Travelling can be as simple as just booking flights, finding
a hotel, and, then simply flying, but it all depends on the passport you carry.
But for many people across the world, it is not that easy. A
number of passport holders need to get a travel/tourist visa before their
arrival. These visas normally require approval from the destination country’s
government that can take a few weeks or months.
For example, Japanese passport holders are able to visit 193
countries without pre-approval (nearly every country on Earth). Afghans, on the
other hand, can only visit 27 countries with the same level of ease.
The ranking shown here uses data from Henley & Partners,
which determines the number of countries to which a passport holder has
visa-free access.
The need of Visas:
Visas are imposed by some countries to make it easier to
track tourists, allowing a country to assess whether said passport-holder may
be a risk for illegal immigration, crime, acts of terror, or covert
surveillance.
For example, both Russia and China require American passport
holders to obtain visas prior to travel, and vice versa.
The Most Powerful Passports:
When talking about the most powerful passports, most of the
top 20 are issued by countries in Asia or Europe, with the exception of New
Zealand and the United States.
Because of multiple ties in the rankings the U.S.
technically ranks 17th, having visa-free access to 187 countries, on par with
Norway, New Zealand, and Switzerland.
There has been a drastic improvement over the last decade in
the position of Ukraine’s passport. Ranking on 66th position, it currently
gets visa-free access to 144 countries. However, it has to be seen how this
will change in the wake of the Russia/Ukraine conflict.
The table below shows top 10 countries with strongest
passports.
|
Rank |
Passport |
Number of Countries Allowing
Visa-Free Access |
|
#1 |
Japan |
193 |
|
#1 |
Singapore |
193 |
|
#3 |
South Korea |
192 |
|
#4 |
Germany |
191 |
|
#4 |
Spain |
191 |
|
#6 |
Finland |
190 |
|
#6 |
Italy |
190 |
|
#6 |
Luxembourg |
190 |
|
#9 |
Austria |
189 |
|
#9 |
Denmark |
189 |
The Least Powerful Passports:
Many of least powerful passports come out of war-torn and
politically unstable nations. As visas for travel are typically required to
counter illegal activity, these nations are often flagged whether justly or
not.
One immediate standout among the least powerful passports is
North Korea. The narrow-minded nation has visa-free access to 40 countries,
ranking it above eight other passports on the list.
Most North Koreans who travel abroad do so only in extremely
special circumstances for work, study, or athletic competitions. The concept of
vacation travel out of North Korea does not exist, but technically, North
Koreans can visit countries like Haiti, St. Vincent & the Grenadines,
Palestine, and Kyrgyzstan, among others without a visa.
In general, the power of a passport is almost directly
reflective of the political state of the world. World powers and rich nations usually
have free flow of travel, but those facing instability or war are the ones to often
face barriers when wanting to go abroad.
Infographic by: visualcapitalist
