A passport gives you the possibility to travel and get to know the different cultures and wonders that the world has for you outside your country. However, there are some passports that offer better travel freedom than others and are known as the most powerful passports in the world.
The power of these passports lies in the fact that they allow the owner to travel more easily without extra requirements such as a visa or a special permit; many passports focus mainly on visa-free travel; however there are other factors that made the passport holder gain importance and power. Factors such as: visa-free travel, taxation of citizens, global perception, dual citizenship and personal freedom.
Which Are the Most Powerful Passports in the World?
In some cases, due to agreements between the 2 countries in question, a country’s visa policy may allow travelers of some nationalities to visit without a visa for a period of time, being the traveler’s passport all that is needed.
The Henley Passport Index (HPI) ranks passports according to the number of destinations a traveler can enter without applying for a visa in advance, and ranks a passport highly as well if it allows the holder to visit countries with passport only, electronic travel authorization and visa on arrival.
1st: Japan
This is the most powerful passports in the world if we’re talking about travel freedom, according to the HPI. A Japanese passport allows the holder to enter 193 different countries without having to get a visa in advance.
2nd: Singapore and South Korea
These two countries grant visa-free travel to 192 destinations.
3rd: Germany and Spain
The holder of any of these two passports can visit 190 different destinations around the globe.
4th: Finland, Italy, and Luxembourg
Once again, three European countries are in fourth place and offer the holder 189 different destinations.
5th: Austria, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden
The holder of any of these passport can travel to 188 different destinations.
6th: France, Ireland, Portugal, and the U.K.
These four European countries offer the holder 187 destinations.
7th: Belgium, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, and the U.S.
The differences are minimal among the positions, compared to the countries in the sixth place, the holders of the seventh-place have the possibility of traveling to 186 destinations.
8th: Australia, Canada, Greece, and Malta
These two countries offer 185 territories to visit.
9th: Hungary and Poland
The countries in the ninth place offer 184 countries to travel free.
10th: Lithuania and Slovakia
And last but not least, in the tenth place, the holders of these passports have a total of 183 countries to visit without a visa.
The Least Powerful Passports
North Korea, Nepal, Palestinian Territory, Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan are countries that have less than 40 countries they can entered without a visa, Afghanistan in the last place has only 27destinations and it’s in the 112th place.
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