Nigeria's Passport Rises to 92nd Globally, 45 Destinations Now Visa-Free

Nigeria's passport has moved up two places in the 2026 Henley Passport Index, rising to 92nd from 94th in October 2025. The number of destinations Nigerian passport holders can reach without a visa in advance also rose to 45, up from 44 the previous year.

The Henley Passport Index ranks passports by the number of destinations their holders can access without securing a visa before departure. It relies on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

A Small Gain After Years of Movement

Nigeria's position has swung widely over the past two decades. The passport ranked 62nd in 2006, then slipped to 76th in 2010 and 87th in 2012. It recovered to 78th in 2013 but fell to 95th in 2015.

The country ranked 94th in 2018, 95th in 2019 and 94th in 2020. It dropped to 103rd in 2021, its weakest showing in this run, before improving to 98th in 2022, 97th in 2023 and 95th in 2024. Nigeria was 94th in 2025 and now sits at 92nd in 2026.

The latest figures amount to a two-place gain in global ranking and one extra visa-free destination compared with last year.

The 45 Destinations Nigerians Can Visit Without a Prior Visa

According to the list provided, Nigerian passport holders can access these destinations without obtaining a visa in advance: Barbados, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde Islands, Chad, Comoro Islands, Cook Islands, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Fiji, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Iran, Kenya, Kiribati, Lebanon, Liberia, Madagascar, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Micronesia, Montserrat, Mozambique, Niger, Niue, Palau Islands, Rwanda, Samoa, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, St Kitts and Nevis, The Gambia, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

The destinations span Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

What Travellers Should Check Before Booking

Entry rules differ from country to country. Some destinations offer visas on arrival or require electronic travel authorisations. Others place conditions on passport validity, supporting documents and how long a visitor may stay.

Nigerians planning international trips should confirm the latest requirements with the relevant immigration authorities before departure.

The Henley Passport Index measures travel access only. It does not determine eligibility for work visas, student visas or permanent residency in other countries.

For Nigerian businesses and travellers, the one-destination increase is modest and does not change the wider picture. Nigerian passport holders still need advance visas for most major markets, including the United Kingdom, the United States, the Schengen area, Canada and China. The cost and paperwork involved in those applications remain a barrier for traders, students and professionals seeking to move quickly.