The world’s most powerful passports have been revealed

Japan still has the most powerful passport in the world, according to the latest Henley Passport Index.

Japan has held onto the title in the newest ranking, published on 7 January, with a visa-free or visa-on-arrival score of 191. 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. Singapore, which was tied for first in the October edition of the index, has now dropped to second with a score of 190. The two countries knocked Germany down a few pegs in early 2018 and claimed the top spot for nearly two years, based on data from the International Air Transport Association – a trend that matches up. For much of 14-year history of the index, European countries held the top spots. However, now Asian countries are starting to gain a stronghold.

Tied for first in March 2019, South Korea now joins Germany in third place, allowing their citizens to visit 189 places without applying for a visa. Both the US and the UK continue their downward spiral, dropping from sixth to eighth place – a far cry from their joint first-place finish in 2014. (Belgium, Greece, and Norway round out the eighth-place slot.) In fourth place are Finland and Italy, while Denmark, Luxembourg, and Spain share fifth place. While Asian and European countries dominate the top 10, the UAE has climbed 47 places over the past 10 years, bringing it up to 18th place – though it did drop a few slots since last quarter’s 15th-place finish.

The Indian passport’s current ranking is at 84, allowing visa-free access to 58 countries.

See the full ranking here.

This article was first published on www.lonelyplanet.com. It was published on www.lonelyplanet.in in July 2019 and has been updated in January 2020.

from Lonely Planet India https://ift.tt/30uqSvS