• TravelBizNews > Top News > Japan Passport most powerful, access to 193 destinations around the world visa-free

    Japan Passport most powerful, access to 193 destinations around the world visa-free

    April 14, 2021
    Top News
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    Japan Passport most powerful, access to 193 destinations around the world visa-free

    Travel Biz News —

    Without taking temporary and constantly evolving Covid-19 travel restrictions into account, Japanese passport holders theoretically are able to access a record 193 destinations around the world visa-free.

    Singapore remains in 2nd place, with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 192, while Germany and South Korea again share joint-3rd place, each with access to 191 destinations, according to latest results of the Henley Passport Index.

    Japan firmly holds onto the number one spot on the index without taking temporary and constantly evolving Covid-19 travel restrictions into account, which is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

    The majority of the remaining top 10 spots are held by EU countries. The UK and the US, both of which continue to face steadily eroding passport strength since they held the top spot in 2014, currently share joint-7th place, with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 187.

    The latest results indicate that the gap in travel freedom is now at its largest since the index began in 2006, with Japanese passport holders able to access 167 more destinations than citizens of Afghanistan, who can visit only 26 destinations worldwide without acquiring a visa in advance.

    China has risen by 22 places in the ranking since 2011, from 90th position with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of just 40 to 68th position with a score of 77.

    “The latest ranking is a reminder that economic recovery and development are dependent on global mobility, including personal travel freedom, and that passport power should never be taken for granted , “Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners and the inventor of the passport index concept, said.

    Top 10 most powerful passports

    1. Japan (193)

    2. Singapore (192)

    3. South Korea (191) , Germany (191)

    4. Italy (190) , Finland (190) , Spain (190) , Luxembourg (190)

    5. Denmark (189) , Austria (189)

    6. Sweden (188) , France (188) , Portugal (188) ,Netherlands (188) , Ireland (188)

    7. Switzerland (187) , United States (187) ,United Kingdom (187) ,Belgium (187) ,New Zealand (187)

    8. Norway (186) , Greece (186) , Malta (186) ,Czech Republic (186)

    9. Canada (185) , Australia (185)

    10. Slovakia (183) , Lithuania (183) ,Hungary (183) , Poland (183)

    April 14 , 2021

    For more info: henleyglobal.com

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