Summary: In a Facebook post, social media blog “Trends Liberia” claimed that Liberia has been ranked as the 72nd country with the strongest passport in the World. We have checked this claim and found it incorrect.
On August 22, Trends Liberia a social media blog posted that the Global Passport Index 2024 has ranked Liberia as the 72nd Country with the strongest passport in the world.
The blog was making a case about the importance of obtaining the Liberian passport.
The Claim
Trends Liberia posted: “As of 2024, the Liberian passport is ranked at number 72 from the previous 147 spots by the globe passport index.”
Rating Justification
To fact-check if the Liberian passport is ranked as the 72nd strongest passport in the World, we checked the Global Passport Index. This site sorts and ranks passports of countries. Liberia’s passport is power ranked 88th and not 72nd as claimed by Trends Liberia.
This index is one of the most reputable in the world which ranks passport based on a defined methodology.
At global power rank 88th, Liberia is ranked along with Lebanon and Burundi. The statistics show that a Liberian passport has 27 visa-free destinations, 31 visa-on-arrival destinations, and 140 visa-required destinations.
We also checked the Henley Passport index – the original, authoritative ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.
The index is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) – the largest, most accurate global travel information database.
On this platform, Liberia is ranked 88th in the world.
Screenshots of the Global Passport Index and Henley passport index ranked Liberia’s passport at 88th and not 72nd as claimed
To further fact-check the claim, we also viewed other credible sources that also rank the country’s passports. The Guide Passport Index, a comprehensive online platform that provides information about passport ranking and visa requirements, ranks Liberia’s passport at 92nd with 48 visa-free destinations.
According to the website, passport index is a tool that ranks global passports based on specific methodology and criteria for measuring the strength of each passport and the extent of global mobility it provides to its holders. The global mobility of each passport is determined by the total number of destinations that allow visa-free entry, visa-on-arrival, or electronic travel authorization (eTA) for individuals carrying the respective passport.
Conclusion
Based on the evidence, we conclude that the claim made by Trends Liberia that the Global Passport Index 2024 has ranked Liberia’s passport as the 72nd strongest passport in the World is incorrect.
While the Liberian passport is important, the 2024 Global Passport Index and the Henley Passport Index rank Liberia 88th in the world and not 72nd.
This report is produced with funding from the USAID Media Activity. The funder has No say in the editorial decisions leading to the production of this content
