Nigeria moves up one spot in global passport ranking

Nigeria’s passport lands in 91st place on the 2025 Henley Index, sharing the spot with Ethiopia and Myanmar Both countries are dealing with attacks from armed groups.

The Henley Passport Index is updated every month using data from the International Air Transport Authority.

In Africa, Nigeria’s passport ranked higher than only a few countries: the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Sudan, Eritrea, Libya and Somalia.

This means Nigeria has the seventh least powerful passport in Africa. In 2024, it was the sixth.

The ranking came as the foreign affairs minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said the government had improved the country’s image abroad.

Tuggar stated this on Thursday during a press briefing in Abuja.

“The next stage is to exalt and glorify Nigeria’s image,” he said, adding that the ministry helped secure the release of Nigerians wrongly jailed in some countries.

He did not explain how the government would achieve this goal but said Nigeria was working with other nations while following ethical guidelines in its foreign policy.

Singapore remained the world’s most powerful passport, giving access to 193 countries.

Afghanistan stayed at the bottom, with access to only 25 nations.