Why Traveling Within Africa Is Harder Than Leaving It
For Ethiopians, crossing into a neighboring African country can require more paperwork, more money, and more waiting than flying to Europe or Asia. This is not a coincidence. It is the product of deliberate policy choices, colonial inheritance, and economic structures that have never been seriously dismantled.
Picture this: an Ethiopian businessperson books two trips. The first is to Nairobi, just over 1,300 kilometers away. The second is to Dubai, nearly 2,800 kilometers in the opposite direction. The Dubai trip involves a straightforward visa-on-arrival process. The Nairobi trip is visa-free thanks to a bilateral agreement, but an onward trip to Kampala, Dar es Salaam, or Dakar requires separate advance applications, embassy visits, waiting periods, and fees.
This is the lived reality of holding an Ethiopian passport, which, as of 2026, ranks 178th globally and offers truly visa-free access to just 14 countries and territories worldwide. Across Africa, that freedom is even thinner. Only a handful of African states currently offer Ethiopians visa-free or on-arrival entry without prior application.
Create an account to read the full story.
