You are here

Ranked: The World’s Most and Least Powerful Passports in 2023

Ranked: The World’s Most and Least Powerful Passports

Depending on your passport, travel can be as simple as just booking flights, finding a hotel, and, then simply going.

But for many across the world, it’s not that easy—a number of passport holders need to obtain a travel/tourist visa prior to arrival. These visas typically require approval from the destination country’s government that can take weeks or months.

Japanese passport holders, for example, are able to visit 193 countries without pre-approval (nearly every country on Earth). Afghans, on the other hand, can only visit 27 countries with the same level of ease.

This ranking uses data from Henley & Partners, which determines the number of countries to which a passport holder has visa-free access.

The World’s Passports

First let’s look at every country’s position in the ranking in the table below:

Rank Passport Number of Countries Allowing Visa-Free Access
#1 Japan 193
#1 Singapore 193
#3 South Korea 192
#4 Germany 191
#4 Spain 191
#6 Finland 190
#6 Italy 190
#6 Luxembourg 190
#9 Austria 189
#9 Denmark 189
#9 Netherlands 189
#9 Sweden 189
#13 France 188
#13 Ireland 188
#13 Portugal 188
#13 United Kingdom 188
#17 Belgium 187
#17 Czechia 187
#17 New Zealand 187
#17 Norway 187
#17 Switzerland 187
#17 United States 187
#23 Australia 186
#23 Canada 186
#23 Greece 186
#23 Malta 186
#27 Hungary 185
#27 Poland 185
#29 Lithuania 184
#29 Slovakia 184
#31 Latvia 183
#31 Slovenia 183
#33 Estonia 182
#34 Iceland 181
#35 Malaysia 180
#36 Liechtenstein 179
#37 Cyprus 178
#37 United Arab Emirates 178
#39 Romania 176
#40 Bulgaria 175
#40 Chile 175
#40 Croatia 175
#40 Monaco 175
#44 Hong Kong (SAR China) 172
#45 Argentina 171
#46 Brazil 170
#46 San Marino 170
#48 Andorra 169
#49 Brunei 167
#50 Barbados 162
#51 Israel 160
#51 Mexico 160
#53 St. Kitts and Nevis 156
#54 Bahamas 155
#55 Vatican City 154
#56 Seychelles 153
#56 Uruguay 153
#58 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 151
#59 Antigua and Barbuda 150
#59 Costa Rica 150
#59 Trinidad and Tobago 150
#62 Mauritius 146
#63 St. Lucia 146
#63 Taiwan 146
#65 Grenada 145
#66 Dominica 144
#66 Macao (SAR China) 144
#66 Ukraine 144
#69 Panama 143
#70 Paraguay 141
#71 Serbia 137
#72 Peru 136
#73 Colombia 133
#73 Guatemala 133
#73 Honduras 133
#76 El Salvador 132
#77 Samoa 131
#77 Solomon Islands 131
#79 Tonga 129
#80 Venezuela 128
#81 Nicaragua 127
#81 Tuvalu 127
#83 North Macedonia 125
#84 Montenegro 124
#85 Kiribati 123
#86 Marshall Islands 122
#87 Moldova 120
#88 Palau Islands 119
#89 Bosnia and Herzegovina 118
#89 Micronesia 118
#89 Russia 118
#92 Albania 115
#92 Georgia 115
#94 Türkiye 111
#95 South Africa 106
#96 Belize 102
#97 Qatar 100
#98 Kuwait 97
#98 Vanuatu 97
#100 Timor-Leste 94
#101 Ecuador 92
#102 Maldives 89
#102 Nauru 89
#104 Bahrain 87
#104 Fiji 87
#104 Guyana 87
#107 Botswana 86
#107 Jamaica 86
#109 Oman 82
#109 Papua New Guinea 82
#109 Saudi Arabia 82
#112 China 81
#113 Belarus 79
#113 Bolivia 79
#113 Thailand 79
#116 Namibia 78
#117 Lesotho 77
#117 Suriname 77
#119 Kazakhstan 75
#120 Eswatini 74
#121 Malawi 73
#122 Indonesia 72
#122 Kenya 72
#124 Tanzania 71
#124 Tunisia 71
#126 Dominican Republic 70
#126 Zambia 70
#128 Azerbaijan 69
#129 The Gambia 68
#130 Philippines 67
#131 Uganda 66
#132 Armenia 65
#132 Cape Verde Islands 65
#132 Morocco 65
#132 Zimbabwe 65
#136 Cuba 64
#136 Ghana 64
#136 Sierra Leone 64
#139 Kyrgyzstan 63
#140 Mongolia 61
#140 Mozambique 61
#142 Benin 60
#142 India 60
#142 Rwanda 60
#145 Sao Tome and Principe 59
#145 Tajikistan 59
#145 Uzbekistan 59
#148 Mauritania 58
#149 Burkina Faso 57
#150 Cote d'Ivoire 56
#150 Gabon 56
#150 Senegal 56
#153 Equatorial Guinea 55
#153 Guinea 55
#153 Vietnam 55
#156 Cambodia 54
#156 Madagascar 54
#156 Togo 54
#159 Egypt 53
#159 Jordan 53
#159 Mali 53
#159 Niger 53
#163 Algeria 52
#163 Bhutan 52
#163 Central African Republic 52
#163 Chad 52
#163 Comoros 52
#163 Guinea-Bissau 52
#163 Turkmenistan 52
#170 Cameroon 51
#171 Angola 50
#171 Laos 50
#173 Burundi 49
#173 Congo (Rep.) 49
#173 Liberia 49
#176 Djibouti 48
#176 Haiti 48
#178 Myanmar 47
#179 Ethiopia 46
#179 Nigeria 46
#181 Eritrea 44
#181 Iran 44
#181 South Sudan 44
#184 Democratic Republic of the Congo 42
#184 Sudan 42
#186 Kosovo 41
#186 Lebanon 41
#186 Sri Lanka 41
#189 Bangladesh 40
#189 Libya 40
#189 North Korea 40
#192 Palestine 38
#193 Nepal 37
#194 Somalia 35
#195 Yemen 34
#196 Pakistan 32
#197 Syria 30
#198 Iraq 29
#199 Afghanistan 27

Visas are imposed by some countries to make it easier to track visitors, allowing a country to assess whether said passport-holder may be a risk for illegal immigration, crime, acts of terror, or covert surveillance.

For example, both Russia and China require American passport holders to obtain visas prior to travel, and vice versa.

The Most Powerful Passports

When it comes to the most powerful passports, most of the top 20 are issued by countries in Asia or Europe, with the exception of New Zealand and the United States.

Due to multiple ties in the rankings the U.S. technically ranks 17th, having visa-free access to 187 countries, on par with Norway, New Zealand, and Switzerland.

Ranking 66th, Ukraine’s passport has actually seen drastic improvement over the last decade, currently getting visa-free access to 144 countries. It has yet to be seen how this will change in the wake of the Russia/Ukraine conflict.

The Least Powerful Passports

Many of least powerful passports come out of war-torn and politically unstable nations. As visas for travel are typically required to counter illicit activity, these nations are often flagged whether justly or not.

One immediate standout among the least powerful passports is North Korea. The insular nation has visa-free access to 40 countries, ranking it above eight other passports on the list.

Most North Koreans who travel abroad do so only in extremely special circumstances for work, study, or athletic competitions. Leisure travel out of North Korea does not happen, but technically, North Koreans can visit countries like Haiti, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Palestine, and Kyrgyzstan, among others without a visa.

The Biggest Gainers & Losers Over Time

From a big picture standpoint, the world’s travelers have seen their access improve significantly over the last 10 years. If you’re a citizen of the UAE, for example, your prospects for visa-free travel have improved by 100+ countries over the last decade.

Here’s a closer look at 15 countries with the greatest change in visa-free access:

Rank Country 2013 Visa-Free Access 2023 Visa-Free Access 10 Year Change
#1 United Arab Emirates 72 178 +106
#2 Colombia 63 133 +70
#3 Ukraine 77 144 +67
#4 Moldova 59 120 +61
#5 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 92 151 +59
#6 Dominica 87 144 +57
#6 Grenada 88 145 +57
#8 Peru 80 136 +56
#9 Georgia 60 115 +55
#10 St. Lucia 94 146 +52
#11 Samoa 81 131 +50
#11 Trinidad and Tobago 100 150 +50
#13 Tonga 80 129 +49
#14 Solomon Islands 84 131 +47
#15 Croatia 129 175 +46

On the other hand, other countries have fared poorly, with some actually losing access to destinations since 2013. Yemen and Syria are tied for first place, having lost visa-free access to nine countries over the last 10 years.

Here’s a look at 15 countries who experienced the biggest negative change:

Rank Country 2013 Visa-Free Access 2023 Visa-Free Access 10 Year Change
#1 Yemen 43 34 -9
#1 Syria 39 30 -9
#3 Nigeria 48 46 -2
#3 Iraq 31 29 -2
#5 North Korea 41 40 -1
#5 Bangladesh 41 40 -1
#5 Afghanistan 28 27 -1
#8 Venezuela 128 128 0
#8 The Gambia 68 68 0
#8 Pakistan 32 32 0
#8 Niger 53 53 0
#8 Nepal 37 37 0
#8 Mali 53 53 0
#14 Togo 53 54 +1
#14 Sierra Leone 63 64 +1

Looking at the tables above, it’s apparent that the world has generally become more open in recent years.

Overall, the power of a passport is almost directly reflective of the political state of the world. World powers and rich nations typically have free flow of travel, but those facing instability or war are often also face barriers when wanting to go abroad.

The post Ranked: The World’s Most and Least Powerful Passports in 2023 appeared first on Visual Capitalist.

Source
Asia
Europe