Roughly 40 countries around the world issue green passports to their ordinary citizens, making green the third most common passport cover color after blue and red. The countries with green passports fall into two big groups: Muslim-majority nations across the Middle East, North Africa, and South and Southeast Asia, and the West African states that share the ECOWAS common passport design. A smaller set of countries, including Mexico and Taiwan, use green for reasons tied to their own national symbolism.
Muslim-Majority Countries
The single largest group of green-passport countries are nations with predominantly Muslim populations. Green carries deep significance in Islamic tradition. It was the Prophet Muhammad’s preferred color, it appears repeatedly in the Quran describing the gardens and garments of paradise, and the Arabic word for paradise itself, “Jannah,” means garden. That cultural weight makes green a natural choice for a national travel document.
Muslim-majority countries that issue green ordinary passports include:
- Middle East: Saudi Arabia, Iran
- North Africa: Egypt, Morocco, Mauritania
- South and Southeast Asia: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia
The exact shade varies. Saudi Arabia’s cover is a deep forest green; Pakistan’s is a lighter emerald. All sit within the green family.
West African Countries in ECOWAS
The Economic Community of West African States adopted a common passport design with a green cover to make regional travel easier and to signal a shared identity. Member states issue ordinary passports with the standardized green cover, printed with the ECOWAS name alongside each country’s own emblem.
Following the formal withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger from ECOWAS on January 29, 2025, the bloc has 12 member states:1Reuters. West Africa Bloc Announces Formal Exit of Three Junta-Led States2ECOWAS. Member States
- Nigeria
- Ghana
- Senegal
- Ivory Coast
- Benin
- Cabo Verde
- The Gambia
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Liberia
- Sierra Leone
- Togo
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger still carry green passports issued during their ECOWAS membership. The three countries may eventually redesign their travel documents now that they have formally left the bloc.
Other Countries With Green Passports
A handful of countries outside both the Muslim-majority group and ECOWAS also issue green ordinary passports. Mexico uses a dark green cover. Taiwan’s passport is green as well, with a design that prominently displays “TAIWAN” on the cover to distinguish it from other travel documents in the region. A few other nations, including some in Central and South America and several smaller states, round out the list, with green covers reflecting national symbolism rather than religious or regional affiliation. The exact count shifts as countries redesign their documents.
Why No International Body Sets the Color
The International Civil Aviation Organization sets detailed specifications for passport size, layout, and machine readability through its Doc 9303 standards, but it has never dictated cover color. The document explicitly leaves each issuing state free to incorporate design features as it sees fit, so long as nothing interferes with machine readability.3International Civil Aviation Organization. Doc 9303 Machine Readable Travel Documents Part 2 Passport color is a national choice, which is why green clusters where cultural or regional meaning drives the decision.
One thing to keep in mind: most countries issue several types of passport, and the colors often differ by type. A country might use green for its ordinary passport but a different color entirely for diplomatic or official versions. When people ask which countries use green passports, they almost always mean the ordinary passport carried by regular citizens.
Color Does Not Affect Where You Can Travel
A passport’s color has no bearing on visa requirements, border processing, or where the holder can travel. Green passports from different countries grant vastly different levels of access. Mexico’s green passport allows visa-free or visa-on-arrival entry to 156 destinations, ranking it 20th globally. Saudi Arabia’s green passport covers 87 destinations, and Nigeria’s reaches 44.4Henley & Partners. Global Passport Ranking What matters is the issuing country and its diplomatic agreements, not the color of the booklet.