Asia’s Strongest Passport 2023: Japan tops, Pakistan, Afghanistan bottom on list- Check India, China ranks here
New Delhi: Did you realize that you could be holding the world’s most powerful passport without even knowing it? Global unrest over the past several years has changed many countries around the world due to the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s war on Ukraine. Naturally, this has had a big impact on how much information we can hold in our passports and where and how we can travel. As 2023 begins, Henley & Partners, a global citizenship and residency consultancy with offices in London, has released the Henley Passport Index for 2023 based on exclusive data provided by the International Civil Aviation Organization. The index includes 199 passports and 227 travel destinations, providing users with the most comprehensive and reliable information on their global access and mobility. Each passport holder is scored on the total number of destinations that can be accessed without a visa.
Here’s how Passport Score is calculated
The Henley Passport Index compares the visa-free access of 199 different passports to 227 travel destinations. If a visa is not required, a score with value = 1 will be generated for that passport. This applies if you can obtain a visa on arrival, visitor’s permit or electronic travel authorization (ETA) when entering the destination.
A score with value = 0 is assigned when a visa is required, or before the passport holder obtains a government-authorized electronic visa (e-Visa). This also applies if government approval is required before departure for a visa on arrival.
The total score for each passport is equal to the number of destinations that do not require a visa (value = 1).
The 2023 Henley Passport Index rankings are out now, with Japan taking the top spot for the fifth year in a row. India ranks 85th on the Passport Index, which indicates that Indian passport holders do not need a visa to enter 59 countries. Afghanistan’s passport ranked 109th with a visa-free score of 27, while Iraq’s passport ranked 108th with a visa-free score of 29. Syria visa free ranking is 107 with 30 marks. With a visa-free score of 32, Pakistan ranks 106th as the fifth worst passport in the world. Yemen ranks 105th with a score of 34 for visa-free travel.
Asia’s Strongest Passports- Here is the list
Country Global Ranking Visa Free Score Japan 1 193 places Singapore 2 192 places Israel 25 159 places Qatar 55 100 places Kuwait 57 97 places China
66
80 seats India 85 59 seats Sri Lanka 100 42 seats Bangladesh 101 41 seats Nepal 103 38 seats Yemen 105 34 seats Pakistan 106 32 seats Syria 107
30 seats
Iraq 108 29 seats Afghanistan 109 27 seats
China allows access to 80, as does Bolivia. Russia fares better, offering hassle-free entry to 118 destinations, while Afghanistan is weaker, with access to just 27 destinations. “Afghanistan passport at the bottom of the rankings offers visa-free entry to only 12% of the world and less than 1% of global economic output.” As noted by the Henley Passport Index website.