Germany has regained its crown as the world’s most powerful passport with visa-free access to 177 countries, according to the Henley Passport Index 2018.
Singapore ranks second with visa-free access to 176 countries, while eight countries — Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden, and the UK — share third place, offering passport-holders access to 175 countries.
Ranking jointly fourth on the index - Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Spain all provide visa-free access to 174 countries.
Australia
Australia is ranked as the seventh most powerful passport in the world with visa-free access to 171 countries. It shares the rank with New Zealand and Greece.
For the second year in a row, Pakistan, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan sit at the bottom of the Henley Passport Index, each able to access 30 or fewer countries visa-free.
The Henley Passport Index ranking is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which maintains the world’s largest and most comprehensive database of travel information and is enhanced by extensive in-house research.
Dr Christian H. Kälin, Group Chairman of Henley & Partners, says the need for visa-free access is greater than ever.
“Across the economic spectrum, individuals want to transcend the constraints imposed on them by their country of origin and access business, financial, career, and lifestyle opportunities on a global scale,” he says.
"The Henley Passport Index shows individuals where they lie on the spectrum of global mobility, revealing the strength that their passport has in relation to other passports."
