The world’s best passport to have in 2023 is that of Japan, followed by Singapore, Italy, Finland, and Germany, with other European passports following, in the first 20 positions, expect for South Korea holds the 11th position.
Whereas the worst passports to have this year are mainly those issued by African and Middle Eastern countries, with the Afghan passport being the worst to have, listed at the end of the table in the 199th position, followed by Somalia in the 198th position, Syria in 197th, Iraq in 196th, and Kosovo, a European country, on 195th.
VisaGuide.World has launched its own Passport Index, which is the first index ever to rank world passports in a more comprehensive and accurate way, based on a carefully-built formula that takes more factors into consideration.
The index gives travel with a visa, e-visa, visa-on-arrival, and visa-free a different value each, while also taking into account different other factors, like the value of the destination, which makes it possible for every passport to have its unique score, and finally, makes passport ranking more accurate than ever.
What Makes VisaGuide Passport Index Different From Other Existing Indexes
After a deep analysis of existing indexes, data scientists from VisaGuide.World have come into the conclusion that all of these indexes are based only on the number of countries a passport allows its holder to travel to visa-free or with a visa, e-visa, or visa-on-arrival, which they claim, is a completely inaccurate way to evaluate passport power.
Many of these indexes equalize traveling visa-free and with an e-visa, as if there was no difference between the two.
“Having to travel to a particular country without a worry in your mind, and having to apply online for a permit like an e-visa, or having in mind that once you’re at your destination, you will have to apply for a document to be permitted to enter that country, are three completely different scenarios. It is misleading to say that any of them are the same or even any bit similar,” Lum Kamishi from VisaGuide.World, says.
He further explains that in order to avoid such inaccuracies, VisaGuide Passport Index has assigned a unique value to each type of policy, not equalizing them, in order to have more reliable results in turn.
Differently from the existing indexes, VisaGuide.World’s Passport Index also takes into account the value of visa-free countries, emphasizing that traveling visa-free to a top travel destination as the United Kingdom or Japan is not the same as being able to travel visa-free to less traveled countries like North Korea or Syria.
Due to all the factors that are taken into account through this formula, it has been possible for each passport in the Visa Guide Passport Index to get a unique score.
“No two passports in the VisaGuide Index are listed on the same spot, which is very common amongst other indexes,” Kamishi says.
As a result, VisaGuide Passport Index is by far the most comprehensive and accurate index out there, providing a better reflection of the true power and mobility of world passports, and it will soon become an important resource for those looking to compare world passports.
Japan, Singapore & Italy Have the World’s Best Passports
According to VisaGuide Passport Index, the top most powerful passports in the world are that of Japan, Singapore and Italy.
VisaGuide Index has placed in the very first spot Japan, since the country’s passport enables its holders to travel completely visa-free to a total of 142 world countries. Japanese citizens can also travel to nine countries by obtaining an electronic travel authorization (eTA), another five countries by obtaining an e-visa in advance and to 35 others by applying and obtaining a visa at the borders of these countries, which visas are known as visa-on-arrival.
Taking into account other factors such as tourist volumes, Japan has a score of 90.28 points out of 100 in the Passport Index, which makes it the world’s best passport to have, surpassing Singapore by only a score of 0.27.
Listed second, Singapore has a score of 90.01, as the country permits visa-free travel for its passport holders to 149 world countries. The Japanese can travel with an eTA to nine countries, with an e-visa to seven countries and with a visa-on-arrival to 35 others.
At the same time, Singaporeans can travel without a passport to one country – Albania.
And though it permits visa-free travel for its citizens to fewer countries than Finland, Italy still sits in the third position, with a score of 88.28, only 0.1 points lower than the fourth position, which is occupied by Finland.
According to VisaGuideWorld, the reason behind this is that, while a Finnish passport permits visa-free travel to 107 countries, and the Italian one to 100 countries, Italians can travel passport-free to a total of 45 world countries, while Finnish citizens can travel without a passport to 37 world countries.
Taking into account the other factors, for example, the destination significance, Italy has thus occupied the third position, which at the same time, makes it Europe’s most powerful passport.
The other seven passports part of the world’s top ten strongest passports are all of the European countries, and they are listed as follows:
Finland with a score of 88.18
Germany – 88.17
Spain – 88.12
Denmark – 87.89
Luxembourg – 87.86
Austria – 87.82
Sweden – 87.65
The positions from 12 to 20 are all occupied by European Union and Schengen Area countries, with South Korea sitting on the 11th position.
US & UK Are Strong, But Not Amongst the Best
While some years ago they were amongst the most powerful in the world, now the American and the British passports have not managed to be listed even in amongst top 20, with the United Kingdom’s passport being listed 27th, and the United States passport listed 40th, with a score of 85.8 and 83.71, respectively.
While British citizens can travel completely visa-free to 138 countries, they at the same time can travel with a visa-on-arrival to 39 countries and with an e-visa to eight countries.
British travelers also have eTA-access to American Samoa, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Pakistan, Puerto Rico, Sri Lanka, US Virgin Islands, and the United States, and even passport-free access to Mayotte and Réunion
Americans, on the other hand, can travel visa-free to 138 world countries, with a visa-on-arrival to 43, and to another ten countries with an e-visa. Entry with an eTA is possible to five countries. American citizens cannot travel passport free anywhere
Another reason why the difference in positions between the UK and the US is so big, in spite of not having such a huge difference in the number of countries that can be visited without a traditional visa, is that three world countries have completely banned Americans from entering the territory, which has automatically affected the power of the American passport. These countries are North Korea, Syria, and Cuba.
UAE Has the Strongest Middle Eastern Passport
The United Arab Emirates passport is the most powerful in the Middle East, as the same permits its holders to travel visa-free to a total of 129 world countries, with an eTA to five, with a visa-on-arrival to 37, and another 14 with an e-visa.
Travellers from the UAE can also travel passport-free to five countries – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.
As a result, the UAE passport is listed as the world’s 25th best, leaving behind passports of countries like Canada (37th), the US (40th), and Australia (35th).
According to Kamishi, the rise of the UAE as a travel destination in the recent decade, in particular of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, has pushed its authorities to work more towards bilateral visa-free agreements with other countries, which as a result, has strengthened its passport.
“In 2019, the country hosted over 25 million travelers, six million more than in 2015, which shows its rapid but stable growth as a world top tourism destination. Aside from the income from tourists, this growth has also helped the UAE strengthen its passport, reaching several visa-free travel agreements with countries worldwide, including here the European Union,” Kamishi adds.
The UAE had reached an agreement with the EU for its citizens to travel visa-free to the Schengen Area on May 6. Due to the agreement, Emiratis have visa-free access to EU’s non-Schengen countries as well, except for Ireland. These are Cyprus, Bulgaria, and Romania.
All other Middle Eastern passports are ranked way lower in the index, with the Afghan passport being listed last, in the 197th position, with visa-free access to only nine countries, 21 with visa-on-arrival, and 25 with an e-visa.
The Syrian, Somalian & Afghan Passports Are the Worst to Have in 2023
The index, once again, has shown that countries that have a type of conflict in their territory have the weakest passports in the world.
Afghanistan is currently the last country sitting in the VisaGuide Index, in the 199th position, as its citizens can travel only to six world countries visa-free, 21 with a visa-on-arrival, and 25 with an e-visa.
Second-last is the Somalian passport, which enables its holders to travel visa-free to only nine world countries, 25 with a visa-on-arrival, and 23 with an e-visa. Syrians, on the other hand, can only travel visa-free to nine countries, 21 with a visa-on-arrival, and 25 with an e-visa.
According to Kamishi, the conflicts in these countries, as well as in others that sit at the end of the VisaGuide Index, have not only destroyed tourism in these countries but have also destroyed international relations with world countries, as a result of which visas have been introduced by almost every country in the world.
The list of the ten last countries in the Index goes as follows:
191st – Nigeria
192nd – Sudan
193rd – Yemen
194th – Pakistan
195th – Kosovo
196th – Iraq
197th – Syria
198th – Somalia
199th – Afghanistan
Kosovo Listed 195th While All Other European Countries Sit in 113 First Positions
There’s a difference of 82 positions between Europe’s youngest country, the Republic of Kosovo, and the second last, Belarus, which is listed 113th, while Kosovo is listed 195th.
Kosovo, a Western Balkan country that became independent on February 17, 2008, is the most isolated country in Europe and one of the most isolated in the world. Only Iraq, Syria, Somalia, and Afghanistan perform worse than Kosovo in terms of passport strength.
Kosovo citizens can travel to only nine world countries completely visa-free, and passport free to its neighboring countries, Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia.
The country’s passport, however, is one of the least recognized passports in the VisaGuide Index, including from fellow European countries like Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Romania, and Slovakia. 15 world countries in total do not permit entry for Kosovo citizens with a Kosovo-issued passport alone, which is the highest number of countries where a particular passport is denied entry. They should have some other document, or verification, in order to travel to many of these countries.
However, it is expected that the EU will grant Kosovo citizens with visa liberalization by the end of the year and on January 1, 2022, at the latest. This means that Kosovo will move up by at least 50 positions.
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