Where does the South African passport rank in the world?

The latest Henley & Partners Passport Index for 2023 list the 106 countries that South African passport holders can travel to without requiring a visa.

The index includes 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations, ranking them quarterly in terms of travel power.

Each passport was scored on the total number of destinations that the holder can access visa-free.

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South Africa placed 52nd out of 104 countries with a visa-free score of 106.

South African ranked just below Turkey (114) and just above Qatar (103).

That means there are 106 countries around the world that a South African passport holder can visit visa-free.

Meanwhile, the index found that the Singapore passport was the most powerful with a visa-free score of 192, followed by Germany, Italy and Spain in a tie for second with 190.

Afghanistan sits at the bottom of the list with a score of 27.

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The 106 countries that South African passport holders can visit visa-free per region:

Africa – 35

Americas – 18

Asia – 17

Caribbean – 16

Europe – 4

Middle East – 7

Oceania – 9

COUNTRIES SOUTH AFRICANS CAN VISIT VISA-FREE

* visa on arrival, ** electronic travel authority (ETA)

Angola

Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

Armenia *

Bahamas

Barbados

Belize

Benin

Bolivia *

Botswana

Brazil

British Virgin Islands

Burundi *

Cambodia *

Cape Verde Islands *

Cayman Islands

Chile

Comoro Islands *

Cook Islands

Costa Rica

Dominica

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

Egypt *

El Salvador

eSwatini

Ethiopia *

Falkland Islands

Fiji

Gabon

Georgia

Ghana *

Grenada

Guatemala

Guinea-Bissau *

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Hong Kong (SAR China)

Indonesia

Iran *

Ireland

Israel

Jamaica

Jordan *

Kenya

Kosovo

Kyrgyzstan *

Laos *

Lesotho

Macao (SAR China)

Madagascar *

Malawi

Malaysia

Maldives *

Marshall Islands *

Mauritania *

Mauritius

Micronesia

Montserrat

Mozambique

Namibia

Nepal *

Nicaragua

Nigeria *

Niue

Oman

Pakistan **

Palau Islands *

Palestinian Territory

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Qatar

Reunion

Russian Federation

Rwanda *

Samoa *

Senegal

Seychelles *

Sierra Leone *

Singapore

Somalia *

South Korea **

Sri Lanka **

St. Helena *

St. Kitts and Nevis

St. Lucia

St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Tajikistan *

Tanzania

Thailand

The Gambia

Timor-Leste *

Togo *

Trinidad and Tobago

Tunisia

Turks and Caicos Islands

Tuvalu *

Uganda *

Uruguay

Vanuatu

Venezuela

Zambia

Zimbabwe