Introduction
Since 2016, the Africa Visa Openness Index has transformed national visa rules into a reliable and comparable scorecard. Created by the African Development Bank and the African Union Commission, the Index checks whether travellers from every pair of African countries can travel visa-free, obtain a visa on arrival, or must secure a visa before departure. Over ten editions, the Index has produced clear evidence of change and a sharper view of what still blocks movement across the continent.
What the Index measures and why it matters
AVOI assigns a full score of 1 when a country removes the visa requirement for citizens of another African country. It assigns 0.8 for a visa on arrival and zero when a visa must be obtained before travel, whether in a paper form or via an electronic system. That consistent method makes year-on-year comparisons meaningful. The Index matters because travel restrictions affect trade, tourism, investment, study and family ties. The AfCFTA agenda reinforced the economic case for easier movement across borders.
The decade of change in numbers
The data show clear but uneven progress. In 2016, roughly 20 per cent of intra-African travel scenarios were visa-free. By 2025, that share reached 28.2 per cent, the highest absolute number recorded. In 2025, there were 814 visa-free country pairs, up from 803 in 2024. Electronic visas expanded from fewer than ten countries in 2016 to 31 countries in 2025. These shifts mean more predictable and faster processing for many travellers.
But the full story is more complex. The number of travel scenarios that require visas ahead of travel rose from 1,348 in 2024 to 1,463 in 2025. That change pushed the visa required share to 51.1 per cent. Visa on arrival options dropped to 20.4 percent, their lowest level ever. The combined AVOI score for 2025 was 0.445, notably lower than the three previous years and almost the same as the 2021 score. In short, more visa-free corridors exist now, yet more than half of country pairs still require pre-travel authorisation.
The 2025 reality check explained
2025 is a milestone year and a reality check. Several countries shifted from visa on arrival to requiring visas before travel, either by launching eVisa portals or by tightening rules. Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Nigeria and Somalia all made moves away from broad visa-on-arrival policies to requiring authorisation ahead of departure. Two of these countries, Guinea-Bissau and Somalia, launched eVisa portals. An eVisa often improves convenience compared with a paper visa, but it remains a pre-travel requirement and thus counts as visa required in the Index.
Rwanda and The Gambia retained top ranking in 2025. Kenya moved into the top three after updating its electronic travel authorisation system to exempt citizens of 52 African countries. Benin dropped to fourth after introducing a visa requirement for citizens of five countries. During 2025, 20 countries changed visa policies in ways that affected citizens of other African states; 11 countries improved their score while nine scored lower. Thirty-four countries made no changes.
This pattern shows a substitution effect. Governments sometimes prefer the control and pre-screening that digital systems provide. But the substitution of eVisas for visas on arrival extends pre-travel formalities and reduces spontaneity. It also shifts where the administrative burden sits, often making travel more predictable for receiving countries while increasing the time and planning required from travellers.
Persistent barriers beyond visa rules
The Index also exposes several non-visa frictions. High airfares and poor intra-regional connectivity limit access even where visas are liberalised. Border procedures vary by crossing and often lack transparency. Digital portals can be unreliable. Reciprocity and security concerns continue to shape policy choices. The COVID-19 shock showed how quickly borders can close and how fragile gains are without institutional coordination.
Implementation gaps matter as much as formal rules. An eVisa system that crashes, produces unclear requirements or imposes high costs is a barrier disguised as innovation. Where implementation is weak, policy change on paper does not translate into easier movement in practice.
A practical roadmap for the next decade
The AVOI decade suggests three priorities.
First, design digital facilitation so it reduces barriers rather than substituting for visa-free travel. e-Visas and electronic travel authorisation systems should be low-cost, fast and interoperable across regional economic communities.
Second, treat regional economic communities as laboratories for harmonised permits and mutual recognition. Pilots in EAC and ECOWAS can scale successful models and lower political risk.
Third, invest in transport and border infrastructure. Better intra-African air links, streamlined border procedures and joint health and security pre-screening are necessary complements to visa reform.
These steps require coordination across ministries of interior, foreign affairs, transport and health, and targeted investment in border infrastructure and public digital services.
Conclusion
After ten editions, the Africa Visa Openness Index delivers a measured verdict. The continent is more open than in 2016. Visa-free corridors have increased, and eVisa adoption has grown rapidly. Yet the 2025 results show that digitalisation alone does not equal freedom of movement. More than half of country pairs still require visas ahead of travel, and the substitution of a visa on arrival with an eVisa has raised the number of pre-travel requirements. The Index matters because it converts policy choices into comparable facts. The question now is whether governments will pair digital facilitation with reliable implementation, regional cooperation and investment in transport so that scorecard improvements translate into everyday mobility for people and business.