SINGAPORE is now officially the most powerful passport in the world, with its citizens able to visit 192 travel destinations out of 227 around the world visa-free, knocking Japan off the top spot on the Henley Passport Index, conducted by Henley & Partners.
The index, based on exclusive and official data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), showed that Japan has been knocked off the top spot for the first time in five years and bumped into third place, joining six other nations namely Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg, South Korea and Sweden, with access to 189 destinations without a prior visa.
Germany, Italy and Spain all move up into second place with visa-free access to 190 destinations while the United Kingdom (UK) appears to have finally turned the corner after a six-year decline, jumping two places on the latest ranking to fourth place, a position it last held in 2017.
On the other hand, the United States (US) continues its now decade-long slide down the index, plummeting a further two places to eighth spot with access to just 184 destinations visa-free.
Henley & Partners Chairman Dr. Christian H. Kaelin says only eight countries worldwide have less visa-free access today than they did a decade ago, while others have been more successful in securing greater travel freedom for their citizens.
"The UAE has added an impressive 107 destinations to its visa-free score since 2013, resulting in a massive leap of 44 places in the ranking over the past 10 years from 56th to 12th position.
"Of the countries sitting in the Top 10, the US has seen the smallest increase in its score, securing just 12 additional destinations. Singapore, by comparison, has increased its score by 25, pushing it up five places over the past 10 years to number one," he added in a statement.
The general trend over the history of the 18-year-old ranking has been towards greater travel freedom, with the average number of destinations travellers are able to access visa-free nearly doubling from 58 in 2006 to 109 in 2023.
However, the global mobility gap between those at the top and bottom of the index is now wider than it has ever been, with top-ranked Singapore able to access 165 more destinations visa-free than Afghanistan.
The new Henley Openness Index ranks all 199 countries worldwide according to the number of nationalities they permit entry to without a prior visa, with the Top 20 'most open' countries are all small island nations or African states, except for Cambodia.
-- BERNAMA
Bernama
Tue Jul 18 2023
Singapore, by comparison, has increased its score by 25, pushing it up five places over the past 10 years to number one, Henley & Partners Chairman Dr. Christian H. Kaelin said. - Astro AWANI/Filepic
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