The African Development Bank (AFDB) Africa Visa Index for 2022 has been available for a few days.
Cameroon holds the 44th position in this ranking which measures the conditions of openness of African countries to visitors from other African countries. Cameroon shares this place with Morocco and São Tomé and Príncipe. All three countries have a score of 0.132.
On the scale of the six countries of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC), Cameroon does not do better. Only Equatorial Guinea, last in the ranking, is ranked behind the country of the Indomitable Lions in the CEMAC zone. Chad ranks first (39th overall) with a score of 0.279. It comes just ahead of Congo (41st in the ranking) with a score of 0.215.
Cameroon’s poor score in this ranking is the consequence of its current visa policy as the country requires travelers from several countries to obtain a visa before travel.
According to stopblablacam, all countries that apply this visa policy before travel occupy the last places in this ranking. On the other hand, countries such as Benin, Seychelles, and the Gambia which apply an administrative policy of “no visa” occupy the first places in the ranking.
For AFDB, African countries must relax the rules on visa opening. “The free movement of people creates a more favorable situation for the business environment because it attracts investment and stimulates intra- and inter-regional trade. It also promotes social cohesion and improves the lives of African citizens. Africa deserves nothing less,” explains Cameroonian Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, Acting Vice President in charge of Regional Development, Integration, and Service Delivery of the AFDB.
The Africa Visa Openness Index was created in 2016. This year, the AFDB is pleased that most African countries are making progress in their travel freedom policies after multiple forced restrictions due to the Covid pandemic -19.
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