Africa visa openness index report urges need for enhanced mobility to unlock continent’s economic future
The 2024 Africa Visa Openness Index (AVOI) has highlighted the urgent need for decisive action to unlock Africa’s economic potential through enhanced mobility.
On the sidelines of the 38th AU Summit, the African Union and the African Development Bank (AfDB) co-hosted a High-Level Strategic Dialogue on accelerating visa-free movement for Africa’s transformation and integration. The dialogue focused on leveraging the AU Summit to advance regional integration by showcasing successful visa-free policies and addressing implementation challenges.
The AVOI, a joint initiative of the African Development Bank and African Union, tracks progress in facilitating visa-free travel across the continent. It measures how easily African citizens can travel within the continent without visa restrictions.
The year 2024 witnessed important changes in AVOI scores across 54 countries. Seventeen countries improved their scores over the past year, building on the 15 countries that showed improvement in the previous edition. Twenty-nine countries’ scores remained unchanged, while eight countries scored lower in this edition.
According to the latest data, 28 percent of intra-African travel is now visa-free, an improvement from 20 percent in 2016. Additionally, 25 percent of African travelers can obtain a visa upon arrival, though this figure has slightly declined from 26 percent in 2023. However, 47 percent of intra-African travel still requires visas before departure, emphasizing the need for further policy reforms.
Benin, Gambia, Rwanda, and Seychelles retained the top spot on the AVOI this year. Sierra Leone and Angola showed the greatest improvements. Sierra Leone’s efforts to ease access for travelers resulted in a 62 percent increase in its visa openness score, significantly improving its rank from 22nd in 2023 to 13th in 2024.
Between 2016 and 2024, 39 countries scored higher than in 2016, reflecting overall progress toward easing travel between African countries.
The report emphasized that achieving Africa’s economic and trade goals under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) necessitates enhanced mobility. It recommended accelerating action on visa-free entry for African citizens, ratifying the AU protocol on the free movement of persons, and accepting visa-free travel for AfCFTA business.
Credit: ENA News
