Singapore holds the world’s most powerful passport, giving its citizens visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 193 destinations, as per the Henley Passport Index released on July 22.
The ranking, based using exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), puts the city-state ahead of global giants like the US and UK. However, minor changes emerged this year, with Pakistan and Mauritania moving to e-visa systems, slightly trimming Singapore's earlier list of visa-on-arrival nations. Hindutan Times reported.
Asian nations are ruling the global travel mobility index, with Japan and South Korea tied at second place, granting passport holders access to 190 destinations without a prior visa. Even Europe is not far behind. Seven EU countries, including Germany, France, and Spain, make it to the third spot with 189 destinations. Meanwhile, it is New Zealand which happens to be the only non-European country in the top five outside Asia. At the other end of the spectrum, it is Afghanistan which ranks lowest, allowing its citizens visa-free access to only 25 countries.
FYI, India, this year, has shown a notable climb in global passport rankings, ascending eight spots to reach 77th place, even with visa-free access to just 59 destinations.
Saudi Arabia also advanced, gaining four new entries to its list and moving up to the 54th rank. Meanwhile, travel giants like the US and UK have slipped. The UK now stands sixth with access to 186 destinations, while the US, at 10th place with 182, hits its lowest rank since the Henley Passport Index began.
