A passport is an official important government document of any country as it confirms the identity as well as the nationality of the passport holder. It is not only a document but also acts as your identity proof while travelling abroad as to who and where you are from.
Therefore, it is a valid document while travelling in other countries. Then the question arises how many countries can you access? Since all the countries of the world provide passports for their people. But, there are some countries whose passports allow more countries than others.
So, you can say that there are some countries whose passport is the most powerful passport that allows a number of countries. According to the latest reports of the “Henley Passport Index” which uses data from IATA (International Air Transport Association), Japan’s passport has topped the list and is the most powerful passport in the world in 2023.
So, Japan has the strongest passport in the world, followed by Singapore and South Korea. Citizens of these two countries can travel freely in 192 countries around the world, while citizens of Japan can enter 193 countries.
What is the Most Powerful Passport?
Most powerful passport in the world in terms of the number of countries you can travel to freely. This is the passport of Japan and it allows passport-holders visa-on-arrival or visa-free access in 193 countries.
Similarly, Singapore and South Korea, are also tied for the second most powerful passports, with access in 192 countries in the world. Therefore, a powerful passport is a passport of a country, which has the power to access a number of countries in the world.
List of Powerful Passports in the World
Below is the list of strongest passports in the world in 2023 which are as follows:
Rank | Country | Access 2023 (countries) |
---|---|---|
1 | Japan | 193 |
2 | Singapore, South Korea | 192 |
3 | Germany, Spain | 190 |
4 | Finland, Luxembourg, Italy | 189 |
5 | Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands | 188 |
6 | France, Ireland, Portugal, United Kingdom | 187 |
7 | Belgium, Czech Republic, Norway, New Zealand, Switzerland, United States | 186 |
8 | Australia, Canada, Greece, Malta | 185 |
9 | Hungary, Poland | 184 |
10 | Lithuania, Slovakia | 183 |
11 | Latvia, Slovenia | 182 |
12 | Estonia | 181 |
13 | Iceland | 180 |
14 | Malaysia | 179 |
15 | Liechtenstein, United Arab Emirates | 178 |
16 | Cyprus | 177 |
17 | Romania | 175 |
18 | Bulgaria, Chile, Croatia, Monaco | 174 |
19 | Hong Kong (SAR China) | 171 |
20 | Argentina, Brazil | 170 |
This is the passport of Japan in the list of the world’s most powerful passports for 2023, according to the latest report of the Henley Passport Index, which uses data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
But, the Indian Passport has visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to only 59 countries in the world. So, it lags far behind Japan, where it has visa-free access to 193 countries in the world.
How is the world’s strongest Passport decided?
The strength of a passport is usually determined by the number of countries, where the passport holder can visit either visa-free or with visa-on-arrival. In another way, we can say, the best passport depends on the visa-free score.
But, you are wondering what is Visa Free Score. It’s nothing – the visa-free score is calculated based on the number of countries the passport holder can enter without obtaining a visa prior to arrival. Therefore, the higher the visa-free score of the country, the stronger the passport.
However, visa-free entry does not prove to be a powerful passport, it also depends on political and economic relations with a country, which can affect the security of the passport holder.
Why is a Passport so Important?
As we know, a passport contains a name, date of birth, photograph and other personal information. Not only does your information, but also carries a unique identification number and various security features to prevent fraud. So, it is a valid document to enter another country issued by the government for a specific period.
Best Passport in the World in 2023
As we mentioned above, Japan has topped the list of best passports in the world for the fifth year in a row. Japanese citizens can avail visa on arrival in 193 countries or consider it as 85% of the world’s countries.
And at the bottom is Afghanistan, whose citizens can travel freely in 27 countries. This means that the Afghanistan passport provides visa-free access to only 12% of the world.
FAQs
A: Japan has the strongest passport in the world in 2023 and it has visa-free access in 193 countries in the world.
A: No, it has only visa-free access in 186 countries in the world.
A: Japan has topped the list of best passports in the world and can avail of visa-free arrival in 193 countries or 85% of the world’s countries.
A: Afghanistan has the lowest passport rank in the world in 2023.