South African passport breaks into top 50 globally

Passport

Cape Town – The South African passport has seen a notable improvement in international rankings, climbing from 53rd to 48th place in the Henley Passport Index over the past year.

This progress is attributed to the Department of Home Affairs’ modernisation of its data processing systems, the Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber said on Wednesday. 

“The Henley Passport Index finds that the ranking of the SA passport increased by 10% between 2024 and 2025. As reform takes root at Home Affairs, our Green Mamba has broken into the top-50 for the first time in a decade, improving from 53rd in the world in 2024 to 48th in 2025!,” Schreiber said on X.

The Henley Passport Index ranks passports based on the number of destinations their holders can access without a visa.

Last year Schreiber said that the reforms at Home Affairs, including plans to introduce biometric ePassports and improve document security, will further enhance the passport’s strength.

He said that his department aims to digitalise operations to support economic growth, security, and efficiency through automation. The minister also said that this would boost both South Africa’s global mobility and its attractiveness to international travellers.

He also warned at the time that the department’s outdated, manual systems made it vulnerable to fraud and corruption, calling for a complete digital transformation to address these issues.

“How can South Africa regard ourselves as a serious nation when we refuse to embrace something as simple as online applications, which will never even allow a user to click ‘submit’ if the application is not complete?,” Schreiber said.

Article written by