Ethiopian passport

Ethiopian passport
Image of a current Ethiopian passport
TypePassport
Issued by Ethiopia
PurposeIdentification
EligibilityEthiopian citizenship

The Ethiopian passport[a] is a identity document issued to citizens of Ethiopia to facilitate international travel. Ethiopian passports are valid for worldwide travel and facilitate the access to consular services whilst abroad.

The document is a biometric machine-readable passport with a burgundy cover with the text "Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia" above the coat of arms, and the text "passport" below it in Amharic and English.[1] The passport is valid for 5 years and contains 64 pages.

History

Nelson Mandela was clandestinely issued an Ethiopian passport in 1961. He used it to travel around the world until his arrest.[2] He never obtained a South African passport from the Apartheid regime until February 19, 1990 – eight days after he was released from 27 years in jail.

Visa requirements

As of 2024, Ethiopian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 47 countries and territories, ranking the Ethiopian passport 93rd globally according to the Henley passport index.[3]

Notes

  1. ^
    • Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ፓስፖርት
    • Pereet ኮድOromo: Phaaspoortii Itiyoophiyaa
    • Somali: Baasaboorka Itoobiya
    • Tigrinya: ፓስፖርት ኢትዮጵያ
    • Afar: Itiyoppiya Passapoori

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ethiopian passport on PRADO". Council of the European Union. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
  2. ^ "Passports tell a story – Nelson Mandela Foundation". www.nelsonmandela.org. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
  3. ^ "Global Ranking - Passport Index 2024" (PDF). Henley & Partners. Retrieved 23 February 2025.