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.
