Emerging Economies, But Weaker Passports

While Japan and the UAE stole the headlines for having the world’s strongest passport and most improved passport on the 2020 Henley Passport Index, there was also media interest in the various regional leaders throughout the world too. In the case of Africa, as reported in Forbes’ comprehensive reportage, the regional leader in 2020 was the Seychelles, which ranked 29th globally, followed by Mauritius in 32nd place. The highest-ranking non-island nation on the continent was South Africa, which ranked third in Africa but only 56th globally. The relatively low global ranking of African passports was less a result of losing visa-free access to any destinations, and more a product of lack of governmental activity in establishing new bilateral visa waivers with other nations.