London, Europe Brief News – The world’s most powerful passports have been revealed in a new ranking.
The Henley Passport Index is a ranking of the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can travel to. But this will not require a visa.
The report is based on data shared by the International Air Travel Authority (IATA) on a fixed date every year. Updated quarterly, it includes 199 passports which are checked against 227 destinations.
This year’s index shows the “travel freedom gap” is at an all-time high. It is measured by the difference between the highest and lowest performing countries on the index.
UK and US passports are wholly absent from the top spots, proving to be not half as powerful as they were once thought.
They rank joint 6th, along with Switzerland, Norway, New Zealand and Belgium, stumbling downwards since they were both the pinnacles of the list back in 2014.
There’s no definite reason as to why. But it could be the fallout from the adoption of increasingly anti-immigration sentiments by their respective governments.
What it means is various European destinations have cemented their place above the UK and US.
Many Asian countries have soared throughout the index since its creation in 2006. Japan retaining its position as the world’s strongest passport reflects on how it thrives off globalisation.
Japan and Singapore jointly claim the top spot in the latest iteration of the Henley Passport Index, released by London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners.
Some that haven’t fared as well include Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq, whose passports allow entry to less than 30 destinations.
