(MENAFN- SomTribune)
On Friday US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that barred citizens of seven nations from accessing a US visa to enter the country, effective immediately. Among these are citizens of the African countries Libya, Sudan and Somalia.
These countries already have some of Africa's weakest passports, according to the Arton Capital's Passport Index, which ranks national passports by how easily they can visit other territories – either without a visa or with a visa on arrival. There are only 37 countries globally a Libyan passport has easy access to, while there are 36 for Sudan and 30 for Somalia (which is ranked the country with the weakest passport in Africa and fifth-weakest in the world).
Interestingly these African countries are also some of the world's least welcoming – meaning they don't allow many others in visa-free or visa-on-arrival. Somalia is one of only three countries in the world that does not offer any foreign travellers hassle-free entry. Libya only allows three countries (Jordon, Turkey and Tunisia ) easy passage, while Sudan admits 10 countries.
Africa's most powerful and weakest passports
According to the index, citizens from Seychelles hold the most powerful passport in Africa, with the ability to easily access 126 countries globally.
Mauritius has the second-strongest passport (with admittance to 118 markets), followed by South Africa (90), Botswana (69) and Lesotho (66).
Both Seychelles and Rwanda are the biggest gainers in Africa, meaning their passports have strengthened the most when compared to 2016. Each now have painless entry to two extra countries. For example, Rwandan passport holders can now access 48 territories, compared to 46 last year.
After Somalia, Ethiopia and South Sudan have the second-weakest passports – both with easy entry to only 34 countries. Africa's most populous nation and largest economy, Nigeria , also ranks poorly compared to other countries on the continent, with access to only 41 territories.
Ghana's passport is Africa's biggest loser, with admission to four less countries than it had in 2016.
COUNTRY
VISA-FREE SCORE
GLOBAL PASSPORT POWER RANK Seychelles 126 25 Mauritius 118 32 South Africa 90 48 Botswana 69 59 Lesotho 66 61 Malawi 65 62 Swaziland 64 63 Namibia 64 63 Kenya 64 63 Gambia 63 64 Cape Verde 63 64 Tanzania 62 65 Tunisia 61 66 Zambia 59 68 Zimbabwe 58 69 Ghana 57 70 Uganda 57 70 Sierra Leone 56 71 Morocco 55 72 Benin 55 72 Guinea 54 73 Côte d'Ivoire 54 73 Senegal 53 74 São Tomé e Príncipe 53 74 Burkina Faso 52 75 Mauritania 52 75 Mali 51 76 Togo 50 77 Niger 49 78 Madagascar 49 78 Mozambique 48 79 Rwanda 48 79 Chad 48 79 Gabon 48 79 Egypt 48 79 Guinea-Bissau 47 80 Algeria 47 80 Comoros 47 80 Liberia 44 83 Central African Republic 44 83 Angola 43 84 Cameroon 43 84 Congo 43 84 Equatorial Guinea 43 84 Burundi 42 85 Nigeria 41 86 Djibouti 40 87 Democratic Republic of Congo 39 88 Libya 37 90 Eritrea 36 91 Sudan 36 91 South Sudan 34 93 Ethiopia 34 93 Somalia 30 94
Africa's most welcoming and unwelcoming countries
Africa's most welcoming countries are Seychelles, Uganda , Togo, Mozambique, Mauritania, Madagascar, Comoros, and Guinea-Bissau – all allowing 98 different national passports effortless passage.
After Somalia, Equatorial Guinea (which only allows US passport holders visa-free access) and Angola (which only allows easy entry to citizens of Namibia and Cape Verde) are the second and third least-welcoming countries in Africa.
Last year the African Union introduced a single African passport, although this is still only available to a few high-profile individuals. However, the end goal is to improve access to different African countries for the average African. Only 13 of 55 African countries offer visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to all Africans, according to the Africa Visa Openness Report 2016, commissioned by the African Development Bank (AfDB). It is actually less painful for Americans to travel within Africa than it generally is for Africans. For example, Nigerian business magnate Aliko Dangote pointed out last year that it is easier for US citizens to travel to South Africa for business than it is for him – as Nigerians have to apply for a visa while Americans are granted visa-free access.
COUNTRY
GLOBAL RANK
WELCOMING COUNTRIES SCORE Comoros 1 198 Guinea-Bissau 1 198 Madagascar 1 198 Mauritania 1 198 Mozambique 1 198 Seychelles 1 198 Togo 1 198 Uganda 1 198 Cape Verde 2 197 Djibouti 4 195 Kenya 10 182 Tanzania 12 178 Mauritius 13 176 Malawi 22 146 Zambia 26 135 Gambia 28 125 Senegal 29 123 Zimbabwe 33 119 Egypt 34 116 Botswana 42 103 Swaziland 49 93 Tunisia 49 93 South Africa 62 74 Lesotho 63 72 Morocco 65 70 Burkina Faso 67 67 Rwanda 69 63 Namibia 73 54 São Tomé e Príncipe 74 53 Ghana 75 52 Ethiopia 80 41 Côte d'Ivoire 85 21 Guinea 85 21 Mali 86 20 Niger 87 19 Sierra Leone 87 19 Nigeria 88 18 Benin 89 17 Liberia 90 16 Central African Republic 91 14 Congo 91 14 Chad 92 13 Sudan 94 10 Algeria 96 8 Democratic Republic of Congo 97 7 Burundi 99 5 Cameroon 99 5 South sudan 99 5 Gabon 100 4 Eritrea 101 3 Libya 101 3 Angola 102 2 Equatorial Guinea 103 1 Somalia 104 0
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