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Nigeria: Nigeria Drops to 90th in Latest Global Passport Ranking

Nigeria fell to 90th place in the July 2026 Henley Passport Index, with its visa-free score unchanged at 44 destinations. Meanwhile, Israel achieved its highest ranking ever at 18th, according to the index's 20th anniversary edition.

By Tertius News AI Desk 2 outlets · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Jul 22–23, 2026 Published Aug 14

Lead

Nigeria has slipped to 90th position in the latest Henley Passport Index, released on Tuesday by Henley & Partners. The ranking, which assesses 199 passports, shows Nigerian holders can access 44 destinations without a prior visa—the same score as in the previous edition but one place lower than its April 2026 ranking of 89th.

In contrast, Israel's passport ranked 18th globally, its highest position in the two decades since the index was launched, according to a Henley & Partners report published on Tuesday.

Coverage Comparison

The two reports examined different aspects of the same index. AllAfrica's coverage focused on Nigeria's drop, noting the unchanged visa-free score and highlighting the performance of other African nations. The Jerusalem Post emphasized Israel's ranking, linking it to the country's position on the Global Peace Index and to broader trends in global mobility.

Both outlets drew on the same underlying data from Henley & Partners, which is based on exclusive information from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Key Claims

Nigeria's ranking: Nigeria ranked 90th out of 199 passports, a one-place drop from 89th in April 2026, with a visa-free score of 44 destinations, as reported by AllAfrica.
Nigeria's peers: Nigeria shared its position with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Turkmenistan, each with visa-free access to 44 destinations, according to AllAfrica.
Africa's strongest: South Africa retained the continent's strongest passport, ranking 49th globally with visa-free access to 101 destinations, as reported by AllAfrica. Botswana followed at 61st (81 destinations), Morocco at 67th (71), Kenya shared 68th (70), and Ghana ranked 70th (67).
World's most powerful: Singapore retained the top spot, offering visa-free access to 192 destinations, according to AllAfrica. Japan ranked second (188 destinations), with South Korea and the United Arab Emirates tied for third (187).
United States: The US placed 10th with 180 destinations—a result AllAfrica described as "disappointingly."
Weakest passports: Afghanistan remained the world's weakest, with visa-free access to just 22 destinations; Syria ranked 103rd with 25 destinations, as reported by AllAfrica.
Israel's milestone: Israel's passport ranked 18th globally, its highest since the index was launched 20 years ago, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Peace vs. passport strength: The Jerusalem Post highlighted a "sharp contrast" between Israel's passport ranking and its 159th place on the Global Peace Index, making it the fifth least peaceful country in the world. Daniel Shmeylin, director of the Israeli office of Henley & Partners, said the index illustrates that "the strength of a passport is not measured solely by the level of peace in a country."
Global trends: The Henley Passport Index is marking its 20th anniversary. The company's analysis found a strong correlation between peace and passport strength, with peaceful countries like Singapore, Japan, Switzerland, and Ireland ranking highly, while conflict-affected countries such as Afghanistan, Syria, and Yemen have among the world's weakest passports. The Jerusalem Post also reported that global peace has declined for the 12th consecutive year and that 103 countries were involved in external conflicts over the past five years.

Perspectives

Henley & Partners: The firm, via its chairman Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, stated that two decades of data show passport strength reflects a country's geopolitical influence. Daniel Shmeylin added that despite geopolitical challenges, passport strength remains one of the most significant indicators of a country's standing on the global stage.

Jerusalem Post framing: The outlet's reporting emphasized the disconnect between Israel's strong passport ranking and its poor peace index position, suggesting that geopolitical influence and diplomacy—not just peace—determine mobility.

How each outlet told it

AllAfrica as of Jul 23, 2026, 10:30 AM UTC

Framing: Nigeria's ranking in the Henley Passport Index — Informative

Facts Included:

Nigeria dropped to 90th position in the Henley Passport Index
Nigeria's visa-free score remained unchanged at 44 destinations
South Africa retained the continent's strongest passport
Singapore retained the world's most powerful passport

Read the source article →

Jerusalem Post as of Jul 22, 2026, 8:45 PM UTC

Framing: Israel's passport ranking — Informative

Facts Included:

Israel's passport ranked 18th globally in the Henley Passport Index
Israel's passport ranking stands in sharp contrast to its position in the Global Peace Index
The Henley Passport Index is marking its 20th anniversary
Global peace has declined for the 12th consecutive year
103 countries were involved in external conflicts over the past five years

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimIsrael's passport ranked 18th globally in the Henley Passport Index.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Jerusalem Post as of Jul 22, 2026, 8:45 PM UTC
ClaimThe Henley Passport Index is marking its 20th anniversary.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source quoted from Jerusalem Post as of Jul 22, 2026, 8:45 PM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimGlobal peace has declined for the 12th consecutive year.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Jerusalem Post as of Jul 22, 2026, 8:45 PM UTC
Claim103 countries were involved in external conflicts over the past five years.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Jerusalem Post as of Jul 22, 2026, 8:45 PM UTC
ClaimNigeria dropped to 90th position in the Henley Passport Index.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via AllAfrica as of Jul 23, 2026, 10:30 AM UTC
ClaimNigeria's visa-free score remained unchanged at 44 destinations.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via AllAfrica as of Jul 23, 2026, 10:30 AM UTC
ClaimSouth Africa retained the continent's strongest passport.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via AllAfrica as of Jul 23, 2026, 10:30 AM UTC
ClaimSingapore retained the world's most powerful passport.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via AllAfrica as of Jul 23, 2026, 10:30 AM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

2 outlets · 2 articles consulted: AllAfrica, Jerusalem Post 8 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-14