NAIROBI, Kenya — The Kenyan passport has seen a slight decline in its global standing, dropping two places to 69th position in this year’s Henley Passport Index. This marks a decrease from its 67th rank in the previous year, according to the latest report from the London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm, Henley & Partners.
Henley & Partners meticulously ranks 199 passports by evaluating the number of destinations their holders can access without requiring a prior visa, or where they can obtain a visa on arrival. In the current assessment, Kenya shares its 69th position with Gambia, with citizens of both nations enjoying visa-free access to 71 destinations.
Within the African continent, Kenya and Gambia collectively hold the 10th strongest passport. Seychelles maintains its lead as Africa’s most powerful passport, ranking 24th globally with access to 156 visa-free destinations, followed by Mauritius (27th globally, 149 destinations), and South Africa (48th globally, 103 destinations).
Historically, the Kenyan passport reached its lowest point in two decades in 2021, at 77th, before improving to 71st in 2022, then experiencing a two-position slip to 73rd in 2023.
Other African passports currently outranking Kenya’s include Botswana (59th globally), Namibia (63rd), Lesotho (65th), Eswatini (66th), Malawi (67th), and Morocco (67th).
Conversely, Somalia’s passport remains the weakest on the continent, granting access to only 32 destinations, followed by Eritrea (39 destinations), Sudan (41 destinations), and both South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (43 destinations).
On the global stage, the Singaporean passport stands as the strongest, offering visa-free access to a remarkable 193 destinations. Japan and South Korea share the second position with access to 190 destinations.
A group of European nations including Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Spain jointly hold the third spot, with 189 visa-free destinations. Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden rank fourth, allowing access to 188 destinations.
Greece, New Zealand, and Switzerland are tied at fifth place (187 destinations), while the United Kingdom’s passport ranks sixth (186 destinations).
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Australia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, and Poland are all ranked seventh (185 destinations), with Canada, Estonia, and the United Arab Emirates following at eighth (184 destinations). Croatia, Latvia, Slovakia, and Slovenia secure the ninth position (183 destinations).
Notably, the United States passport, which held the top position in 2014, has fallen to its lowest point in the index’s 20-year history, now tying for tenth place with Iceland and Lithuania, offering visa-free access to 182 destinations.
Henley & Partners meticulously tracks the freedom of movement for holders of 199 passports to 227 countries and territories worldwide, utilizing exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
