Monday 16 January 2023

Once again Australian passport makes the annual Henley & Partners Top 10 for ease of travel

 

ABC News, 15 January 2023:


The passports of the world have been ranked according to how powerful they are by an international citizenship assistance firm, and Australia has come out in the top 10 once again.


Henley & Partners produces a list of the most powerful passports each year, with Japan coming in first place for the sixth year in a row.


People who hold Australian passports can travel to 185 countries with relative ease — but there's still a long list of places that require paperwork…….


1: Japan— visa-free score: 193


2: Singapore and South Korea— visa-free score: 192


3: Germany and Spain— visa-free score: 190


4: Finland, Italy and Luxembourg— visa-free score: 189


5: Austria, Denmark, Netherlands and Sweden— visa-free score: 188


6: France, Ireland, Portugal and United Kingdom— visa-free score: 187


7: Belgium, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and United States— visa-free score: 186


8: Australia, Canada, Greece and Malta— visa-free score: 185


9: Hungary and Poland — visa-free score: 184


10: Lithuania and Slovakia — visa-free score: 183


11: Latvia and Slovenia — visa-free score: 182


12: Estonia — visa-free score: 181


13: Iceland — visa-free score: 180


14: Malaysia — visa-free score: 179


15: Liechtenstein and the United Arab Emirates — visa-free score: 178


16: Cyprus — visa-free score: 177


17: Romania — visa-free score: 175


18: Bulgaria, Chile, Croatia and Monaco — visa-free score: 174


19: Hong Kong (SAR China — visa-free score: 171


20: Argentina and Brazil — visa-free score: 170


21: San Marino — visa-free score: 169


22: Andorra — visa-free score: 168


23: Brunei — visa-free score: 166


24: Barbados — visa-free score: 163


25: Israel and Mexico — visa-free score: 159


26: St. Kitts and Nevis — visa-free score: 157


27: Bahamas — visa-free score: 155


28: Vatican City — visa-free score: 154


29: Seychelles and Uruguay — visa-free score: 153


30: St. Vincent and the Grenadines — visa-free score: 152


31: Antigua and Barbuda, tying with Trinidad and Tobago — visa-free score: 151


32: Costa Rica — visa-free score: 150


33: St. Lucia — visa-free score: 147


34: Grenada and Mauritius — visa-free score: 146


35: Dominica and Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) — visa-free score: 145


36: Macao (SAR China), Panama and Ukraine — visa-free score: 144


37: Paraguay — visa-free score: 142


38: Peru — visa-free score: 136


38: Serbia — visa-free score: 136


39: Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras — visa-free score: 133


40: El Salvador, Samoa and Solomon Islands — visa-free score: 132


41: Tonga — visa-free score: 130


42: Venezuela — visa-free score: 129


43: Nicaragua and Tuvalu — visa-free score: 128


44: North Macedonia — visa-free score: 125


45: Kiribati and Montenegro — visa-free score: 124


46: Marshall Islands — visa-free score: 123


47: Moldova — visa-free score: 121


48: Palau Islands — visa-free score: 120


49: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Micronesia and the Russian Federation — visa-free score: 118


50: Georgia — visa-free score: 116


51: Albania — visa-free score: 115


52: Turkey — visa-free score: 110


53: South Africa — visa-free score: 106


54: Belize — visa-free score: 103


55: Qatar — visa-free score: 100


56: Vanuatu — visa-free score: 98


57: Kuwait — visa-free score: 7


58: Timor-Leste — visa-free score: 94


59: Ecuador — visa-free score: 92


60: Nauru — visa-free score: 90


61: Maldives — visa-free score: 89


62: Fiji and Guyana — visa-free score: 88


63: Bahrain, Botswana and Jamaica — visa-free score: 87


64: Papua New Guinea — visa-free score: 83


65: Oman and Saudi Arabia — visa-free score: 82


66: Bolivia — visa-free score: 80


66: China — visa-free score: 80


67: Namibia — visa-free score: 79


68: Belarus and Thailand — visa-free score: 78


69: Lesotho — visa-free score: 77


70: Kazakhstan and Suriname — visa-free score: 76


71: Eswatini — visa-free score: 75


72: Malawi — visa-free score: 74


73: Kenya — visa-free score: 73


74: Tanzania — visa-free score: 72


75: Indonesia and Zambia — visa-free score: 71


76: Azerbaijan, Dominican Republic and Tunisia — visa-free score: 70


77: The Gambia — visa-free score: 69


78: Philippines and Uganda — visa-free score: 67


79: Armenia, Cape Verde Islands and Zimbabwe — visa-free score: 66


80: Cuba, Ghana and Morocco — visa-free score: 65


81: Kyrgyzstan and Sierra Leone — visa-free score: 64


82: Mongolia and Mozambique — visa-free score: 62


83: Benin and Rwanda — visa-free score: 61


84: Sao Tome and Principe, tying with Tajikistan — visa-free score: 60


85: India, Mauritania and Uzbekistan — visa-free score: 59


86: Burkina Faso — visa-free score: 58


87: Cote d'Ivoire, Gabon and Senegal — visa-free score: 57


88: Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Madagascar, Togo and Vietnam — visa-free score: 55


89: Cambodia and Mali — visa-free score: 54


90: Algeria, Bhutan, Chad, Comoro Islands, Egypt, Jordan, Niger and Turkmenistan — visa-free score: 53


91: Central African Republic and Guinea-Bissau — visa-free score: 52


92: Angola and Cameroon — visa-free score: 51


93: Burundi and Laos — visa-free score: 50


94: Congo (Rep.), Haiti and Liberia — visa-free score: 49


95: Djibouti — visa-free score: 48


96: Myanmar — visa-free score: 47


97: Ethiopia and Nigeria — visa-free score: 46


98: Eritrea and South Sudan — visa-free score: 44


99: Iran — visa-free score: 43


100: Congo (Dem. Rep.), Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Sudan — visa-free score: 42


101: Bangladesh, Kosovo and Libya — visa-free score: 41


102: North Korea — visa-free score: 40


103: Nepal and Palestinian Territory — visa-free score: 38


104: Somalia — visa-free score: 35


105: Yemen — visa-free score: 34


106: Pakistan — visa-free score: 32


107: Syria — visa-free score: 30


108: Iraq — visa-free score: 29


109: Afghanistan — visa-free score: 27


Rankings, visa-free scores and placenames have been replicated as they were listed in Henley & Partners data


What about Russia and Ukraine?


Russia's invasion of Ukraine hasn't affected either country in terms of the Henley Passport Index, with a press release saying there were in roughly the same position since the war began:


  • Ukraine ranks in 36th position with a score of 144

  • Russia ranks in 49th position with a score of 118


However, the firm said that while they weren't majorly affected "on paper", there were practical differences.


"Due to airspace closures and sanctions, Russian citizens are effectively barred from travelling throughout most of the developed world, with the marked exceptions of Dubai and Istanbul, which have become focal points," the firm's statement said.


"Ukrainians, on the other hand, have been granted the right to live and work in the [European Union] for up to three years under an emergency plan in response to what has become Europe's biggest refugee crisis this century."


The firm said that, if Ukraine was successful in joining the European Union, it would probably break into the top 10 most powerful passports in the world.


  • List of countries which allow visa-free travel to holders of Australian passports:


Africa

Botswana

Eswatini

Lesotho

Mauritius

Mayotte

Morocco

Namibia

Reunion

Senegal

South Africa

The Gambia

Tunisia


Americas

Argentina

Belize

Bermuda

Bolivia

Brazil

Colombia

Costa Rica

Ecuador

El Salvador

Falkland Islands

French Guiana

Guatemala

Guyana

Honduras

Mexico

Nicaragua

Panama

Peru

Uruguay

Venezuela


Asia

Hong Kong (SAR China)

Indonesia

Kazakhstan

Kyrgyzstan

Macao (SAR China)

Malaysia

Philippines

Singapore

Taiwan (Chinese Taipei)

Thailand

Uzbekistan


Caribbean

Anguilla

Antigua and Barbuda

Aruba

Bahamas

Barbados

Bonaire; St. Eustatius and Saba

British Virgin Islands

Cayman Islands

Curacao

Dominica

Dominican Republic

French West Indies

Grenada

Haiti

Jamaica

Montserrat

St Kitts and Nevis

St Lucia

St Maarten

St Vincent and the Grenadines

Turks and Caicos Islands


Europe

Albania

Andorra

Austria

Belarus

Belgium

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria

Croatia

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Faroe Islands

Finland

France

Georgia

Germany

Gibraltar

Greece

Greenland

Hungary

Iceland

Ireland

Italy

Kosovo

Latvia

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Malta

Moldova

Monaco

Montenegro

Netherlands

North Macedonia

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

San Marino

Serbia

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Ukraine

United Kingdom

Vatican City


Middle East

Armenia

Iraq

Israel

Oman

Palestinian Territory

Qatar


Oceania

Cook Islands

Fiji

French Polynesia

Guam

Kiribati

Micronesia

New Caledonia

New Zealand

Niue

Northern Mariana Islands

Vanuatu



Henley & Partners, 10 January 2023:


By combining Henley Passport Index data and World Bank GDP data, the new research ranks all 199 passports in the world in terms of their Henley Passport Power (HPP) score, a term that indicates the percentage of global GDP each passport provides to its holders’ visa-free. 

Take the Japanese passport, for instance, that gives visa-free access to 193 destinations (85% of the world). 

Collectively, these countries account for a whopping 98% of the global economy (with Japan’s own GDP contribution being around 5%). 

To contrast this figure with a passport from the lower end of the spectrum, Nigerian passport holders can access only 46 destinations visa-free (20% of the world), with these countries accounting for just 1.5% of global GDP. At the bottom of the ranking, the Afghanistan passport provides visa-free access to just 12% of the world and less than 1% of global economic output.


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