Most Of Africa Still Not Open To African Travellers

Each May 25 we celebrate Africa Day. And to reflect on where we have been, this year travel is on my mind. Travel breaks barriers, tests our prejudices and ensures knowledge transfer within and between societies. For most Africans, the first excitement that travel opportunity brings can slowly wane as one wakes up to the reality of visa regimes. As a Ugandan, there are few countries in the world I can travel to without thinking about obtaining a visa. These include countries on the African continent. Visa regimes prohibit many people across the world from accessing opportunities and farther inequalities among countries.

Africans have it the worst even within the continent. Only 10 out of 55 countries on the continent waive visas for all African visitors or grant visas on arrival. To show how skewed this system continues, American citizens can travel to at least 20 African countries without restrictions.

African Union might have announced an African Passport, but the road to hustle-free travel for Africans on the continent is still terribly exhausting, leaving many out.

The 2017 African Development Bank (AfDB) Africa Visa Openness Index shows 21 countries have loosened visa rules over the past two years, showing there is hope. For instance, Senegal now grants visa-free access to citizens of 42 African countries, up from just 16 in 2015.

Africans still need visas to travel to 54% of other African countries, can get visas on arrival in only 24% of other countries and don’t need a visa to travel to just 22% of other countries on the continent. This piece is an analysis of what is still in the way to realise a borderless Africa.