In 2023, Japan has the world’s most powerful passport. Holders are able to visit 193 destinations without a prior visa
It’s official. Globally, we are on the move again. In 2022, international travel showed significant signs of recovery, with arrivals reaching 57% of pre-pandemic levels. An estimated 474 million tourists travelled internationally during the first seven months of 2022, compared to 175 million in the same period of 2021.
As we mentioned in our annual round-up, 2022 was a watershed year for us – one of lifetime highs and goals. We remain hopeful about the future of travel and hope that the same trends persist into 2023. We believe that exploration is a human instinct and hope that people will continue to return to the road.
With this in mind, we take a look at the recently updated ranking of the world’s most powerful passports, compiled by the Henley Passport Index. With historical data spanning 18 years, the index ranks passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.
Richie Chan/Shutterstock Japan has the world’s best passport
What are the world’s most powerful passports?
Japan has sneaked back ahead of Singapore after the two countries jointly held the title in 2022. Japan now grants easy access to 193 destinations, compared to Singapore’s 192. Singapore is joined by South Korea in joint second with Germany and Spain in joint fourth. The 10 most powerful passports are below.
- Japan, 193 destinations
- Singapore, 192
- South Korea, 192
- Germany, 190
- Spain, 190
- Finland, 189
- Italy, 189
- Luxembourg, 189
- Austria, 188
- Denmark, 188
Kanuman/Shutterstock Singapore has slipped behind Japan
What are the world’s least powerful passports?
Afghanistan has the world’s least powerful passport in 2023, granting easy access to only 27 destinations. It ranks just below Iraq, Syria, Pakistan and Yemen. The 10 least powerful passports are below.
- Libya, 41 destinations
- North Korea, 40
- Nepal, 38
- Palestinian Territories, 38
- Somalia, 35
- Yemen, 34
- Pakistan, 32
- Syria, 30
- Iraq, 29
- Afghanistan, 27
Thanakorn chuenpongsa/Shutterstock Nepal’s passport performs badly
Increase in Visa-Free Destinations: 2006 versus 2022
The darker blue countries have increased the number of destinations their citizens can access visa-free or with a visa-on-arrival the most. Hover over a country to see the number of destinations it has gained access to since 2006.
How is the ranking calculated?
The Henley Passport Index uses data from the International Air Transport Authority to cross-check 199 passports against 227 possible travel destinations.
For each travel destination, if no visa is required or a visa-on-arrival is available, the passport in question receives a score of 1. If a visa or other form of government approval is required before departure, the passport receives a score of 0.
Henley The Henley Passport Index
The scores for each passport are added up to produce its total score (i.e. the number of destinations to which it grants access without a prior visa). This is then ranked against all other passports to create the index.
interesting insights
Japan has taken the top spot of the index for the fifth consecutive year, either alone or jointly with Singapore. This year it is once again moved ahead of Singapore.
Travel Mania/Shutterstock Japan tops the list of the most powerful passports in the world again
Over the past eight years, the US passport has fallen from the number one spot to seventh place, a position it currently shares with Belgium, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland.
North Korea has visa-free/visa-on-arrival access to 40 destinations. This includes only one country in Europe: Belarus.
Shutterstock The UAE continues its rapid ascent
The UAE has continued its remarkable upward trajectory. In 2023, it has a score of 178 to take 15th place on the ranking. This is a rapid ascent from 2006 when it had a score of just 35 and ranked 62nd.
The biggest climbers over the past decade are UAE, Colombia, Timor-Leste, Ukraine, Georgia and Peru. In contrast, Syria, Yemen, Nigeria, Libya, The Gambia and Sierra Leone have fared the worst.
World’s most powerful passport – ranked
RankCountryScore
1Japan193
2Singapore192
South Korea
3Germany190
Spain
4Finland189
Italy
Luxembourg
5Austria188
Denmark
Netherlands
Sweden
6France187
Ireland
Portugal
UK
7Belgium186
Czech Republic
New Zealand
Norway
Switzerland
USA
8Australia185
Canada
Greece
Malta
9Hungary184
Poland
10Lithuania183
Slovakia
11Latvia182
Slovenia
12Estonia181
13Iceland180
14Malaysia179
15Liechtenstein178
UAE
16Cyprus177
17Romania175
18Bulgaria174
Chile
Croatia
Monaco
19Hong Kong SAR171
20Argentina170
Brazil
21San Marino169
22Andorra168
23Brunei166
24Barbados163
25Israel159
Mexico
26St. Kitts & Nevis157
27Bahamas155
28Vatican City154
29Seychelles153
Uruguay
30St. Vincent & the Grenadines152
31Antigua & Barbuda151
Trinidad & Tobago
32Costa Rica150
33St. Lucia147
34Grenada146
Mauritius
35Dominica145
Taiwan
36Macao SAR144
Panama
Ukraine
37Paraguay142
38Peru136
Serbia
39Colombia133
Guatemala
Honduras
40El Salvador132
Samoa
Solomon ISlands
41Tonga130
42Venezuela129
43Nicaragua128
Tuvalu
44North Macedonia125
45Kiribati124
Montenegro
46Marshall Islands123
47Moldova121
48Palau120
49Bosnia & Herzegovina118
Micronesia
Russia
50Georgia116
51Albania115
52Türkiye110
53South Africa106
54Belize103
55Qatar100
56Vanuatu98
57Kuwait97
58Timor-Leste94
59Ecuador92
60Nauru90
61Maldives89
62Fiji88
Guyana
63Bahrain87
Botswana
Jamaica
64Papua New Guinea83
65Oman82
Saudi Arabia
66Bolivia80
China
67Namibia79
68Belarus78
Thailand
69Lesotho77
70Kazakhstan76
Suriname
71eSwatini75
72Malawi74
73Kenya73
74Tanzania72
75Indonesia71
Zambia
76Azerbaijan70
Dominican Republic
Tunisia
77The Gambia69
78Philippines67
Uganda
79Armenia66
Cape Verde
Zimbabwe
80Cuba65
Ghana
Morocco
81Kyrgyzstan64
Sierra Leone
82Mongolia62
Mozambique
83Benin61
Rwanda
84Sao Tome & Principe60
Tajikistan
85India59
Mauritania
Uzbekistan
86Burkina Faso58
87Cote d’Ivoire57
Gabon
Senegal
88Equatorial Guinea55
Guinea
Madagascar
Togo
Vietnam
89Cambodia54
Mali
90Algeria53
Bhutan
Chad
Comoros
Egypt
Jordan
Niger
Turkmenistan
91Central African Republic52
Guinea-Bissau
92Angola51
Cameroon
93Burundi50
Laos
94Congo49
Haiti
Liberia
95Djibouti48
96Myanmar47
97Ethiopia46
Nigeria
98Eritrea44
South Sudan
99Iran43
100DR Congo42
Lebanon
Sri Lanka
Sudan
101Bangladesh41
Kosovo
Libya
102North Korea40
103Nepal38
Palestinian Territories
104Somalia35
105Yemen34
106Pakistan32
107Syria30
108Iraq29
109Afghanistan27
This article is updated annually with the latest available data.
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Lead image: Sachiczko/Shutterstock
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Source: atlasandboots.com