A global migration organisation, Global Citizen Solutions, has ranked the Nigerian passport 167th on its Global Passport Index.
A dataset released by the platform on Monday showed the Nigerian passport ranked 185th out of 197 countries and territories on the ‘Enhanced Mobility Index’, 136th on the ‘Investment Index’ and 145th on its ‘Quality of Life Index’.
“The Nigerian passport currently ranks 167th according to the Global Passport Index 2026. It provides visa-free access to 26 countries,” the report said.
“Nigeria passport holders have visa-free and visa-on-arrival access to countries such as Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Cape Verde, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Liberia, allowing almost instant travel worldwide.
“Nigeria passport holders do however require a visa to enter about 115 destinations such as the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, China, Japan, and Australia,” it added.
The international organisation said it synthesised “14 indicators across three weighted pillars – enhanced mobility, investment and quality of living” to determine the ranking.
“The 2026 edition of the Global Passport Index documents a year shaped by the consolidation of digital border-management systems, a measured Asian liberalisation of borders, and the persistence of structural mobility inequality between the Global North and Global South,” the report said.
According to the organisation, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, Germany and the Netherlands ranked first to fifth respectively, while Afghanistan, Somalia, South Sudan, Yemen and Syria occupied the bottom five positions.
The migration organisation said the Swedish passport ranked first globally, attributing its position to the visa-free access it grants to 122 countries.
The report stated, “This makes it one of the most desirable passports in the world, with very high mobility, investment, and quality of life scores. Sweden passport holders have visa-free and visa-on-arrival access to countries such as the United States, Germany, France, China, Japan, Andorra, Austria, and Belgium, allowing almost instant travel worldwide.”
The organisation noted that passports that improved in 2026 did so through deliberate diplomacy or domestic reforms, while those that declined faced growing reciprocity risks.
“The passports that gained ground in 2026 did so through deliberate diplomacy or domestic reform rather than drift, while those that slipped were exposed to the reciprocity risk that even the strongest documents now carry,” it stated.