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JAPAN and Singapore are still the most powerful passports with visa-free access to 192 countries worldwide in 2022, according to Travel Pulse. The ranking of the most powerful passports is delivered through the Henley Passport Index from global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners.
Based on exclusive data provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the index does not consider temporary COVID-19 travel restrictions. Therefore, Japan and Singapore are still the most powerful documents with visa-free access to 192 destinations worldwide.
South Korea and Germany also remained in second place with visa-free access to 190 countries, followed by Finland, Italy, Luxembourg and Spain in third with access to 189 countries. This year France, the Netherlands and Sweden are up one place each following Austria and Denmark in fourth with visa-free access to 188 countries.
Elsewhere in Europe, Ireland and Portugal remain the fifth most powerful travel documents, giving holders visa-free access to as many as 187 countries without taking into account temporary restrictions.
The United States rose one place to match Belgium, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom to rank sixth as the most powerful passport in the world with access to 186 countries.
The other top 10 most powerful passport holders in the world are Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Greece and Malta (185), Poland and Hungary (183), Lithuania and Slovakia (182) and Estonia, Latvia and Slovenia (181).
In terms of the lowest passport held by Afghanistan with visa-free access to 26 countries. Iraq (28), Syria (29), Pakistan (31) and Yemen (33) round out the bottom five.
In disclosing the 2022 rankings, Henley & Partners said there is currently the largest global mobility gap for 16 years. This results in travelers from Europe, North America, and wealthier Asian countries having more travel.
“Passports and visas are one of the most important instruments impacting social inequality around the world as they define opportunities for global mobility,” said Christian H. Kaelin, chairman of Henley & Partners. [antaranews/photo special]
