The top passports for travelling to destinations around the world without a visa have been ranked in a latest study.
The study by Henley & Partners found that Japan ranks the highest for the last 5 years, permitting travel to 193 out of 227 destinations without a mandatory visa. In the positions behind, South Korea and Singapore were ranked joint second where 192 destinations are open to travel to without a visa. Germany and Spain occupied third place and Luxembourg, Italy and Finland also allow non-visa travel.
The Henley Passport Index provides information on 199 passports and 227 places in the world that is opening up to freer travel, especially with eased restrictions. Global travel has resumed to 75% of pre-pandemic levels and the events of the passed 3 years has even led to the term “revenge travel’.
Find the full list of countries ranked from No 1 to 109 here: https://cdn.henleyglobal.com/storage/app/media/HENLEY_PASSPORT_INDEX_FACTSHEET_2023_Q1_230105_1.pdf
Perhaps unsurprising, it is not easy to travel seamlessly with passports from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, facilitating 12% of travel worldwide and contributing to 1% of the global economy.
Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners who began the Passport Index 20 years ago, said the findings were eye-opening to the “passport power” and what it means for the value of the aviation sector and secure travel documents.
“The Henley Passport Index measures visa-free access to 227 destinations across the world, which of course makes it an extremely useful tool for travellers. However, for global citizens and international businesspeople, a better measure of economic mobility and opportunity afforded by their passports is an indication of what share of the world’s GDP is accessible to them visa-free. Our latest research into how much global economic access each passport provides is a useful tool for investors, in addition to giving new insight into the ever-widening economic inequality and wealth disparity that has come to define our world”.
US and China share the highest levels of GDP with 25% and 19% respectively.
Find out more:
(https://www.henleyglobal.com/newsroom/press-releases/2023-passport-index-global-mobility-q1)