Japan and Singapore still have the most powerful passports in the world

Japan and Singapore still have the most powerful passports in the world, a new global ranking for the final quarter of 2021 has revealed.

Their citizens can travel to 192 countries visa-free, up from 191 in the first quarter of 2021, when they also topped the table. Those from second-place Germany and South Korea are able to visit 190 countries.

The UK and the USA are in joint seventh place (185 countries), behind Italy and Spain (third, 189 countries), Austria and Denmark (fourth, 188 countries) and France and Ireland (fifth, 187 countries).

The ranking has been produced by the Henley Passport Index, which is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). It analyses how many countries a passport holder can enter without a prior visa.

The Henley Passport Index says that its latest results and research show how proliferating barriers to entry over the past 18 months of the pandemic have resulted in the widest global mobility gap in its 16-year history, with passport holders from top-ranking Japan and Singapore able to travel visa-free to 166 more destinations than Afghan nationals, who sit at the bottom of the index with access to just 26 countries without requiring a visa in advance.

The Index points out that the ‘global north’ has ‘enforced some of the most stringent inbound Covid-19-related travel restrictions, while many countries with lower-ranking passports have relaxed their borders without seeing this openness reciprocated’.

It adds: ‘This has created an ever-widening gap in travel freedom even for fully vaccinated travellers from countries at the lower end of the passport power ranking who remain locked out of most of the world.

‘This gap is likely to increase, as pandemic-related restrictions become entrenched and amplify the already significant global mobility divide between advanced and developing economies.’

The Index points out that Japan currently bars almost all foreign nationals from entry and Germany restricts nearly 100 countries from entry.

The UK and the USA are in joint seventh place (185 countries visa-free) on the Henley Passport Index, behind Italy and Spain (third, 189 countries)

The UK and the USA are in joint seventh place (185 countries visa-free) on the Henley Passport Index, behind Italy and Spain (third, 189 countries)

At the lower end of the index, Egypt, ranked 97th, currently has no travel restrictions in place, yet its citizens can access just 51 destinations around the world without acquiring a visa in advance. Similarly, Kenya, which ranks 77th, has no travel bans in place, yet its passport holders are able to access just 72 destinations visa-free.

Commenting on these latest developments, Dr Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners and the inventor of the passport index concept, notes: ‘If we want to restart the global economy, it is critical that developed nations encourage inward migration flows, as opposed to persisting with outmoded restrictions.

‘Resourceful countries need to futureproof their economies by attracting and welcoming the upcoming generation.

‘It is pivotal that advanced nations consider revising their current somewhat exclusive approach to the rest of the world and reform and adapt to overcome the competition and not miss the opportunity to embrace the potential.’

For many countries with low-ranking passports, proliferating barriers to entry are hindering progress, the Index says, even as many reopen their borders in desperate bids to reboot economic growth.

Austria and Denmark are fourth (188 countries) and France and Ireland fifth (187 countries) in the passport power ranking

Austria and Denmark are fourth (188 countries) and France and Ireland fifth (187 countries) in the passport power ranking

Erol Yayboke, senior fellow with the International Security Program and director of the Project on Fragility and Mobility at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC, points out: ‘Covid-19 is as much an economic crisis as it is a public health one, though in both regards it disproportionately negatively affects migration origin countries.

‘Increased pressure to move for survival will be met with pandemic-related barriers to movement that are likely to linger, both because the virus itself is lingering and because increased control over migration will be difficult for some leaders to relinquish.’

Kevin Burchler of the SIP Medical Family Office in Switzerland, meanwhile, believes a global vaccine hierarchy is emerging and that having access to vaccinations with the widest approval and acceptance rates may result in higher health security, but also in more convenience during travels.

He says: ‘AstraZeneca’s non-replicating viral vector vaccination currently ranks number one, having been approved by more than 120 countries. Pfizer–BioNTech’s vaccination is currently approved in 98 countries, Russia’s Sputnik in 71 countries, and Moderna in 69 countries worldwide.

‘Your health or vaccination status – sometimes in combination with additional passports – may now be even more important for your global access rights than your primary passport is.’

THE HENLEY PASSPORT POWER INDEX: Q4 2021 GLOBAL RANKING

1 Japan – 192 visa-free countries

1 Singapore 192

2 Germany 190

2 South Korea 190

3 Finland 189

3 Italy 189

3 Luxembourg 189

3 Spain 189

4 Austria 188

4 Denmark 188

5 France 187

5 Ireland 187

5 Netherlands 187

5 Portugal 187

5 Sweden 187

6 Belgium 186

6 New Zealand 186

6 Switzerland 186

7 Czech Republic 185

7 Greece 185

7 Malta 185

7 Norway 185

7 United Kingdom 185

7 United States 185

8 Australia 184

8 Canada 184

9 Hungary 183

10 Lithuania 182

10 Poland 182

10 Slovakia 182

11 Estonia 181

11 Latvia 181

11 Slovenia 181

12 Iceland 180

13 Malaysia 179

14 Liechtenstein 178

15 Cyprus 176

16 Chile 174

16 Monaco 174

16 Romania 174

16 United Arab Emirates 174

17 Bulgaria 173

18 Croatia 172

19 Hong Kong (SAR China) 171

20 Argentina 170

20 Brazil 170

21 San Marino 169

22 Andorra 168

23 Brunei 166

24 Barbados 161

25 Israel 158

25 Mexico 158

26 St. Kitts and Nevis 157

27 Bahamas 155

28 Uruguay 153

28 Vatican City 153

29 Seychelles 152

30 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 151

31 Antigua and Barbuda 150

31 Trinidad and Tobago 150

32 Costa Rica 149

33 Mauritius 146

33 St. Lucia 146

34 Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) 145

35 Grenada 144

35 Macao (SAR China) 144

36 Dominica 143

37 Panama 141

37 Paraguay 141

38 Ukraine 136

39 Serbia 135

39 Vanuatu 135

40 Peru 134

41 El Salvador 133

42 Guatemala 132

42 Honduras 132

43 Samoa 131

43 Solomon Islands 131

44 Colombia 129

44 Tonga 129

44 Venezuela 129

45 Tuvalu 127

46 Nicaragua 126

47 North Macedonia 125

48 Kiribati 123

48 Montenegro 123

49 Marshall Islands 122

50 Moldova 120

51 Palau Islands 119

52 Russian Federation 118

53 Micronesia 117

54 Bosnia and Herzegovina 116

55 Georgia 115

56 Albania 113

57 Turkey 110

58 South Africa 103

59 Belize 101

60 Qatar 97

61 Kuwait 95

62 Timor-Leste 93

63 Ecuador 91

64 Nauru 89

65 Fiji 88

66 Guyana 87

66 Maldives 87

67 Botswana 86

68 Jamaica 85

69 Bahrain 84

70 Papua New Guinea 82

71 Oman 80

72 Bolivia 79

72 China 79

72 Saudi Arabia 79

72 Thailand 79

73 Belarus 78

73 Namibia 78

74 Lesotho 77

74 Suriname 77

75 eSwatini 74

75 Kazakhstan 74

76 Malawi 73

77 Kenya 72

77 Tanzania 72

78 Indonesia 71

78 Tunisia 71

78 Zambia 71

79 Dominican Republic 69

80 Azerbaijan 68

80 Gambia 68

81 Uganda 67

82 Cape Verde Islands 66

83 Philippines 65

83 Zimbabwe 65

84 Armenia 64

84 Ghana 64

85 Cuba 63

85 Morocco 63

85 Sierra Leone 63

86 Kyrgyzstan 62

86 Mozambique 62

87 Benin 61

87 Mongolia 61

87 Rwanda 61

88 Sao Tome and Principe 60

89 Mauritania 59

90 Burkina Faso 58

90 India 58

90 Tajikistan 58

91 Gabon 57

92 Cote d’Ivoire 56

92 Senegal 56

92 Uzbekistan 56

93 Equatorial Guinea 55

93 Madagascar 55

94 Guinea 54

94 Mali 54

94 Togo 54

95 Cambodia 53

95 Chad 53

95 Comores Islands 53

95 Niger 53

95 Vietnam 53

96 Algeria 52

96 Bhutan 52

96 Central African Republic 52

96 Guinea-Bissau 52

96 Turkmenistan 52

97 Burundi51

97 Egypt 51

98 Angola 50

98 Cameroon 50

98 Jordan 50

99 Laos 49

99 Liberia 49

100 Congo (Rep.) 48

100 Haiti 48

101 Djibouti 47

102 Myanmar 46

103 Ethiopia 45

103 Nigeria 45

104 South Sudan 44

105 Eritrea 43

106 Congo (Dem. Rep.) 42

107 Iran 41

107 Lebanon 41

107 Sri Lanka 41

107 Sudan 41

108 Bangladesh 40

108 Kosovo 40

108 Libya 40

109 North Korea 39

110 Nepal 37

110 Palestinian Territory 37

111 Somalia 34

112 Yemen 33

113 Pakistan 31

114 Syria 29

115 Iraq 28

116 Afghanistan 26

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