Singapore now has the world’s most powerful passport. The Lion City beat Japan, whose passport had been the most powerful for over five years. The recently released third quarter Henley Passport Index revealed a major shake-up, with Germany, Italy and Spain coming in second and Japan sharing the third rank with six other countries.
After evaluating all countries of the world, Henley creates a ranking of all the passports on the basis of the number of destinations their holders can visit visa-free with inputs from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), updating the report every quarter.
According to the release, Singapore passport holders get visa-free access to 192 countries out of 227 in the world. The nation has climbed over five ranks in the last ten years.
Just missing the top 10 mark, Malaysia made it to the 11th spot allowing passport holders to travel visa-free to 180 countries. Hong Kong shared the 17th spot with Andorra with visa-free access to 170 countries. Thailand ranked at 64th place with visa-free travel option for 79 countries. India took the 80th spot on the list with visa-free or visa-on-arrival travel option for 57 countries.
The weakest passport in the world is Afghanistan, with visa-free access to only 27 destinations.
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The most powerful passports in the world, according to Henley Passport Index
- Singapore — visa-free access to 192 countries
- Germany, Italy and Spain — visa-free access to 190 countries
- Austria, Finland, France, Japan, Luxembourg, South Korea and Sweden — visa-free access to 189 countries
- Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands and the United Kingdom — visa-free access to 188 countries
- Belgium, Czech Republic, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal and Switzerland — visa-free access to 187 countries
- Australia, Hungary and Poland — visa-free access to 186 countries
- Canada and Greece — visa-free access to 185 countries
- Lithuania and the United States — visa-free access to 184 countries
- Latvia, Slovakia and Slovenia — visa-free access to 183 countries
- Estonia and Iceland — visa-free access to 182 countries
(Hero and feature image credit: Shutterstock)
This story first appeared on Travel+Leisure Asia
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Answer: According to the Henley Passport Index of 2023 third quarter, Singapore now has the most powerful passport in the world, granting visa-free access to 192 countries.
Answer: According to the Henley Passport Index of 2023 third quarter, Afghanistan has the weakest passport in the world, with visa-free access to only 27 destinations.
