- Seychelles has the most powerful passport in Africa, 25th globally in 2025
- Henley Passport Index ranks up to 199 different passports across the world every year.
- There is an improvement across different African countries, while others have slightly dropped.
A powerful passport is a mobility breakthrough, allowing travellers to visit several countries internationally, easing movement as citizens with powerful passports, while entering foreign nations often experience minimal checks and quicker processing at borders.
A powerful passport can also provide access to an array of economic opportunities, which include the ability to work, invest, and engage in business across borders without to many bureaucratic hindrances. Similarly, countries with powerful passports are often seen as stable and economically viable, thus attracting foreign direct investment.
Passport strength is also seen as a reflection of a country’s diplomatic relationship and international standing. This comes with diplomatic advantages, as countries that maintain good relations with others can easily negotiate visa agreements, thus enhancing the mobility of their citizens.
A good number of African countries have powerful passports, as seen on the Global Passport Ranking by Henley Passport Index, spanning 199 different passports and 227 travel destinations.
On a global scale, the report shows that Singapore has the most powerful passport in 2025, with visa-free accessibility to 195 countries. Japan and Finland are 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Both Japan and Finland have enabled visa-free access to nationals of 193 and 192 countries across the world, respectively.
In Africa, Seychelles’ passport ranks at the top in 2025. Seychelles is 25th globally and has enabled visa-free accessibility to nationals of 156 countries. It was among the leading African countries in the 2024 visa openness rankings by the African Visa Openness Index (AVOI). Nationals from 53 African countries require no visa to travel to the Seychelles.
Mauritius has the second most powerful visa and is 29th globally, up from 30th position in 2024. The Mauritius visa-free program is enabled for nations from 151 countries around the world.
South African passports are ranked 3rd in Africa and 48th globally, up from 53rd in 2024. South Africa does not require citizens from 106 countries to have a visa visit to the country, among them nationals from 20 African countries, according to AVOI. South Africa was ranked 29th by the African Visa Openness Index, as citizens from 33 African countries require a visa to visit the country.
