For the travelers out there, Arton Capital has released its 2017 Passport Index, and for 2017, South Africans are able to visit 59 countries without a visa, and 31 countries that operate on a visa-on-entry basis.
The index scores countries on the number of countries its citizens can visit without a visa. The index examined 199 passports, and Germany emerged top of the pile, with its citizens able to visit 157 countries. Singapore and Sweden came in joint second, having access to 156 countries.
South Korea dropped from second to sixth, with its citizens being able to access 152 countries. Syria, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan were among the lowest ranked countries, having access to 29, 28, 26 and 23 countries respectively.
South Africa effectively “lost” one country in November last year, when New Zealand withdrew visa exemptions for South Africans as a result of counterfeit and/or fraudulent passports.
South Africans can visit the following countries visa-free:
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Benin
Botswana
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Fiji
Gabon
Georgia
Grenada
Guatemala
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hong Kong
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
Jamaica
Kenya
Kosovo
Lesotho
Macao
Malawi
Malaysia
Mozambique
Namibia
Nicaragua
Palestinian Territories
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Singapore
South Korea
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Swaziland
Tanzania
Thailand
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Uruguay
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Visas can be arranged on entry for the following countries:
Armenia
Bolivia
Burundi
Cambodia
Cape Verde
Comoros
Djibouti
Ethiopia
Guinea-Bissau
Iran
Jordan
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Madagascar
Maldives
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mauritius
Micronesia
Nepal
Oman
Palau
Rwanda
Samoa
Seychelles
Tajikistan
Timor-Leste
Togo
Turkey
Tuvalu
Uganda