What exactly does it mean to have a ‘powerful passport’? Well, in simple terms, it essentially means that your passport can get you pretty much wherever you want. A powerful passport is one that can get you to loads of countries – ideally without the need for a visa.
Every year, the Henley Passport Index ranks which little book of stamps can get you the furthest. The ranking uses data from the International Air Transport Association, ranking passports based on the number of countries they can be used to visit visa-free.
And top of the index this year are… Japan and Singapore. Surprise, surprise. Both countries have long been near the very top of the ranking, with their passports allowing citizens to visit a whopping 192 countries without requiring a visa.
The UK passport, meanwhile, is now able to visit 187 countries and comes in at number five – climbing up one place from last year. The USA comes in at six (186 countries) and Australia at seven (185).
The weakest passport, once again, is Afghanistan. Afghan people can only visit 26 countries without the need for a visa. Iraqi and Syrian passports rank similarly low.
Here are the top rankings, with the number of visa-free countries each passport will get you into:
- Japan, Singapore, 192
- Germany, South Korea, 190
- Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, 189
- Austria, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden, 188
- France, Ireland, Portugal, United Kingdom, 187
- Belgium, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, United States, 186
- Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Greece, Malta, 185
- Hungary, 183
- Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, 182
- Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia, 181
Read the full index here.
