Visa-free travel has emerged as a powerful catalyst for economic mobility, empowering individuals and opening up a world of opportunities.
Based on a report done by Henley & Partners which ranks all 199 passports in the world in terms of their Henley Passport Power score, travelers from developing nations are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to global travel. The report notes that the residents of some African countries and other developing nations with significant and increasing private wealth are at a clear disadvantage when it comes to visa-free access to the global economic output.
This is despite the fact that one sure-fire way for investors and entrepreneurs to generate a continuous stream of income and stable consumption, which eventually leads to overall economic growth, is through economic mobility in the form of visa-free access to more stable and larger economies. This is indicated by the report which has shown an intricate link between passport strength and economic power.
In retrospect, the report shows that when you juxtapose countries you can travel to without needing a visa and the sum total of the gross domestic products of these countries, you get an accurate estimate of how powerful your passport is. For example, the 46 destinations Nigerians can travel to without needing a visa represent 20% of the destinations worldwide, they account for only around 2% of the global GDP. This perspective reveals that the residents of the richest nations in Africa have extremely little passport power and limited economic mobility.
However, there are African countries with a commendable level of passport power and economic mobility, and below are ten of these countries:
| Rank | Country | Visa-free score on the Henley Passport Index | % of the world’s destinations that can be accessed visa-free | National share of global GDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mauritius | 146 | 64.76% | 0.01% |
| 2. | South Africa | 106 | 47.14% | 0.45% |
| 3. | Kenya | 72 | 32.16% | 0.12% |
| 4. | Tanzania | 71 | 31.72% | 0.07% |
| 5. | Morocco | 65 | 29.07% | 0.14% |
| 6. | Ghana | 64 | 28.63% | 0.08% |
| 7. | Egypt | 53 | 23.79% | 0.43% |
| 8. | Algeria | 52 | 23.35% | 0.18% |
| 9. | Nigeria | 46 | 20.70% | 0.47% |
| 10. | Ethiopia | 46 | 20.70% | 0.12% |