SINGAPORE – The Republic no longer holds sole claim to having the world’s most powerful passport, sharing the distinction in 2024 with five other nations, according to the latest ranking published by the Henley Passport Index on Jan 10.
The six countries – France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore and Spain – have visa-free entry to 194 out of 227 travel destinations.
In 2023, Singapore took the top spot with visa-free access to 192 destinations. Germany, Italy and Spain were second, with 190.
France and Japan were third with 189 destinations. They shared the position with Austria, Finland, Luxembourg, South Korea and Sweden.
Meanwhile, regional neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia saw increases in the number of destinations their citizens can visit visa-free, compared with 2023.
Malaysia added another destination to its tally, bringing it to 182. It remained in 12th position, sharing the spot with Cyprus and Liechtenstein.
Indonesians can now visit 78 destinations without a prior visa, up from 76 in 2023.
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Afghanistan remains at the bottom of the list, where it has been since 2019, with access to only 28 destinations. Syria, Iraq, Pakistan and Yemen round up the bottom five.
The Henley Passport Index is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association.
The index ranks 199 world passports and is considered a standard reference tool when assessing where a passport stands in terms of global mobility.
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