{"id":56846,"date":"2026-01-14T17:30:46","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T17:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/rwanda-s-passport-rises-six-spots-among-world-s-top-performers\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T13:39:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T13:39:11","slug":"rwanda-s-passport-rises-six-spots-among-world-s-top-performers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/rwanda-s-passport-rises-six-spots-among-world-s-top-performers\/","title":{"rendered":"Rwanda\u2019s passport rises six spots among world\u2019s top performers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This marks the highest ranking in the country\u2019s history; the previous peak was 73rd in 2006, while the lowest position recorded was 92nd in 2015.<\/p>\n<p>The Henley Passport Index, based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), is widely regarded as the most authoritative global ranking system for passports. <\/p>\n<p>The index tracks 199 passports and 227 travel destinations, providing a unique snapshot of each country\u2019s passport power. Rankings are determined by factors such as visa-free access, visas on arrival, and the technological security features of the passport itself.<\/p>\n<p>Holders of a Rwandan passport can now travel to 67 countries without a visa. The most recent country to lift entry visa requirements for Rwandan citizens is Liberia, following an agreement signed by both nations on September 10, 2025, in Monrovia.<\/p>\n<p>Rwanda\u2019s rise in the rankings reflects its growing diplomatic reach and ongoing efforts to strengthen bilateral and multilateral ties.<\/p>\n<p>At the top of the index, Singapore retains its position as the world\u2019s most powerful passport, offering visa-free access to 192 destinations. It is closely followed by Japan and South Korea, whose citizens can travel to 188 countries without a prior visa. <\/p>\n<p>At the tail end of the Henley Passport Index, Afghanistan ranks last, providing visa-free access to only 24 destinations, followed by Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Pakistan.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-100610 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/sm_1689947364_572196-c1435.jpg\" alt=\"Rwanda\u2019s passport has climbed six places among the world\u2019s strongest, moving from 76th in 2025 to 70th in early 2026, according to the latest Henley Passport Index. \" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rwanda\u2019s passport has climbed six places among the world\u2019s strongest, moving from 76th in 2025 to 70th in early 2026, according to the latest Henley Passport Index. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000100611,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-56846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000100611,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/sm_1689947364_572196-91e8b.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/sm_1689947364_572196-91e8b.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/sm_1689947364_572196-91e8b.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/sm_1689947364_572196-91e8b.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/sm_1689947364_572196-91e8b.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/sm_1689947364_572196-91e8b.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000100611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56846"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=56846"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=56846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}