More and more African countries are liberalising their visa regimes according to evidence revealed in the 2020 Africa Visa Openness Index published by the African Union Commission (AUC) and African Development Bank (AfDB).
This fifth edition of the Index highlights the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which threatens to reverse Africa’s economic gains of recent years, affecting sectors from tourism through to investment. “But as travel restrictions ease and safety measures are put in place to contain the pandemic, sustaining progress and momentum on more comfortable continent-wide travel is vital,” says AUC deputy chairperson Amb Kwesi Quartey.
The Index’s findings reinforce the benefits of prioritising visa openness solutions in large and small economies, with the biggest gains accruing to business, investment, innovation and tourism, says Quartey. “Further facilitating the free movement of people, goods and services, becomes even more important with the start of trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) on January 1, 2021.”
The AfDB’s Dr Khaled Sherif pointed out that as the evolving fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic had shown, countries increasingly needed to look beyond domestic frontiers to boost their economic prospects. “Visa openness will support Africa to reposition its future growth.
“As close to half of African destinations ease travel restrictions in line with plans to manage the pandemic, travel safety and security remain foremost in policymakers’ and people’s minds as it concerns opening up of borders, and as governments update measures for permitting travel,” he said.
The 2020 Index shows that a record 54% of the continent is accessible for African visitors, who no longer need visas to travel or can get one on arrival, up by 9% since 2016. In 2020, The Gambia joins Seychelles and Benin in allowing visa-free access for all African travellers. In addition, 20 countries moved upwards in rank on the Index, while 50 countries improved or maintained their scores. The report shows a significant rise in e-Visas, offered by 24 countries in Africa.
Notwithstanding the gains made, findings show that African citizens still need visas to travel to 46% African countries. Countries in East and West Africa rank highest among the top performers.
The Africa Visa Openness Index measures the extent to which African countries are open to travellers from other African countries when it comes to visas by looking at what they ask of the citizens when they travel into their countries. The Index tracks changes in country scores over time to show which countries are making improvements that support people's freer movement across Africa.
Download the 2020 Africa Visa Openness Index and find out more at www.visaopenness.org(link is external)
