Henley Passport Index has again released the list of countries with powerful passports and for the fifth straight year, the Japanese passport is has retained its first position as the most powerful among all passports in the world. This is because it allows visa-free access to as many as 193 countries.
If our country is to be considered, India improved its position by 2 spots from last year and has been ranked 85th on the index list. Meanwhile, Singapore and South Korea have attained joint second on the ranking.
The US has made its place among the top 22 with visa-free access to 186 places. China's passport allows access to 80, similar to Bolivia's.
Readers must know that the report uses data from the International Air Transport Association to rank 199 passports' access to 227 travel destinations. This is considered the original ranking of all the passports according to the number of destinations their holders can visit without a prior visa.
India passport holders can travel visa-free to or get visas on arrival for Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Macao, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Kenya, Mauritius, Seychelles, Zimbabwe and Qatar.
Dr. Christian H Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners invented the list 20 years ago and the index is based on the official data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Top 10 Spots on Henley Index 2023
Here are the top ten countries on the Henley Index with the number of places they provide free visas or visas on arrival.
Japan- 193
Singapore, South Korea- 192
Germany, Spain- 190
Finland, Italy, Luxembourg- 189
Austria, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden- 188
France, Ireland, Portugal, United Kingdom- 187
Belgium, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, United States- 186
Australia, Canada, Greece, Malta- 185
Hungary, Poland- 184
Lithuania, Slovakia- 183
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