Schengen is a border-free area constituted from 26 European countries which allow residents of member countries to travel freely within the area. On the other hand, residents of non-member states who want to enter Schengen must get a visa beforehand. Home of many historical places and cultural landmarks, this part of the world is a major attraction to visitors coming from all around the world.
Schengen is a very popular travel destination among Africans too. According to the latest official statistics, provided by SchengenVisaInfo.com over 2.8 million residents of Africa applied for a Schengen visa during 2018. As such, they accounted for 18% of all Schengen visa applications collected worldwide last year.
But while the number of Schengen visa applications is high so is the number of visa denials. Taken overall the average rate of Schengen visa denials in Africa in 2018 was 26.8%. That was a lot higher compared to the global average of 9.6%, statistics show.
The question, however, is at which African countries do Schengen embassies deny most visa applications. Fortunately, annual statistics provide us with a distribution map of Schengen visa denials across Africa.
Based on statistics from 2018, the list of ten African countries with the highest number of Schengen visa denials is topped by Algeria. Schengen embassies located in the Northern African country received a total of 713,255 visa applications last year. In turn, 324,291 applicants were turned down.This was to say, Schengen visa denials at this country accounted for 45.5% of all visa applications.
Another Northern African country joined Algeria at the top when it came for Schengen visa denials. Schengen embassies in Morocco denied a total of 119,586 visa applications which was equal to 18% of all visa applications being collected in this country in 2018.
Nigeria ranks third in this list. Last year Schengen embassies operating in Nigeria denied visas to 44,076 applicants. Compared to all visa applications in this country, visa denials represented almost half (49.80%) of the total. That being said, Nigeria had the highest rate of Schengen visa denials in Africa if looked in percentage terms.
Other countries that follow in this list are Tunisia, Senegal, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Angola, Cameroon and Ghana.
Country | Visa Applications | Visa Approvals | Denied Visas |
Algeria | 713,255 | 384,420 | 324,291 |
Morocco | 662,585 | 528,639 | 119,586 |
Nigeria | 88,587 | 42,695 | 44,076 |
Tunisia | 234,452 | 186,250 | 42,639 |
Egypt | 190,140 | 147,340 | 37,891 |
Senegal | 73,346 | 42,170 | 29,684 |
Angola | 107,541 | 84,178 | 23,127 |
Ivory Coast | 61,639 | 42,114 | 19,003 |
Ghana | 43,665 | 24,990 | 18,133 |
Cameroon | 37,043 | 24,761 | 11,318 |
The table below shows ten African countries with the highest number of Schengen visa denials in 2018 and other related data
There is a common explanation among experts that this high number of Schengen visa denials in Africa is mostly due to illegal immigration noted in recent years. That is why Northern African countries because of their proximity to European coasts led the table above.