How powerful is the South Africa passport?

The South Africa passport is ranked #110 in the world according to the Schiff Sovereign Passport Ranking, with a grade of C- and a Travel Freedom Score of 57.8. It provides access to 15% of the world's GDP, 41% of the world's surface area, and 26% of the world's population.

How many countries can a South Africa passport holder visit without a visa?

A South Africa passport holder can visit 96 countries visa-free or with visa-on-arrival. This includes Thailand, Russia.

South Africa Passport Ranking 2024

Provides access to the world's share of...

15 % GDP

41 % Surface Area

26 % Population

27 % UNESCO Sights

Visa-free access to the most attractive countries

Schengen

United States

United Kingdom

Canada

China

Japan

Turkey

Mexico

Thailand

Russia

Passport Quality

A "C-" passport is a is a fair travel document that provides access to many countries in Latin America and South East Asia (among other regions), A “C-” passport does NOT provide access to the Schengen area or most of the developed world. To receive a "C-" grade a passport must have a Travel Freedom score (Passport Score) between 50 and 67.

Additional Analysis:

The Travel Freedom score of this passport is 20%-50% lower than its simple count of visa-free countries. It means that this passport fails to provide access to the world's most attractive countries.

Visa requirements map

Visa requirements

Visa Free

Visa Required

Passport	Visa Type	Visa Free	Attractiveness	Nominal GDP (millions of US$)	GDP per capita (US$)	Population (in millions)	UNESCO Sights
Afghanistan	Visa required	0	0.04	15000	412	36.4	2
Albania	eVisa	0	0.66	23032	7849	2.9	4
Algeria	Visa required	0	0.35	224107	5335	42	7
Andorra	Visa required	0	0.34	3692	47977	0.077	1
Angola	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.06	93796	3048	30.8	1
Antigua and Barbuda	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.03	1949	18913	0.103	1
Argentina	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	1.05	621833	13915	44.7	11
Armenia	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.22	24540	8364	2.9	3
Australia	Visa required	0	1.67	1687713	68129	24.8	20
Austria	Visa required	0	3.73	526182	60123	8.8	10
Azerbaijan	eVisa	0	0.35	77392	7799	9.9	3
Bahamas	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.21	13876	34752	0.399	0
Bahrain	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.44	44994	28714	1.6	3
Bangladesh	Visa required	0	0.2	446349	2683	166.4	3
Barbados	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.08	6220	21719	0.286	1
Belarus	Visa required	0	0.27	68864	7286	9.5	4
Belgium	Visa required	0	1.27	627511	54573	11.5	13
Belize	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.06	3218	8414	0.382	1
Benin	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.04	19940	1736	11.5	2
Bhutan	eVisa	0	0.04	2686	3287	0.817	0
Bolivia	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.15	46796	4172	11.2	7
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Visa required	0	0.14	26945	7691	3.5	3
Botswana	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.19	20756	8896	2.3	2
Brazil	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	1.49	2126809	10086	210.9	22
Brunei	Visa required	0	0.04	15153	34909	0.434	0
Bulgaria	Visa required	0	1.07	103099	14651	7	10
Burkina Faso	eVisa	0	0.02	20785	1052	19.8	3
Burundi	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.02	3190	284	11.2	0
Cambodia	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.74	30943	1905	16.2	3
Cameroon	Visa required	0	0.08	49262	1996	24.7	2
Canada	Visa required	0	3.23	2117805	57310	37	20
Cape Verde	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.08	2598	4695	0.553	1
Central African Republic	Visa required	0	0.01	2760	583	4.7	2
Chad	Visa required	0	0.01	12596	820	15.4	2
Chile	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.63	344400	18926	18.2	6
China	Visa required	0	13.79	17700899	12509	1415	55
Colombia	eVisa	0	0.59	363835	7355	49.5	9
Comoros	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.01	1364	1639	0.832	0
Costa Rica	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.38	85590	17280	5	4
Croatia	Visa required	0	1.95	80185	19253	4.2	10
Cuba	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.56	107000	9313	11.5	9
Cyprus	Visa required	0	0.45	32032	26938	1.2	3
Czech Republic	Visa required	0	1.71	335243	31552	10.6	14
Democratic Republic of the Congo	eVisa	0	0.03	67512	804	84	5
Denmark	Visa required	0	1.63	420800	73127	5.8	10
Djibouti	eVisa	0	0.01	3873	3987	1	0
Dominica	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.01	697	9380	0.074	1
Dominican Republic	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.76	120629	11084	10.9	1
East Timor	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.01	2023	1528	1.3	0
Ecuador	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.28	118686	7038	16.9	5
Egypt	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	1.59	398397	4009	99.4	7
El Salvador	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.21	35339	5512	6.4	1
Equatorial Guinea	eVisa	0	0.03	10041	7642	1.3	0
Eritrea	Visa required	0	0.01	2250	434	5.2	1
Estonia	Visa required	0	0.39	41799	31986	1.3	2
Eswatini	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.08	4648	3341	1.4	0
Ethiopia	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.15	155804	1449	107.5	9
Fiji	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.1	5511	6041	0.912	1
Finland	Visa required	0	0.48	305689	55153	5.5	7
France	Visa required	0	11.03	3049016	46740	65.2	45
Gabon	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.03	19319	9344	2.1	1
Gambia	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.06	2388	1104	2.2	2
Georgia	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.57	30023	7684	3.9	3
Germany	Visa required	0	6.01	4429838	53830	82.3	46
Ghana	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.15	76628	2601	29.5	2
Greece	Visa required	0	3.56	242385	21754	11.1	18
Grenada	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.02	1306	12055	0.108	0
Guatemala	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.23	102765	5959	17.2	3
Guinea	eVisa	0	0.01	23205	1778	13.1	1
Guinea-Bissau	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.01	1991	1044	1.9	0
Guyana	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.04	16329	20875	0.782	0
Haiti	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.04	25986	2338	11.1	1
Honduras	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.09	33992	3610	9.4	2
Hong Kong	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	2.77	385546	51898	7.4	0
Hungary	Visa required	0	1.95	203829	21037	9.7	8
Iceland	Visa required	0	0.23	30570	90503	0.338	3
India	eVisa	0	3.36	3732224	2756	1354.1	38
Indonesia	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	2.23	1417387	5313	266.8	9
Iran	eVisa	0	1.14	366438	4468	82	24
Iraq	Visa required	0	0.28	297695	7567	39.3	6
Ireland	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	1.43	589569	122731	4.8	2
Israel	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.7	521688	61717	8.5	11
Italy	Visa required	0	7.95	2186082	36870	59.3	57
Ivory Coast	eVisa	0	0.26	79430	3189	24.9	4
Jamaica	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.3	18761	6472	2.9	1
Japan	Visa required	0	5.12	4230862	33265	127.2	23
Jordan	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.52	50022	5051	9.9	5
Kazakhstan	eVisa	0	0.43	259292	14089	18.4	5
Kenya	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.26	112749	2213	51	7
Kiribati	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0	246	2077	0.118	1
Kosovo	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.05	10469	5765	1.8	0
Kuwait	Visa required	0	0.08	159687	38047	4.2	0
Kyrgyzstan	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.77	12681	2068	6.1	3
Laos	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.49	14244	2046	7	3
Latvia	Visa required	0	0.23	46668	24181	1.9	2
Lebanon	Visa required	0	0.23	38000	6236	6.1	5
Lesotho	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.05	2373	1049	2.3	1
Liberia	Visa required	0	0.01	4347	896	4.9	0
Libya	Visa required	0	0.13	40194	6211	6.5	5
Liechtenstein	Visa required	0	0.01	6600	172979	0.038	0
Lithuania	Visa required	0	0.35	79427	27613	2.9	4
Luxembourg	Visa required	0	0.15	89095	150926	0.59	1
Macau	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	2.08	38480	60846	0.632	0
Madagascar	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.05	15763	600	26.3	3
Malawi	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.1	13176	688	19.2	2
Malaysia	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	3.05	430895	13448	32	4
Maldives	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.19	6977	15705	0.444	0
Mali	Visa required	0	0.03	21309	1115	19.1	4
Malta	Visa required	0	0.31	20311	47007	0.432	3
Marshall Islands	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0	277	5210	0.053	1
Mauritania	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.04	10357	2281	4.5	2
Mauritius	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.16	14819	11684	1.3	2
Mexico	Visa required	0	5.66	1811468	13853	130.8	35
Micronesia	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0	458	4312	0.106	2
Moldova	eVisa	0	0.03	16000	3959	4	1
Monaco	Visa required	0	0.04	8600	221097	0.039	0
Mongolia	eVisa	0	0.07	18782	6016	3.1	5
Montenegro	Visa required	0	0.28	7058	11217	0.629	4
Morocco	Visa required	0	1.49	147343	4071	36.2	9
Mozambique	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.23	21936	719	30.5	1
Myanmar	eVisa	0	0.51	74861	1390	53.9	2
Namibia	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.18	12647	4887	2.6	2
Nauru	Visa required	0	0	150	13260	0.011	0
Nepal	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.15	41339	1395	29.6	4
Netherlands	Visa required	0	2.63	1092748	63962	17.1	10
New Zealand	Visa required	0	0.5	249415	52513	4.7	3
Nicaragua	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.15	17353	2761	6.3	2
Niger	Visa required	0	0.03	17073	765	22.3	3
Nigeria	eVisa	0	0.32	390002	1991	195.9	2
North Korea	Visa required	0	0.06	16700	652	25.6	2
North Macedonia	Visa required	0	0.09	15801	7578	2.1	1
Norway	Visa required	0	0.85	546768	102135	5.4	8
Oman	eVisa	0	0.32	108282	22419	4.8	5
Pakistan	eVisa	0	0.23	340636	1696	200.8	6
Palau	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.01	267	12156	0.022	1
Palestine	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.08	18109	3584	5.1	2
Panama	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.22	82348	19783	4.2	5
Papua New Guinea	eVisa	0	0.03	31692	3765	8.4	1
Paraguay	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.15	44142	6400	6.9	1
Peru	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.58	264636	8130	32.6	12
Philippines	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	1.08	435675	4090	106.5	6
Poland	Visa required	0	2.65	842172	22101	38.1	16
Portugal	Visa required	0	2.83	276432	26861	10.3	17
Qatar	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.32	235500	87389	2.7	1
Republic of the Congo	Visa required	0	0.02	14407	2668	5.4	1
Romania	Visa required	0	0.43	350414	17896	19.6	7
Russia	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	3.39	1862470	12937	144	29
Rwanda	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.06	13927	1114	12.5	0
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.01	1069	19141	0.056	1
Saint Lucia	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.05	2469	13742	0.18	1
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.01	1039	9428	0.11	0
Samoa	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.02	939	4750	0.198	0
San Marino	Visa required	0	0.01	1998	59540	0.034	1
Sao Tome and Principe	eVisa	0	0	674	3228	0.209	0
Saudi Arabia	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	2.34	1069437	31872	33.6	5
Senegal	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.11	31141	1911	16.3	7
Serbia	Visa required	0	0.23	75015	8561	8.8	5
Seychelles	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.04	2085	21893	0.095	2
Sierra Leone	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.01	3519	456	7.7	0
Singapore	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	1.86	497347	85869	5.8	1
Slovakia	Visa required	0	0.65	133044	24413	5.4	7
Slovenia	Visa required	0	0.55	68394	32862	2.1	3
Solomon Islands	Visa required	0	0	1690	2711	0.623	1
Somalia	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.02	11515	758	15.2	0
South Africa	Home	1	1.27	380906	6636	57.4	10
South Korea	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	2.57	1709232	33407	51.2	14
South Sudan	eVisa	0	0.01	6267	485	12.9	0
Spain	Visa required	0	9.84	1582054	34098	46.4	48
Sri Lanka	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.24	74400	3551	21	8
Sudan	Visa required	0	0.1	25569	616	41.5	3
Suriname	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.02	3539	6227	0.568	2
Sweden	Visa required	0	1.04	597110	59814	10	15
Switzerland	Visa required	0	1.64	905684	106002	8.5	12
Syria	Visa required	0	0.12	19719	1078	18.3	6
Taiwan	Visa required	0	1.59	751930	31735	23.7	0
Tajikistan	eVisa	0	0.14	11816	1297	9.1	2
Tanzania	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.19	84033	1422	59.1	7
Thailand	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	4.6	512193	7403	69.2	5
Togo	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.1	9111	1140	8	1
Tonga	Visa required	0	0.01	547	5018	0.109	0
Trinidad and Tobago	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.05	27887	20317	1.4	0
Tunisia	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	1.06	51271	4397	11.7	8
Turkey	eVisa	0	6.1	1154600	14095	81.9	18
Turkmenistan	Visa required	0	0.07	81822	13983	5.9	3
Tuvalu	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0	63	5582	0.011	0
Uganda	eVisa	0	0.22	52390	1183	44.3	3
Ukraine	Visa required	0	1.55	173413	3940	44	7
United Arab Emirates	eVisa	0	2.04	509179	53364	9.5	1
United Kingdom	Visa required	0	5.59	3332059	50051	66.6	32
United States	Visa required	0	18.69	26949643	82474	326.8	24
Uruguay	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.37	76244	21975	3.5	2
Uzbekistan	Visa required	0	0.78	90392	2793	32.4	5
Vanuatu	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.01	1166	4133	0.282	1
Venezuela	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.14	92210	2848	32.4	3
Vietnam	eVisa	0	2.16	433356	4491	96.5	8
Yemen	Visa required	0	0.12	21045	728	28.9	4
Zambia	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.13	29536	1677	17.6	1
Zimbabwe	Visa-free (or visa on arrival)	1	0.27	32424	1917	16.9	5