Rwanda Tops Africa’s Visa Openness Index Rankings Again, Highlighting Push for a More Connected Continent
Rwanda has once again emerged as Africa’s most visa-open country, retaining its leading position in the 2025 Africa Visa Openness Index (AVOI) and reinforcing its reputation as a champion of free movement across the continent. By allowing visa-free entry for citizens of all African nations, Kigali continues to send a strong political and social signal: mobility is a cornerstone of regional integration and shared prosperity.
The latest index, published by the African Development Bank (AfDB) in partnership with the African Union Commission, places Rwanda jointly at the top with The Gambia, while Kenya ranks third. Benin, which slipped to fourth place after introducing new visa requirements for nationals of five African countries, illustrates how policy shifts can quickly affect openness rankings. Together, the results underline the diverse paths African states are taking as they weigh mobility against security and administrative pressures.
Now in its tenth year, the AVOI tracks how easy it is for Africans to travel within Africa, assessing whether visitors can enter countries visa-free, obtain a visa on arrival, or must apply in advance. Beyond rankings, the index has become a barometer of political will around regional cooperation and the practical steps governments are taking to turn integration commitments into everyday realities for citizens.
The 2025 report shows that Africa’s overall visa openness score stands at 0.445, slightly lower than in the past three years and roughly in line with 2021 levels. While the past decade has seen clear progress, the data suggests that momentum has slowed in some regions, raising questions about how to reinvigorate reforms at a time when economic pressures and security concerns are growing.
Visa policies remain fluid. In 2025 alone, 20 African countries revised their visa regimes: 11 became more open, nine less so, while 34 made no changes. Encouragingly, the number of visa-free travel scenarios across the continent rose from 803 in 2024 to 814 in 2025, accounting for 28.2 per cent of all intra-African travel options. This is the highest share since the index began.
To the ordinary Africans, these shifts have tangible human impacts. Easier travel can mean a trader crossing a border to reach new markets, a student accessing education opportunities, or families maintaining ties across countries. As Joy Kategekwa, Director of Regional Integration at the AfDB Group, noted, most African mobility already happens within the continent, driven by the search for jobs, trade, and education. Simplified entry regimes, she argued, are essential for boosting intra-African trade, supporting economic growth, and allowing skills and labour to flow where they are most needed.
Yet the index also highlights persistent imbalances. Despite Rwanda’s open-door policy, Rwandan citizens themselves face more restrictions elsewhere. They can travel visa-free to 16 African countries, obtain visas on arrival in another 16; and still need to apply in advance for travel to 21 countries. This highlights that openness is not always reciprocal.
Kategekwa stressed that unlocking the full promise of visa-free mobility will require creativity, innovation, and learning from countries that have taken bold steps. Rather than retreating from openness, she said, governments need smarter border management systems that anticipate risks while facilitating movement.
Rwanda’s continued leadership is widely viewed as part of a broader political strategy aligned with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which envisions a more integrated, prosperous, and united Africa. As debates over borders, security, and sovereignty continue, the country’s example keeps the focus on a central question for the continent’s future: how to make mobility work for people, economies, and long-term unity.
