India shares its current position with Uzbekistan, while neighboring Pakistan is ranked 101st.
New Delhi:
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore and Spain are launching 2024 with the world's most powerful passport, allowing visa-free entry to 194 global destinations, according to the latest Henley Passport Index. The ranking is based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Over the past five years, Japan and Singapore have consistently dominated the top spot. However, this quarter's rankings show that European nations are firing on all cylinders. Finland and Sweden are tied for second place with South Korea, offering visa-free access to 193 destinations. Third place is taken by Austria, Denmark, Ireland and the Netherlands, giving passport holders access to 192 destinations.
India's passport ranked 80th in the list. Citizens were allowed to travel to 62 countries without a visa, including popular tourist destinations such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. India shares its current position with Uzbekistan, while neighboring Pakistan is ranked 101st.
Christian H. Kaelin, chairman of Henley & Partners and creator of the Passport Index, highlighted the widening global mobility gap between countries. Despite a general trend towards greater freedom to travel over the past two decades, the gap between the top and bottom ends of the index has reached an all-time high.
Mr Kaelin said: “The average number of destinations travelers can enter visa-free has almost doubled from 58 in 2006 to 111 in 2024.”
He highlighted that the top-ranked countries now enjoy the privilege of traveling to a staggering 166 more destinations without a visa than Afghanistan, which occupies the last spot on the list and can only travel to 28 countries without a visa. Syria ranks second lowest with visa-free access to just 29 destinations, followed by Iraq with 31 and Pakistan with 34.