World’s Most Powerful Passports – 2024
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Hashim Sheikh
- . July 24, 2024
- . Update: July 24, 2024 6:49 pm
According to the newest Henley Passport Index, Singapore is still crowned as holding the world’s most powerful passport. This comes from an index released by the London-based Henley & Partners, ranking passports by destinations their holders can access visa-free or with a visa on arrival.
Singapore Leader of the Pack
Its passport now allows its holders to travel, visa-free, to a whopping 195 countries, thereby becoming the most powerful in the world. Needless to say, this ranking reflects volumes about Singapore’s strong diplomatic ties and the level of mobility enjoyed by citizens across borders.
What Makes A Passport Powerful?
When many countries allow entry to a passport holder without the need for special permission, usually in the form of a visa, then that passport becomes powerful. Normally, this happens when countries have good relations with one another.
Sometimes countries strike deals with each other to let each other’s citizens visit easily. The more such amicable agreements a country has with other nations, the more powerful its passport will be. Some countries like Singapore, France, Germany are on the top and have good relations with lots of countries and that’s why they have the most powerful passports.
Top 10 Most Powerful Passports for 2024:
1. Singapore (195 countries)
2. France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain (192 countries)
3. Austria, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, South Korea, Sweden (191 countries)
4. Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, United Kingdom (190 countries)
5. Australia, Portugal (189 countries)
6. Greece, Poland (188 countries)
7. Canada, Czechia, Hungary, Malta (187 countries)
8. United States (182 countries)
9. Estonia, Lithuania, United Arab Emirates (185 countries)
10. Iceland, Latvia, Slovakia (184 countries)
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Position of Other Countries including India, China, etc
India comes in at 82nd, a rating shared with Senegal and Tajikistan. Indian passport holders access 58 countries without a visa. Maldives comes in at 58th place, with visa-free access to 96 countries, and China takes the 59th position, having access to 85 countries. Afghanistan continues to show its presence at the last position, with its citizens having visa-free access to only 26 countries.
The Henley Passport Index 2024 highlights trends in global mobility. While some countries enjoy a rather wide scope of visa-free travel, others have considerably limited ones. The ranking mirrors not only diplomatic cooperation but also touches upon the very spheres of international business, tourism, and connectivity across the world. All these rankings may change as the world keeps evolving, opening new opportunities to global citizens.
