partners on Tuesday was based on exclusive and official data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

According to the report, Nigeria ranked 90th alongside South Sudan with visa-free access to only 46 platforms.

Nigeria also ranked fifth lowest on the list of African countries with visa-free travel access, only above the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Eritrea, Sudan, and Libya — all countries experiencing extreme violence.

Seychelles is in the 24th position with access to 155 countries and was the highest-ranked African country.

Mauritius ranked 29th with access to 148 countries while South African nationals can visit 106 countries without a prior visa, holding down the 51st spot. Both countries were ranked second and third, respectively in the African continent.

Singapore topped the list, knocking off Japan for the first time in five years into third place.

Citizens of Singapore, according to the report, can visit 192 travel destinations out of 227 around the world visa-free.

Germany, Italy, and Spain all moved up into the 2nd place with visa-free access to 190 destinations, while Japanese passport holders alongside those from, Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg, South Korea, and Sweden — all in third place – have access to189 destinations without a prior visa.

Both the United Kingdom and the United States jointly held first place on the index nearly 10 years ago in 2014 but have been on a downward trajectory ever since, now holding fourth and eighth places, respectively.

Afghanistan remains at the bottom of the index, with a visa-free access score of just 27 countries, followed by Iraq with 29, and Syria with 30 — the three weakest passports in the world.