The latest Henley Passport Index, Singapore has emerged as the world’s most powerful passport, surpassing Japan which held the top position for five years. Singaporean passport holders enjoy visa-free access to an impressive 192 destinations out of 227 worldwide, while Japan dropped to third place due to a decrease in the number of visa-free destinations.
Henley creates this ranking by evaluating passports from all countries based on the number of destinations their holders can visit without requiring a visa or by obtaining a visa on arrival. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) provides inputs for this assessment, and the report is updated quarterly.
Germany, Italy, and Spain share the second position with visa-free access to 190 destinations. Japan joins Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg, South Korea, and Sweden in the third position, with access to 189 destinations without a prior visa.
The United States, previously at the top nearly a decade ago, has now slipped to eighth place. On the other hand, the United Kingdom, recovering from the impact of Brexit, has surged to the fourth position, which it last held in 2017.
The Henley Passport Index highlights Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria as having the weakest passports, with limited visa-free access to other countries.
Meanwhile, India has shown progress, climbing five spots from the previous year, and is currently ranked 80th on the index, alongside Togo and Senegal, offering visa-free access to 57 countries.
Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley and Partners and the brain behind the passport index concept, noted that only eight countries globally have fewer visa-free options for their citizens than they did a decade ago, while many others have succeeded in obtaining greater travel freedom.
Here are the top 10 most powerful passports in the world:
- Singapore
- Germany, Italy, and Spain
- Austria, Finland, France, Japan, Luxembourg, South Korea, and Sweden
- Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom
- Belgium, Czech Republic, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, and Switzerland
- Australia, Hungary, and Poland
- Canada and Greece
- Lithuania and the United States
- Latvia, Slovakia, and Slovenia
- Estonia and Iceland
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