The Nigerian passport can enter 41 of the 192 destinations we track for it without arranging a visa in advance; the South African passport 89 of 192. That puts South Africa ahead by 48 destinations.
| ENTRY ROUTE | Nigeria | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
| Visa Not Required | 25 | 59 |
| Visa On Arrival | 16 | 26 |
| Electronic Travel Authorization | 0 | 5 |
| E-Visa | 42 | 51 |
| Embassy Visa | 115 | 68 |
A destination offering several routes is counted under each, so columns can sum past the totals above — the headline figure counts each destination once, by its easiest route.
Destinations both passports can head to without a visa arranged in advance — but not through the same door. Each entry links to the full requirements for that passport.
| DESTINATION | NIGERIA | SOUTH AFRICA |
|---|---|---|
| Cabo Verde | Visa Not Required | Visa On Arrival |
| Guinea-Bissau | Visa Not Required | Visa On Arrival |
| Mauritius | Visa On Arrival | Visa Not Required |
| Mozambique | Visa On Arrival | Visa Not Required |
| Namibia | Visa On Arrival | Visa Not Required |
| Rwanda | Visa On Arrival | Visa Not Required |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | Visa Not Required | Electronic Travel Authorization |
| Senegal | Visa Not Required | Visa On Arrival |
| Sierra Leone | Visa Not Required | Visa On Arrival |
Where Nigerian citizens travel without a prior visa and South African citizens do not.
Where South African citizens travel without a prior visa and Nigerian citizens do not.
Reach counts the sovereign countries a passport enters without arranging a visa before travel — visa-free entry, visa on arrival, or an electronic travel authorisation. Both passports are scored over the same 192 countries: the sovereign destinations we hold data on for both of them. Overseas territories are excluded from the score on purpose — a country's own territories never appear in its own visa rules (Gibraltar is not "abroad" for a British citizen), so counting them would hand one side destinations the other could never have. That shared set is what makes this comparison fair; published indices count their own universes, so their totals differ from ours. Full lists: visa requirements for Nigerian citizens · visa requirements for South African citizens.