Nigeria has been ranked one of 21 most welcoming countries in the world by the Passport Index website.
The countries received a score of 198 — meaning they allow visitors from nearly 200 countries to visit without requiring a visa or they issue a visa upon arrival.
The top 21 include Angola, Bolivia, Burundi, Cambodia, Comoros, Cote D’Ivoire, Djibouti, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Malawi, the Maldives, Micronesia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Timor-Leste, and Tuvalu.
The website defined “welcoming” as the countries having fewest border restrictions or visa requirements for travelers and therefore receiving visitors from the greatest number of countries visa-free or by simply issuing a visa upon arrival.
According to Passport Index, Barbados is the most welcoming Caribbean destination. It allows entrance to visitors from 179 countries without requiring a visa or issuing a visa upon arrival. Cuba ranks next on the list, welcoming visitors from 177 countries based on the same measure.
Some of the other top-scoring destinations include Ecuador, which received a welcome score of 164 (which again means the country admits visitors from 164 different countries without a visa or issues a visa upon arrival for such visitors). Nicaragua and Singapore tie next, with a score of 162. India follows close behind with a score of 161.
Additional notable rankings include Hong Kong, which admits visitors from 147 countries without visas or issues visas on arrival. Saint Lucia earned 143 in the ranking, while the popular destination of Jordan came in at 141.
Other notable destinations that fall farther down the list are Jamaica with a score of 121, meaning it allows visitors from that many countries without a visa or issues visas upon arrival, followed by a tie at 120 between Saint Kitts and Nevis; Bahamas, and Panama.
Notably absent from the best-ranked countries are the United States and Europe, both of which have stricter visa policies. The United States in particular is known for excessive visa wait times.
The United Kingdom earned a score of 95. And a slew of other well-known destinations tied at 92 including Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, Greece, the Czech Republic, Poland, Portugal, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Netherlands, Spain, Luxembourg, Finland, Germany, Slovakia, Iceland, Estonia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Sweden, Cyprus and Slovenia.
Canada scored a mere 54, followed by Australia at 46, and the United States of America at 45.
