The Telegraph recently published a list of the most and least powerful passports in the world. This ranking was initially published by the citizenship and planning firm Henley and Partners, who determine the ranking of a country’s passport by taking in to account how many countries the bearer of its passport can travel without a visa. Turns out, German citizens have the most powerful passport of all where citizens can travel to 177 countries without a visa. The same way citizens of Britain can travel to 175 countries and US citizens to 174.
France, Italy, Spain and Finland are in third position with Sweden taking the second spot. US is fourth along with Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands. Henley and Partners said,
"Generally, there was significant movement across the board with only 21 of the 199 countries listed remaining in the same rank. No country, however, dropped more than three positions, indicating that overall, visa-free access is improving around the world.”
The least powerful passport in the world is that of Afghanistan where people can only travel to 25 countries without a visa. Pakistan comes second in the least powerful passport category with citizens allowed to travel to only 29 countries without a visa.
Australia ranks 8th amongst the countries with the most powerful passports and Australian citizens can travel to 169 countries with a visa. New Zealand beat Australia by one point coming 7th in the ranking. Kiwis can travel to 171 countries without a visa and the country shares this rank with Greece.
According to the passport Index firm’s report, India ranked 59 in the list.
World’s Most Powerful Passports:
- Germany, 177 countries can be visited without a visa
- Sweden, 176
- Finland, France, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, 175
- Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, United States, 174
- Austria, Japan, Singapore, 173
- Canada, Ireland (Republic of), Korea (Republic of, South), Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, 172
- Greece, New Zealand, 171
- Australia, 169
- Malta, 168
- Hungary, Czech Republic, Iceland, 167
World’s Least Powerful Passports:
- Afghanistan, 25 countries can be visited without a visa
- Pakistan, 29
- Iraq, 30
- Somalia, 31
- Syria, 32
- Libya, 36
- Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Nepal, Palestinian Territory, Sudan, 37
- Kosovo, South Sudan, Yemen, 38
- Bangladesh, Congo (Democratic Republic of), Lebanon, Sri Lanka, 39
- Burundi, Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of, North), Myanmar, 42
List of countries where Indian passport holders can visit:
Antarctica
Bhutan
Bolivia
British Virgin Islands
Cambodia
Cape Verde
Comoros Islands
Cook Islands
Djibouti
Dominica
Ecuador
El Salvador
Ethiopia
Fiji
FYRO Macedonia
Gambia
Georgia
Grenada
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Hong Kong
Indonesia
Iraq (Basra)
Jamaica
Jordan
Kenya
Laos
Macau
Madagascar
Maldives
Mauritius
Micronesia
Montserrat
Mozambique
Nauru
Nepal
Nicaragua
Niue
Palau
Samoa
Sao Tome & Principe
Seychelles
South Korea (Jeju)
St. Kitts & Nevis
St. Lucia
St. Vincent & Grenadines
Svalbard
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Timor Leste
Togo
Trinidad & Tobago
Turks & Caicos Islands
Tuvalu
Uganda
Vanuatu
