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Kenya’s Passport Jumps 6 Places Up in Global Ranking
Kenya’s passport has soared six positions in the 2024 Henley Passport Index, landing comfortably at 67th place, tied with Malawi. This marks a significant improvement from its 73rd position last year.
The London-based citizenship advisory firm’s ranking measures the ease of travel for passport holders around the world, based on the number of countries they can access visa-free. With this jump, Kenyan passport holders now enjoy visa-free travel to 76 countries, solidifying their advantage over their East African neighbors. Tanzania trails behind at 69th, while Uganda and Rwanda occupy 73rd and 76th positions respectively.
However, the top of the rankings paints a different picture. Six European powerhouses – France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and Spain – claim the coveted first place, offering their citizens visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to a staggering 194 destinations. This marks the highest number recorded in the index’s 19-year history.
While Asian nations like Japan and Singapore have dominated the top spot for the past five years, 2024 sees a triumphant rise for Europe. Finland, Sweden, and South Korea share the second-place podium, granting their citizens access to 193 destinations, closely followed by Austria, Denmark, Ireland, and the Netherlands in third place (192 destinations).
The rest of the top ten is a tightly packed race, with Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, and the UK occupying fourth place, and Greece, Malta, and Switzerland rounding out the fifth spot. Australia and New Zealand, along with Czechia and Poland, have made significant strides, now standing together at sixth place.
Finally, the United States and Canada, along with Hungary, share seventh place, offering visa-free access to 188 destinations.
Ruto Appoints Dutch Environmentalist as UoN Chancellor
President William Ruto has appointed Dutch environmentalist, Prof. Patrick V. Verkooijen, as the new Chancellor of the University of Nairobi (UoN). Prof. Verkooijen, a distinguished figure with extensive experience in climate change adaptation, will serve in the position for a five-year term.
Prof. Verkooijen is the current CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), an international organization dedicated to helping the world adapt to the challenges of climate change. He is also the chairperson of the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies at UoN, and the Ban Ki-moon Chair on Climate Adaptation Governance at the University of Groningen.
Prior to his current role at GCA, Prof. Verkooijen served as the World Bank Group’s Special Representative on Climate Change, and earlier as its head of climate-smart agriculture. In his position as founding CEO of GCA, he has built a global organization supporting active adaptation projects in over 30 countries.
Prof. Verkooijen has a rich academic background, with a PhD from Wageningen University, an MPA from Harvard, a Master’s in Philosophy from the University of Amsterdam, and an environmental engineering degree from the University of Utrecht Applied Sciences. His commitment to climate resilience for Africa was recognized in 2022 when he was awarded an honorary doctorate by UoN and the Green Deal Prize in the 2022 Financial Afrik Awards.
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