Eight African countries allow visa-free entry to travellers from 198 locations, demonstrating a perfect level of openness

Key takeaways:

  • Eight African countries, including Burundi, Cape Verde, and Kenya, lead the way with a perfect score of 198, setting the standard for unrestricted accessibility and visa-free entry.
  • Nations with high scores will likely attract increased tourism, business opportunities, and cultural exchange, positioning themselves as hubs for international engagement.
  • Nigeria has a score of 49 out of 198, showing a relatively low openness.

Africa’s openness has reached remarkable levels, with eight countries achieving a perfect score of 198 on the Henley Openness Index. These nations have set a benchmark for accessibility by allowing entry to all nationalities without prior visas.

Source:

Henley Openness Index

Period:

2024
HTML code to embed chart
Want a bespoke report?
Reach out
Click to copy HTML embed code
Tags
Related Insights
These four countries have led African enrolment in US higher education since 2008/09 academic session
  • Ghana recorded the most striking recent growth, reaching 12,825 students in 2024/25.
  • Nigeria remained Africa’s leader with 21,847 students.
  • Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Egypt have held the top four positions since 2008/09.
  • Their combined share of African enrolment increased from 46.1% to 60.7%.
  • Africa had 73,406 students enrolled in US higher education in 2024/25.
Morocco nearly matched South Africa in Africa’s vehicle import market in 2025
  • South Africa led with $8.52 billion, only $140 million ahead of Morocco.
  • Morocco’s imports have grown steadily, while South Africa’s 2025 figure was a recovery toward its 2012 peak.
  • Egypt ranked third, followed by Algeria and Nigeria.
  • The top 10 markets accounted for 67.1% of Africa’s $56.48 billion total.
  • Road vehicle imports include vehicles, parts, motorcycles, trailers, and semi-trailers.
Nearly 89% of UK Study Visa decisions for Africans were approved, compared with 67% for visitor visas
  • The UK made 672,400 visa decisions involving African applicants in 2025.
  • Visitor visas dominated the decisions, accounting for 521,400, or about 78% of the total.
  • Study visas had the highest issue rate, with 88.5% of decisions resulting in issued visas.
  • Visitor visas had a much lower issue rate at 66.5%, despite having the largest decision volume.
  • Work visa decisions had a 71.6% issue rate, below the global work visa average of 86.5%.
  • Other visa routes had the lowest issue rate, with only 53.4% of decisions resulting in issued visas.
Nigerians have spent an estimated $193 million on U.S. visitor visa application fees since 2018
  • Estimated visitor visa fee spending reached $193 million between FY 2018 and FY 2025.
  • Applicants paid the fee whether their visas were approved or refused.
  • Estimated spending peaked at $49.8 million in FY 2018.
  • Spending recovered to $25.1 million in FY 2024 before falling to $23.2 million in FY 2025.
  • The estimates exclude transport, documents, agents, accommodation and other related costs.
The U.S. issued Africans 820 more agricultural worker visas in Fiscal Year 2025
  • U.S. nonimmigrant visa issuances to Africans fell by 23.6% to 413,259.
  • Twenty-five visa categories still recorded increases despite the overall decline.
  • C3 visas posted the largest numerical increase, rising by 949.
  • H2A agricultural worker visas increased by 820 to 15,623.
  • B1/B2 visitor visas recorded the biggest decline, falling by 109,653.
Southern Africa houses 6 of the top 10 African countries with the strongest passports
  • Seychelles has Africa’s strongest passport.
  • Mauritius is the only other African country with a passport close to Seychelles'.
  • South Africa leads the mainland pack, but still trails the island leaders by a wide margin.
  • No country outside the top three crosses a mobility score of 100.
  • Visa-required destinations still dominate for every passport in the top ten, except Seychelles and Mauritius.
POPULAR TOPICS
SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
Get periodic updates about the African startup space, access to our reports, among others.
Subscribe Here
Subscription Form
A product of Techpoint Africa. All rights reserved