After five years, Japan’s reign as the keeper of the mightiest passport has come to an end, according to Daily Mail.
Guess who’s the new champion? Singapore.
Yep, our good ol’ Neighbour has soared to the top with its passport offering visa-free entry to an incredible 192 destinations.
Malaysian Passport ranked 11th
Malaysia isn’t too far behind on this ranking as well, securing the 11th spot with visa-free entry to 180 countries.
As per the super-official Henley Passport Index, Germany, Italy, and Spain have sprinted up to share the silver medal, their passports unlocking 190 countries without a visa.
Meanwhile, Japan, who was number one last year, has now slipped to third place. But they’re not alone – they’re joined by Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg, South Korea, and Sweden. All these seven countries allow visa-free travel to 189 places!
In other travel trivia, Taiwan, Macau, and Panama are hanging out together in the 31st spot with visa-free access to 144 cool places.
Hong Kong and Andorra secured the 17th spot, with a key to 170 locations. China and Bolivia, meanwhile, chill at the 63rd spot, letting their citizens travel to 80 places visa-free.
The U.S. passport slipped another two ranks to 8th place, but still, it’s a golden ticket to 184 countries.
The report whispered that U.K. and U.S. passports, once the twin titans of travel in 2014, have since been on a bit of a downhill ride.
But some countries didn’t fare so well. Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria are sitting at the bottom with visa-free access to just 27, 29, and 30 destinations respectively.
The Henley Passport Index is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), analyzing the number of countries that passport holders can enter without a visa prior.
Dr. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners and the creator of the Henley Passport Index concept, stated that only eight countries in the world have fewer visa-free entry benefits today than they did ten years ago. On the other hand, most countries have successfully ensured greater travel freedom for their citizens.
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