JUBA—South Sudan’s passport ranks 50th among 54 African countries and 170th globally after its mobility score fell from 52 in 2025 to 38 in 2026, according to ranking by Passport Reports.
The ranking, updated on October 18, measures the number of foreign destinations South Sudanese passport holders can access without obtaining a visa in advance or through simplified entry procedures, rather than the entry requirements imposed on visitors travelling to South Sudan.
Of the 198 destinations assessed by the platform, 17 allow South Sudanese citizens to travel visa-free, while another 17 offer visas on arrival or similar arrangements. Four destinations allow entry through electronic travel authorisation, while 160 require an advance visa.
The mobility score of 38 represents facilitated access to 19.2% of the destinations assessed.
The country’s global ranking also declined from 166th in 2025 to 170th in 2026. The figures reflect the index’s published results for the two years but do not, on their own, establish the specific factors behind the change.
African travel access
Within Africa, South Sudanese passport holders can travel visa-free to nine countries: Benin, Botswana, Burundi, The Gambia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda.
Another eight African countries, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Mozambique and Sierra Leone, offer visas on arrival or similar arrangements, while Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Seychelles require electronic travel authorisation.
This brings the number of African destinations offering facilitated entry to 20.
However, some destinations require additional procedures, such as arrival cards or online registration, even when a visa is not required.
Malaysia, for example, is listed as visa-free with an arrival-card procedure and a permitted stay of 30 days. Suriname is listed in the same category, with a tourist card and a 90-day stay.
Cambodia offers a visa on arrival, with an online visa alternative and a listed 30-day stay, while Nepal has an online visa alternative and a listed 150-day stay. Côte d’Ivoire requires pre-enrolment, while Seychelles requires tourist registration; both are listed with 90-day stays.
In these countries, travellers are advised to verify entry requirements with the relevant destination’s official authorities before departure, as visa conditions and documentation requirements may change, the platform says.
Rankings within international groupings
Passport Reports also ranks South Sudan 50th among African Union countries, 57th among countries where English is an official language, 17th in its OPEC+ comparison and 117th among G77 countries.
The platform separately ranks South Sudan 142nd in its welcoming-country index, which measures how easily foreign passport holders can enter the country. This is different from the global ranking of South Sudanese passports for travel abroad.
That ranking assesses inward travel access to South Sudan and is distinct from the country’s 170th-place position in the global ranking of passport access for South Sudanese citizens travelling abroad.
The report further presents a hypothetical scenario in which all 29 Schengen destinations grant visa-free entry to South Sudanese passport holders. Under that assumption, the country’s mobility score would rise from 38 to 67, and its global ranking would improve to 109th, with other entry requirements unchanged.
The scenario is a calculation, not a change in existing Schengen visa policy, the report says.
Passport Reports says its ranking is based on the number of destinations accessible visa-free, through visas on arrival or similar arrangements, and through electronic travel authorisation.
It says that where countries have equal scores, the platform uses the number of visa-free destinations and other entry categories to determine their positions.
Passport Reports is a research and publishing platform that presents passport strength and travel options for 199 countries in 34 languages.
