Botswana’s passport has dropped two places in the latest Henley Passport Index for 2025, moving from 59th in 2024 to 57th globally this year. Despite the decline, Botswana remains a strong performer in Africa, securing the 4th position on the continent.

The Henley Passport Index, which ranks countries based on the number of destinations their citizens can access without a visa or with a visa-on-arrival, revealed that Batswana now have access to 88 countries worldwide.

Botswana’s regional ranking places it behind African leaders Seychelles, Mauritius, and South Africa, whose passports grant access to more destinations.

The drop in Botswana’s position reflects increased competition globally as other nations strengthen their diplomatic and visa agreements. The Index serves as a benchmark for the freedom of travel, highlighting disparities in mobility between countries.

As Botswana works to enhance its international partnerships, policymakers may view the rankings as a signal to revisit foreign relations and visa agreements to expand travel options for citizens.

For now, the Botswana passport remains a valuable tool for regional and global mobility, especially among Southern African nations.

In exclusive new research conducted for Henley & Partners and published in the Henley Global Mobility Report 2025 Q1, Prof. Mehari Taddele Maru of the School of Transnational Governance and the Migration Policy Centre at the European University Institute and of Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, compared Schengen visa rejection rates for African applicants to those from other regions. “My latest research compares the 10 countries facing the highest Schengen visa rejection rates and reveals that while globally only one in six applications is rejected, one in two African applicants is rejected. In 2023, African countries accounted for just 2.8% of global applications out of a total of over 10 million worldwide, yet half of their applications were rejected. Even more concerning is that this trend has worsened over the past decade, with rejection rates more than doubling during this period.”

The research shows that among the top 10 countries facing the highest Schengen visa rejection rates, six are in Africa. Comoros fares the worst with a 61.3% rejection rate, followed by Guinea-Bissau at 51%, Ghana at 47.5%, Mali at 46.1%, Sudan at 42.3%, and Senegal at 41.2%. Three Asian countries and a European country complete the most-rejected list: Pakistan with 49.6%, Syria with 46%, and Bangladesh with 43.3%. The contrast becomes particularly stark when comparing Africa with Asia and global rates. Despite African countries submitting only half as many applications as Asian countries, African applicants were twice as likely to be rejected.