Japan and Singapore have the most powerful passports in the world, according to the latest Henley Passport Index.
The most powerful passports for visa-free access. Image by boonchai wedmakawand/Getty Images
Both Japan and Singapore have held onto the title in the newest ranking, with a visa-free or visa-on-arrival score of 189. Having visa-free access to countries makes things easier for jet-setting citizens, as they don’t have to go through a long or expensive application process to visit other countries. Based on data from the International Air Transport Association, the report found that both places have held the spot for 18 months, after knocking Germany out of the top spot in the beginning of 2018.
A Russian passport. Image by ©Yulia Grigoryeva/Shutterstock
South Korea, which had tied for first place earlier this year, is now in second place along with Finland and Germany, allowing them to visit 187 places without applying for a visa. Both the US and UK have fallen to their lowest position since 2010, tied for sixth place when they held the first place in 2014. In third place are Denmark, Italy, and Luxembourg, while France, Spain and Sweden share fourth place.
While Asian and European countries dominate the top 10, the United Arab Emirates has entered the top 20 for the first time, climbing a record-breaking 41 places over the past ten years and doubling the number of destinations its citizens can visit in the past five years.
See the full ranking here.
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