GDP Capita of all 12 Global South countries on Trump’s 2025 US ban list
A new travel ban signed by US President Donald Trump is set to block people from several countries from entering the United States.
These countries are mostly from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The order was signed on June 4 and will take effect on June 9, 2025, at 12:01 a.m. EDT.
The Trump campaign says the ban is meant to stop people from countries that “pose security risks,” citing terrorism concerns, poor identity checks, and visa overstays.
The announcement marks a return to Trump’s earlier travel bans, which were introduced during his first term and overturned by President Joe Biden in 2021.
That earlier policy was heavily criticised for targeting Muslim-majority nations, but this time, most of the countries are within the Global South.
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Under the new order, nationals from 12 countries will be completely banned from entering the US unless they already have valid visas before June 9. The order also blocks most forms of immigration from these countries.
Countries fully affected by the ban include: Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial, Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran, Myanmar, Yemen, and Haiti.
The ban, according to critics may affect these countries economically as well as citizens who may be planning to travel legally for education, health, among others. These activities are known to be connected to improving economies and feed into long-term GDP growth.
Let's take a look at the GDP of the affected countries as compiled by the IMF and World Bank in US dollars per capita.
Afghanistan 415.7 (2023 statistics from World Bank)
Chad 991.08
Republic of Congo 2.36 thousand
Equatorial Guinea 7.75 thousand
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Eritrea 688.7 (2023 statistics from World Bank)
Libya 6.8 thousand
Somalia 766.01
Sudan 624.9
Iran 3.9 thousand
Myanmar 1.18 thousand
Yemen 416.55
Haiti 2.67 thousand
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Partial ban which restricts tourist, student and temporary visas
Seven other countries will face partial bans under this new directive. Citizens of these countries can’t apply for short-term visas such as those for tourism, study, or cultural exchange (like B1/B2 or student visas). Immigration is also suspended for these countries under this category.
They include Burundi, Sierra Leone, Togo, Laos, Turkmenistan, Cuba, Venezuela
