The Ugandan passport has been rankled the 78th in the world and 14th in Africa according to the new the Henley & Partners agency annual report released of the most powerful passports. Data from International Air Transport Association (IATA), Asian countries dominated the rankings with Japan in the first place, Singapore and South Korea tying in the second place.
The ranking is based on proprietary data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which maintains the travel information database. The Index’s scoring system was developed to give users a nuanced, practical and reliable insight into the power of their Passport.
“Each passport is scored on the total number of destinations that the holder can access visa-free. For each travel destination, if no visa is required, then a score of 1 is allocated for that passport. This also applies if passport holders can obtain a visa on arrival, a visitor’s permit, or an electronic travel authority (ETA) upon entry. Where a visa is required, or where a passport holder must apply for a government-approved electronic visa (e-visa) before departure, a score of 0 is assigned. The same applies if they need pre-departure approval for a visa on arrival,” explains Henley & Partners, a residence and citizenship advisory firm that compiles the index.
In Africa, Seychelles comes first but 29th on the globe with 53 points while Mauritius is 34th with 146 points. South Africa comes in the 53rd followed by Botswana.
The report indicates that most industrialized countries in Africa have taken good positions in having the most powerful passports.
The other African countries include; Namibia ranking 67th, Lesotho 69th, and eSwatini 71st. Then follow a trio from East Africa: Malawi (72nd), Kenya (73rd) and Tanzania (74th).
The Zambian passport is the eleventh most powerful in Africa, at 75th place, followed by Tunisia (76th), Gambia (77th), Uganda (78th) and Zimbabwe (79th).
Ghana and Morocco share 80th place, ahead of Sierra Leone in 81st position, Mozambique (82nd), Benin and Rwanda (83rd), Sao Tome and Principe (84th) and Mauritania (85th).
West African passports have more or less the same value, with Burkina Faso ranking 86th, ahead of Côte d’Ivoire , Gabon and Senegal (87th). Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Madagascar and Togo are in 88th position.
Some 21 African countries fall between 89th and 101st place (with the same number of points in most cases).
The least envious African passport is that of Somalia, which ranks 104th with 35 points. Seven points more than the least powerful passport in the world, of Afghanistan in 109th place.
