Browsing: Powerful passport

• The 2024 Henley Passport Index has revealed that African passports still pull teeth in global mobility powerplay, failing to reach the top ten or at least the top fifteen of the annual index.
• In contrast, oil-rich UAE has added 106 destinations to its visa-free score over the past decade.
• Overall, the average number of destinations travelers can access visa-free has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to 111 in 2024.

The 2024 Henley Passport Index has been released, and the passport power ranking has exposed several interesting issues, including the ascent of unprecedented nations to the top.

Despite massive investments in the aviation and inter-regional ground transport infrastructure sector by African governments such as Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, and Ethiopia, African countries still struggle to make it into the top ten or at least the top fifteen of the annual index.

On the other side of the aisle, the United Arab …

• Region economic communities such as East African Community (EAC) are opening doors for citizens to expand their hands across various economic opportunities.
• The movement of people over space and time is the bloodline of the modern world’s economies.
• South Africa, Africa’s highest ranked passport, was position 54 globally with South Africans having visa-free access to 106 nations.

A recent World Economic Forum (WEF) report revealed that an American passport holder can access 43 percent of the global GDP without a visa while a United Arab Emirates (UAE) passport gives access to 70 percent of the global GDP.

In contrast, the Nigerian (top African economy) passport holder can access 20 percent of the world, equivalent to 1.5 percent of the global GDP. The measure of access is a wake-up call on assessing strategies and measures regarding the movement of people over space and time in Africa.

Since the launch of the …