Kenya ranks 2nd most welcoming country globally, passport report reveals

Kenya has been ranked the second most welcoming country in the world, according to a new global passport report.

The rankings released by Passport Reports, a firm that compiles passport data for 199 countries in 34 languages.

The report is based on how easily foreign travellers can enter the country, places Kenya just behind the top spot globally, even as the Kenyan passport itself tells a very different story on the world stage.

Globally, the Kenyan passport ranks 120th out of 199 countries, with a Mobility Score of 75 and worldwide access of just 37.9%, meaning Kenyan passport holders can only travel freely, or with minimal restrictions, to a little over a third of the destinations covered in the report.

Here's how that score breaks down. Kenyan passport holders can travel to 37 destinations visa-free.

Another 33 destinations are accessible through visa on arrival or similar facilitated entry. Five more are reachable via electronic travel authorisation (eTA).

That leaves 123 destinations, or 62.1% of all countries in the report, requiring a visa.

The welcoming ranking measures things differently. It looks at how easy it is for foreign passport holders to enter Kenya, not how easy it is for Kenyans to travel out.

And on that front, Kenya performs impressively.

According to the report, 123 countries allow their citizens to enter Kenya visa-free, through eTA, or on arrival, even though Kenyan passport holders need a visa to enter those same countries.

Notably, the report found zero countries where the reverse is true, meaning there's no country that requires a visa from Kenya while allowing Kenyans in freely.

Within Africa, Kenyan passport holders can access 71.7% of destinations covered in the regional table.

That includes 19 visa-free countries, 16 offering visa on arrival or facilitated entry, and three offering eTA. Only 15 African destinations require a visa.

Kenya ranks 10th among the 54 African countries compared, and also 10th among African Union member states.

Regionally, the Caribbean offers Kenyan passport holders the widest access at 81.3%. Africa follows closely behind at 71.7%, while Oceania comes in at 57.1%.

North America offers Kenyans access to just over half of its destinations, at 52.2%.

Access drops significantly beyond that, with Asia at 28.0% and South America at only 16.7%.

The Middle East offers even less access, at just 5.9%, while Europe sits near the bottom at 2.1%.

Kenyan passport holders currently have no visa-free, eTA or on-arrival access to the Gulf Countries or Central Asia, both of which record 0.0%, with every single destination in those regions requiring a Kenyan visa.

Some destinations offer particularly generous stays for Kenyan travellers.

Ethiopia tops the list with a 360-day visa-free stay. Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica and Rwanda all offer 180 days.

Fiji and Vanuatu allow 120 days, while several African and Caribbean destinations offer 90-day stays.

Among facilitated-entry destinations, Nepal stands out with 150 days and eVisa availability.

Other countries offering eVisa options include India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Russia, and Vietnam.

The report also placed Kenya in several other comparison groups.

Kenya ranks 1st among four countries grouped under Swahili as an official language. It ranks 43rd among 60 English-speaking countries, 40th among 56 Commonwealth countries, 67th among 132 G77 countries, and 111th among 159 World Trade Organization members.

Passport Reports ranks passports primarily by Mobility Score, the total number of destinations accessible visa-free, via visa on arrival, or through eTA.

When scores tie, the ranking breaks first by visa-free destination count, followed by eTA destinations, and then visa-on-arrival destinations.