South African passport ranks 55th in the world, Here’s what it means

South Africa has the third strongest passport on the African continent, after Mauritius and Seychelles.

According to the Henley Passport Index, which is the foremost authority on the authoritative ranking of all the world’s passports, South Africans can visit 105 countries out of 227 travel destinations without a visa.

In an interview with Moneyweb, the head of South, East and Central Africa at Henley & Partners, Amanda Smit, explained that Seychelles had the most powerful passport on the African continent, with visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to about 153 destinations.

“That’s out of 227 destinations worldwide, and it’s currently ranked in 28th place on the worldwide index that measures global mobility and travel freedom,” Smit said.

In second place on the African continent is Mauritius with 146 destinations, ranking at 33rd place, followed by South Africa at ranking number 55.

Henley says Japan currently holds the world’s strongest passport. Its owners can access almost all of the countries in the world, a record-breaking 193 out of 227 destinations.

The ranking is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which maintains the world’s largest and most accurate database of travel information, and is enhanced by the Henley & Partners Research Department.

Smit explained there’d been ‘very little real movement on the index’, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, due to the exceptional travel restrictions in place worldwide over the past two years.

But, South African international trouble took a hit in November 2021, after scientists identified and named Omicron – a strain of the Covid-19 virus.

The travel bans imposed by a number of western countries on South Africa prompted a widespread uproar over the way in which international governments handled the pandemic.

“South Africa has risen by only one rank in the index since 2021, when it sat at 56th place. And Seychelles has also risen by only one rank. But Mauritius has stayed firm at 33rd place on the ranking,” said Smit.

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