Mauritian passport holders can rejoice. Not only do they have the second “strongest” passport in Africa, but also the 31st most powerful document in the world. This means that the Mauritian passport allows entry into a large number of countries without a visa.
Good news for Mauritian passport holders. The London-based company, Henley & Partners, has ranked our passport as the 31st most powerful document in the world in its Henley Passport 2022 Index. The index compares 199 passports and lists 227 destinations, ranking passports according to the number of visa-free destinations their holders can access.
Alongside Mauritius, St. Lucia passport holders also have access to 146 visa-free destinations. The Mauritian passport gained two points from 2021 but retained the same ranking as in 2020. In contrast, it was lower in 2009 (48th) and stronger in 2014 (27th).
Mauritius ranked 2nd in Africa
Mauritians already have one of the best airports on the African continent. Now we have one of the best passports. Indeed, according to the Henley & Partners index, the Mauritian passport is the second most powerful in Africa. The first most powerful passport in Africa is the Seychelles, which is 28th in the world. In third place on the continent is South Africa, which is 53rd in the world.
In the Gulf, the United Arab Emirates ranks 15th in the world (175 visa-free destinations).
Japan and Singapore are tied for first place with 192 visa-free destinations, while second place goes to Germany and South Korea (190 destinations). Italy, Finland, Spain and Luxembourg are tied for third place. Denmark, Austria, France, the Netherlands and Sweden are in fourth place.
Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan are in last place in the global ranking, with visa-free access to only 29, 28, and 26 destinations, respectively. The assessment takes into account proprietary data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Note that Henley & Partners is a global citizenship and residency consulting firm headquartered in Jersey. It has more than 25 offices around the world. It advises governments on their residence and citizenship policies.
