The Most Powerful Passport in the World Is…
Power Passports - the results of this year's travel document competition are in... and there are a few surprises.
Who came top? Did one of those well-behaved Scandinavian nations bag the top spot? Did the UK beat Germany, a la 1966?
OK, it's not exactly the World Cup or the Olympics, but it's rather fascinating to see how one's national passport fares against others.
This year, the number one spot was claimed by the United Arab Emirates, whose citizens can gain visa-free entry to no less than 167 countries. Occupying the second spot are Germany and Singapore - the latter of which came out top last year.
In third are a clutch of European countries, including all of Scandinavia save Iceland (it came 6th). The USA also made third place.
The United Kingdom occupies the fourth rank, alongside Japan, Switzerland, Canada and others.
According to the Henley & Partners Passport Index, which collates data slightly differently to The Passport Index, the UK last held the top spot in 2015, alongside the USA. With Britain's imminent departure from the EU and worries over a global trade war headed by the USA, it might be some time before the chief 'Anglosphere' passports are in the ascendency again.
At the bottom end of the scale, the worst passport to have is that of Afghanistan, which affords access to just 29 countries.
But this year, the number-one-ranked nation is arguably the least expected. The UAE has climbed the rankings steadily in recent years, helped by a reciprocal visa-free arrangement with Russia, signed this summer.
This data was collated by The Passport Index, a real-time global ranking of the world's most powerful passports. Visa requirements change fairly often, so the rankings are likely to change again soon.
What makes a Power Passport?
There are no hard-and-fast reasons why a nationality is viewed as especially 'welcome' or not, but contributing factors could be:
- Some nationalities face tougher restrictions because of political issues or terrorism in their country.
- If one country makes entry difficult for a certain nationality, the government of that nationality may impose reciprocal barriers.
- There could be historical or religious reasons why certain nationalities are less welcome in a given country.
- Countries whose citizens are viewed as well behaved or wealthy may also be more welcome, since they may be viewed as less likely to break the law and will probably spend a lot of money while on holiday.