According to the World Passport Index by VisaGuide, the Nigerian passport has been ranked 191 out of 199 countries, making it the 10th least powerful passport globally.
This places it just above passports from countries like North Korea, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, and Somalia.
The index uses a system called the Destination Significance Score (DSS) to assess and rank passports.
This score takes into account various factors such as the passport’s visa-free travel options, electronic travel authorizations, visa on arrival, electronic visas (e-visas), embassy or government-approved visas, passport-free travel, and banned entry.
The ranking also considers factors like the GDP, Power Index, Tourism Index, and Human Development Index (HDI) of each country.
Each destination is assigned a unique DSS value based on its entry policy and other factors mentioned above.
The index highlighted that being able to travel visa-free to a destination with a higher DSS gives a passport a higher value than having visa-free access to a country with a lower DSS.
This results in a more accurate ranking for each passport.
In the latest index, the Singaporean passport emerged as the strongest in the world, followed by the Italian passport. The Spanish, French, and German passports rounded up the top five positions.
After calculating all factors, each passport was assigned a unique value, ensuring that no two countries have the same number of visa-free destinations.