Morocco Climbs 5 Spots in African Visa Openness Index, Showing 17% Improvement

Morocco obtained a total score of 0.132 in 2021 and is positioned in 41st place out of 54 African countries, according to the 2021 report of the African Visa Openness Index, published by the African Union Commission and the African Development Bank (AfDB). The kingdom has improved its visa score by 17% compared to the previous year, thus gaining five places on the AVOI, allowing it to regain its ranking in the 2016 and 2017 classifications. In 2021, 13% of citizens of African countries were able to enter Morocco without obtaining a travel visa, the report states. This rate was 11% in 2019 and 2020, and 17% in 2018.

At the North African level, the kingdom occupies second place in terms of visa openness to Africans, followed by Tunisia (25th), Algeria (43rd) and Egypt (45th). With a total score of 0.830, Mauritania tops the ranking of the Maghreb Union, followed by Tunisia (0.415 point), Morocco (0.132) and Algeria (0.113). Benin, the Seychelles and Gambia top the 2021 ranking. They are followed by Senegal (2nd), Ghana (3rd), Rwanda (4th), Nigeria (5th), Uganda (6th), Guinea-Bissau (7th) and Cape Verde (8th).

The African Visa Openness Index measures the flexibility of African countries in terms of visas by examining the documents required from citizens of other African countries wishing to enter the territory of a State. It aims to identify at a glance the countries that facilitate the movement of nationals of other countries and the measures taken to this effect: visa exemption, visa on arrival or need to obtain a visa before departure.